1. Bellwork
Please write down and explain three reasons why you think the Europeans wanted to travel west across the Atlantic Ocean.

2. Section 2, Unit 1 Europe Before Contact
American History
Section 2, Unit 1
Europe Before Contact

3. Objectives
Use what they remember from World History and apply it to this new concept
Explain how the Crusades and the Renaissance created a new interest in exploration and trade
Identify why Portugal may have helped cause the new interest in western exploration

4. Overview of the Middle Ages
Around 500 A.D., the once powerful Roman Empire fell, falling victim to various nomadic tribes attacking it from the Northern Europe and Asia.
Among these tribes were the Vikings, who repeatedly attacked the Roman Empire and created settlements in modern day England and France.

5. Overview of the Middle Ages (cont.)
To combat these nomads, European rulers adopted the system of Feudalism, where rulers give nobles a piece of land (manor) and protection in return for their loyalty and military assistance to the king.
Most of those who lived in the manor were called serfs, who worked their lords land in exchange for some crops and protection.
Feudalism worked as long as there was a rigid class system.

6. Religion
In the early Middle Ages, religion (primarily Catholicism) dominated daily life.
The Catholic Church, lead by the Pope, was the most important political and social force in medieval Europe.
The church often played a leading role in guiding politics between different kingdoms- such as suggesting courses of action or negotiating peace.

7. Decline of Feudalism
Around 1100 AD, a series of changes brought a slow end to feudalism:
New farm equipment- farmers could plow more land and make more food for themselves and others
Military strength increased- feudalism was less necessary when the kingdoms were fully able to fight against the vikings.

8. The Crusades
Between ’s, the Crusades also lead to the end of feudalism.
The Crusades were a series of attacks on Muslim/Arabic lands to gain control of the “Holy Land.”
This was in response to Islamic Turks preventing Christians from visiting holy sites, such as Jerusalem.

9. The Crusades (cont.)
There was a series of four (4) crusades over this period, and had important consequences on trade and growth.
Each individual crusade opened up more trade routes with the east, allowing merchants to better trade with eastern nations.
From these eastern nations, Europeans were able to bring back with them exotic goods such as silk and rare spices.
Europeans responded by demanding more of these goods, leading to increased trade.

10. As you can see, the Crusades created new trading networks with foreign nations.

11. Bourgeoisie
The impact of trade helped change European political and social order.
The merchants who organized trading and the bankers who funded these new trade routes helped form a new social class- the bourgeoisie (middle class).
The bourgeoisie supported the ruling class because they knew that political stability was important for trade to flourish.
In many cases, they supported their royalty because a central power (such as a king or queen) could ensure stability.

12. Effect of the Middle Class
However, the middle class also supported a greater degree of economic and political freedom so they could manage themselves. The ruling class reluctantly granted these new rights, such as self-governing towns.
These towns would be ruled by a representative class, such as nobles and leading people in the towns themselves.
These types of assemblies would lead to a yearning for more political representation in once autocratic kingdoms.

13. Magna Carta
In 1215, the English nobles were upset over a new tax that was levied onto them.
In response, they forced the king at the time- John- to sign the Magna Carta which limited the power of the monarchy and instead created a system that protected the basic liberties of nobles and protected trade.
Question: Why do you think the Magna Carta only protected the basic liberties of the nobles?

14. The Renaissance
In addition to spurring trade and political reform, the Crusades also promoted European learning and artistic creativity known as the Renaissance.
For most of the Middle Ages, Europe was closed off intellectually from the outside world and relied only on the Catholic Church.
However, the Crusade traders brought with them new ideas of science, technology, art, and philosophy from the Islamic world.
Pieta

15. Effect of the Renaissance
Inspired by Classical (Greek) and Islamic thinkers, European scholars became determined to learn about the physical world.
Science and mathematics provided clues to the workings of nature.
New geographic studies provided pictures beyond Europe's borders.
Inventions- such as the compass and astrolabe- promoted navigation and exploration.
In this time, the printing press (by Johannes Gutenberg) also allowed the spread of information.

16. Question
If the Europeans came up with new ideas about the world around them, how might this affect their ability to trade with outside nations?
In another words, could they possibly have learned new ways of trading to save time and money?

17. East-West Trade
The Renaissance gave Europeans the ideas and ability to travel great distances for trade.
Many Europeans of the time demanded many foreign goods, including spices, decorations, and fabrics.
However, trade overland to China and many other eastern nations was long and dangerous. Aside from that, such long travel distances increased the cost of goods, thus decreasing profit to be made from goods. Traders thus needed to find an alternative solution.

18. Question
What European nation lead the way to European exploration of the Atlantic ocean?
What group provided them the technology to be able to explore the Atlantic?

19. All-Sea Route
Portugal, a small European nation bordering the Atlantic, lead the way for exploration.
A strong desire pushed Portugal to discover new trading routes to Asia.
Their location determined the path they would take: a southward into the Atlantic Ocean and around the southern-most tip of Africa.
However, not much was known about the oceans/seas so far north, so many tales were quite fanciful or false.

20. Prince Henry
He realized that common sense, reason, and order was required to study geography and explore.
Prince Henry of Portugal established a center for the study of navigation that:
Designed new navigation methods
Improved ship design
Created better, more accurate maps

21. Portugal
Portugal, in the mid-1480’s, discovered new routes to Asia, thanks in part to Bartolomeu Dias, who rounded Africa’s southernmost tip.
However, his crew (who feared for their lives) forced the captain to turn around.
However, in 1497, Portugal sent another fleet to travel the tip of Africa.
They managed to successfully route around Africa and- over the next half-century- establish Portuguese trading forts throughout the East, including in India and China.

23. Question
What effect do you think Portugal’s success would have on other European nations who also want to trade with Eastern nations? What would they do in response?

24. Europe’s Response
Envious of Portugal, other powerful nation-states of Europe soon began to sponsor voyages of their own to Asia.
Many of them would attempt to make new routes, to no success.
However, Spain would soon sponsor the voyage of a mariner named Christopher Columbus, who would dare attempt a new route to Asia- one to the west across the Atlantic.

25. Review Objectives
Use what they remember from World History and apply it to this new concept
Explain how the Crusades and the Renaissance created a new interest in exploration and trade
Identify why Portugal may have helped cause the new interest in western exploration

26. Questions?
If you have any questions, please ask now.

27. Next Lesson
In the next lesson, we will be discussing first contact and early American colonization.

28. Review
Recall where Portugal is geographically. What made them more capable of exploring the oceans than other European nations?
How did Prince Henry improve upon navigation techniques?
What was the effect of the Crusades on trade and how did the Crusades help lead into the Renaissance?
What new inventions during or after the Renaissance helped improve navigation? Of these inventions, choose one invention/idea and specify how it would improve navigating.
Why did Europeans after Feudalism want more economic and political power?