EUROPEAN EXPLORATION

In 1271 a 17 year old merchant by the name of Marco Polo traveled with his father and uncle from Venice to the Court of Kubli Khan Marco Polo became a favorite of Kubli Khan and thus became very important in his court. He became an ambassador for the Khan

Marco & Co. return home in 1295 In 1298 Marco is captured by a ship from Genoa during a naval battle He is in prison from What is the best way to remember something? While in prison Marco dictates his story to his prison mate, and it is preserved in written form

The travels of Marco Polo becomes on of the most popular books in History! AS a result, Europeans become interested in China

Why did explorations happen when they did? A variety of factors all came together to make the time period ( ) the “age of exploration” Some of these factors were pushes, external forces acting on Europe Some were pulls, motivations and things that attracted the Europeans

What is the easiest way to remember it all? The Three G’s: –Gold –Glory –God :MOSTLY GOLD

The First G: Gold Gold = Wealth (universal) Europe needed gold (and silver) Europeans also desired spices (A voyage to India could bring 3000% profit!) This competition will be enhanced by the idea of mercantilism that emerges, the idea that there is only so much wealth in the world, and that to make your kingdom strong you must have more gold and wealth than the other kingdoms

Favorable Balance of Trade Export > Import. Colonies import manufactured goods and export raw material. Natural resources would come to be sold for profit (timber, sugar, tobacco, ivory, etc.)

Mercantilism, Purpose of Colonies

Mercantilism Mercantilism-countries get rich by having more exports than imports Colonies make parent countries rich by giving raw materials, as well as gold and silver. Colonies also provide a market for parent countries to sell goods. WALMART 101!

Lead to: Competition between nations Need for large labor force Slave Trade Conflict on the seas Larger and faster ships

The second G: Glory Glory reflected the ideal of Humanism, and the focus on individual achievement With the rise of the printing press, the idea of gaining fame for one’s actions was more possible Also, individual kings wanted glory for their kingdoms. THE RESULT – Competition spreads between nations to control the world.

The third G: God Europeans had always seen spreading Christianity as a good thing The Reformation causes Catholics to increase efforts to retain power Colonization will become a race to convert native peoples to a particular brand of Christianity Jesuits (Catholics) are some of the most active, esp. the Spanish!!!!

European Exploration 1453, Ottoman Turks capture Constantinople, renaming it Istanbul, and exert control over the Silk Road Europeans look for new trade routes in order to purchase gold, slaves, and spices from Africa and Asia Portuguese are first to explore new territories, using navigational devices such as the compass and the astrolabe Spanish and Portuguese make use of new types of ships, called caravels for traveling faster and further

What factors were pushing Europeans to explore? Decline of Mongol Empire in 1400s made goods from the east harder to get, more expensive Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 was a major block to trade. WHY?

How did these explorations begin? The Portuguese lead the way! The first to encourage explorations was Prince Henry of Portugal, known as “Prince Henry the Navigator” Started an institute (school) for seafaring and exploring Combined ship technology learned from Islam with new European innovations By the time of his death in 1460, Portuguese had sailed as far south as the Gold Coast of West Africa

European Exploration continued  Dias rounds the tip of Africa; proves a water route exists.  In 1498, Vasco da Gama successfully navigates around tip of southern Africa in order to reach India  In 1492, Christopher Columbus sails Westward and “discovers” the Americas for Spain  By 1522, Ferdinand Magellan’s fleet circumnavigates the globe (Magellan himself does not make it back)

Vasco Da Gama,

Magellan’s Trip Around the World

What were the new technologies that enabled explorations? The caravel was a new, faster, more maneuverable ship Older ships had square sails, caravels had triangular sails (easier to change direction) Bilge pump system enabled ship to float higher (less likely to run aground, easier to explore coasts and rivers) Compass, astrolabe, maps and other technologies from Islamic culture all helped make explorations possible

The colonization of the Americas introduced new and different items into the Eastern and Western hemispheres. This global exchange of goods permanently changed Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Overview Columbian Exchange Commercial Revolution capitalism joint-stock company mercantilism favorable balance of trade 4 MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES HOME The Columbian Exchange and Global Trade MAP

The introduction of cows and pigs to the Americas was a significant development from the Columbian Exchange. The introduction of the horse provided people in the Americas with a new source of labor and transportation. Contact between the two groups led to the widespread exchange of plants, animals, and disease—the Columbian Exchange. Plants, animals developed in very different ways in hemispheres Europeans—no potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, turkeys People in Americas—no coffee, sugar, oranges, rice, wheat, sheep, cattle The Exchange of Goods The Columbian Exchange Arrival of Europeans in Americas changed all this Previously unknown foods taken back to Europe Familiar foods brought to Americas by colonists Sharing Discoveries

Different Foods Exchange of foods, animals had dramatic impact on later societies Over time crops native to Americas became staples in diets of Europeans Foods provided substantial nutrition, helped people live longer Italian Food Without Tomatoes? Until contact with Americas, Europeans had never tried tomatoes Most Europeans thought tomatoes poisonous By late 1600s, tomatoes had begun to be included in Italian cookbooks Economics and Gastronomics Activities like Texas cattle ranching, Brazilian coffee growing not possible without Columbian Exchange; cows, coffee native to Old World Traditional cuisines changed because of Columbian Exchange Effects of the Columbian Exchange

Effects Widespread Effects of Columbian Exchange felt not only in Europe, Americas China –Arrival of easy-to-grow, nutritious corn helped population grow tremendously –Also a main consumer of silver mined in Americas Africa –Two native crops of Americas—corn, peanuts—still among most widely grown Scholars estimate one-third of all food crops grown in world are of American origin

Devastating Impact Native American population continued to decline for centuries Inca Empire decreased from 13 million in 1492 to 2 million in 1600 North American population fell from 2 million in 1492 to 500,000 in 1900—but disease not only factor in decrease of population Intermittent warfare, other violence also contributed The Introduction of New Diseases Native Americans had no natural resistance to European diseases Smallpox, measles, influenza, malaria killed millions Population of central Mexico may have decreased by more than 30 percent in the 10 years following first contact with Europeans

Look at the graphic to help organize your thoughts. For each Columbian Exchange item or aspect below, write where it originated and explain its significance. continued... The Columbian Exchange and Global Trade CornPotato Disease The Americas; nutritious basis of many diets The Americas; became staple throughout the world Europe; killed millions of Native Americans

WAR AND PEACE

Major Trades Routes Where were the major trades routes in the Eastern Hemisphere from 1000 to 1500AD? Six Major Routes on or crossing three continents. –Africa –Asia –Europe Trade routes connected most major civilizations.

Silk Road Runs across Asia to the Mediterranean.

Indian Ocean Routes from India to the Arabian Peninsula and Africa

Sahara Desert Trans-Saharan Routes spread goods such as Gold and Salt across the great desert.

The Black Sea Northern Europeans traveled by land and river to the black Sea to trade with places like Constantinople and beyond.

Western Europe Western Europeans depended on major rivers and seas/the ocean to trade their goods.

Southeast Asia People crossed the China Sea and “hopped” from Island to island in Southeast Asia to trade their goods.

Major Trades Routes All of these routes would connect with others at certain points. This meant the world was connected by trade, even if most people never knew it. These trade routes are one of the biggest reasons cultural diffusion took place. These routes helped ideas, technologies, etc spread across the entire world.