ARE YOU A RISK-TAKER?  What is the biggest adventure you have ever been on?  Why does it qualify as your biggest adventure?  What amount of risk was involved?

An Age of Explorations

Essential Questions:  What led Europeans to seek new trade routes to the Indies?  What new technology allowed Europeans to sail great distances?  Why did Europeans establish colonies around the world?  How did life change as a result of European overseas exploration?

Motive and Means…  The Renaissance encouraged a new sense of adventure and curiosity  The Three Gs: God Glory Gold  Bartolomeu Dias: “To serve God and His Majesty, to give light to those who were in darkness and to grow rich as all men desire to do.”

And don’t forget the importance of spices… Pepper Pepper - The most sought after spice. Black pepper was the most expensive. Imported from Asia and later Africa.

Ooo, ooo, Rumor has it…  Europeans gained some understanding of the wealth of the East by hearing the stories of Crusading knights returning from the Holy Land  Marco Polo’s overland trek to China in 1275 further whet the appetites of Europeans Marco Polo, rockin’ the Vellucci Beard

Why did the Portuguese lead the way in overseas exploration?  Out of need: the Portuguese population was growing rapidly; but they had limited land for farming. Importing food was expensive

Spice Routes of the 1400s

Why didn’t Europeans try to explore routes to the Indies before the mid-1400s?  After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Muslims controlled the overland route to Asia. Christians could pass, but were forced to pay exorbitant tolls  The Venetians controlled the Mediterranean Sea route. If any anyone tried to mess with their turf, just remember what happened to their last competitor during the Fourth Crusade-1204 (Constantinople)

Venetian and Muslim Control of Key Trade Routes

CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY… Up until this time, ships didn’t venture out too far into the open ocean. They liked sticking close to land. Why????  Because the ships weren’t great for blue water travel and the navigation ability away from land wasn’t great either.  Plus, the sail technology was good only for going with the wind. If it was against you, you just had to pull the sails and wait until it shifted.  This changed, though, with the introduction of some Muslim technology and some new sails.

What new technology allowed them to sail great distances?  The caravel- a light fast ship

New triangular Lateen sails were another big deal. They allowed ships to travel against the wind by tacking (zig-zagging).

The Astrolabe: This enables sailors to figure out where they were in relation to the equator (latitude, but not longitude).

The astrolabe was eventually replaced by the sextant

Another nice innovation was the magnetic compass from China.  First Chinese mention of something like a compass is about 70 AD. First mention of one used for navigation is 1119.

Today we use GPS The printing press allowed navigators to put pieces of the puzzle together. Better maps meant a better knowledge of the world Better Maps…

Portugal Leads the Way…  This was mainly due to Prince Henry the Navigator. He founded a navigation school, and gathered together mapmakers, instrument makers, shipbuilders, scientists, and sea captains (think JFK and the creation of NASA).  Henry used his own fortune to finance exploration and as a result, died in debt  Goal of the Portuguese: To reach the Indies (India, China, Indonesia) by way of sailing around Africa Prince Henry the Navigator

Let’s talk explorers!  Bartolomeu Dias  Date of Voyage- 1487/1488  Ventured down the coast of Africa until he and his crew reached the southern tip  The Cape of Good Hope  His ships were battered by storms and were forced to return to Portugal

Vasco Da Gama  Portuguese Navigator  Sailed 1497/1498  Notice the time elapsed between the voyage of Dias and the voyage of Da Gama. REASON?  The first navigator to sail all the way around Africa to India

Vasco da Gama’s Route to the Indies

The Result…  They filled their ships with spices like pepper and cinnamon and return to Portugal  The cargo was worth 60 X the cost of the voyage!  Remember our discussion about risk analysis?  Cost vs. Benefit Da Gama’s Ship

The New Portuguese Route to the Indies

Spain Also Makes Claims  As the Portuguese were establishing trading posts along the west coast of Africa, Spain watched with increasing envy  Spanish monarchs desired a direct route to Asia  In walks Christopher Columbus

In 1492, Columbus sailed…  After unsuccessful attempts to get Portugal to finance his voyage, Columbus goes to the new monarchs of unified Spain, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand  They had just completed the Reconquista of Spain, and were heavily in debt  Could they afford to finance Columbus wacky idea about sailing west for Asia?  Again, cost vs. benefit

The Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria…not as big as you might think!

A Couple of Facts About the Voyage…  Columbus miscalculated the size of the earth- he thought it was much smaller  As a result, he thought it would only take six to seven weeks to reach China by sailing west. It took about 9 1/2 weeks!  His crew on the verge of mutiny, Columbus convinced them to sail on  When he reached the New World, he thought he had reached Asia (thus, the misuse of the term “Indian”)  He named the newly discovered island San Salvador (Holy Savior)

Trade vs. Colonization  Portugal establishes a trade empire Controls key port cities like Goa, India and Cape Town, South Africa They also controlled key straits like the Strait of Hormuz and the Straits of Malacca (where pirates are still common!), which are strategic trade routes even today  However, by 1600, other countries like the Dutch Republic (aka, the Netherlands ) challenged Portugal’s dominance in the Indies  The Dutch East India Company was formed to established and direct trade in Asia. They could mint money, make treaties, and even raise their own armies.

Portuguese Trade Empire

Spain Chooses to Colonize  Spain established colonies in the Americas after Columbus’ discovery of the New World and subsequent voyages of other explorers such as Amerigo Vespucci, Vasco de Balboa, and Ferdinand Magellan  Why colonize? To turn a kingdom into an empire! Land = Wealth To gain natural resources and raw materials To use the native population as a market For some, to escape religious persecution For others, it was the first chance to own their own land

War Over the New World?  Both Spain and Portugal feared the other would try to claim some of its newly found territory  As the rivalry grew more tense, the two nations were on the verge of war  Pope Alexander VI took some time away from his mistresses and stepped in to keep the peace  He established the Line of Demarcation, a north/south divider through the Atlantic

Treaty of Tordesillas  When the Line of Demarcation was drawn in 1493, Spain was given all lands west of the line and Portugal received all lands east  Portugal thought the line was unfair  So in 1494 the Pope moved the line further West. Both countries signed the Treaty of Tordesillas to honor the line  Portugal could now claim Brazil as a result of Francisco Cabral’s voyage

Treaty of Tordesillas/Line of Demarcation

Other Explorers Take to the Seas  Pedro Alvarez Cabral, Portugal  Gets blown off course on his way to India  Discovered Brazil and claims it for Portugal in 1500

Amerigo Vespucci (1499)  Like Columbus, another Italian navigator commissioned by Spain  He is the first to recognize the Americas as a new continent, and not Asia  He explored the east coast of South America and then Central America  A German mapmaker, reading of the discovery, names the new continent in honor of Amerigo Vespucci  Why don’t we live in North Amerigo?

Vasco de Balboa  Spanish explorer  becomes the first European to view the Pacific Ocean after marching across Panama

Juan Ponce de Leon  Spanish explorer  While searching for the Fountain of Youth, he claims Florida for Spain

Ferdinand Magellan (1521)  Commissioned by Spain to set sail for the newly discovered Pacific Ocean  Leaves with five ships and 250 men  Eventually reaches the Philippines  Magellan becomes involved in a local tribal war and is killed (actually, torn to pieces is a better description)  His first mate, Juan del Cano, finishes the voyage back to Spain, but Magellan is given credit as being the first navigator to circumnavigate (sail completely around) the world (1522)

Magellan’s Route

Age of the Conquistador  Conquistador - a Spanish soldier or “conqueror” who fights for God, Glory and Gold  Hernando Cortes  Lands on the shores of Mexico  Learns of the vast wealth of the Aztec Empire  Despite being vastly outnumbered, he proceeds to conquer the Montezuma and the Aztecs with the help of superior weaponry (muskets, cannons), neighboring Indian tribes, and most of all- disease!

Hernan Cortes Claims an Empire for Spain

Francisco Pizarro  Another Spanish conquistador  Disobeyed the orders of his superior; marched south from Panama along the west coast of South America; conquered the Inca of Peru  Captured the Incan emperor Atahualpa and held him for ransom  Received 24 tons of gold and silver- the richest ransom in history. Unfortunately, Atahualpa was still executed (a “merciful” strangling since he converted to Christianity)  Pizarro earned a place in the book TheTop Ten Most Evil People of All Time

How ‘bout we throw in an English explorer?  Sir Francis Drake   He sailed as a privateer for England under Queen Elizabeth (basically, a legal pirate)  He raided Spanish settlements on the west coast of the Americas.  Couldn’t find a eastern route back to England, so he just circumnavigated the world  The second navigator to do so…

How did life change around the world as result of European exploration?  The Positives: Obviously, knowledge of the world increased The increase in gold/silver led to an international currency The Columbian Exchange is created- tomatoes, squash, pineapples, tobacco, cacao (for chocolate) The cost of goods (spices, food, etc.) decreased and they became more readily available. As a result… Diets changed. European food became less bland. Corn and potatoes became a staple of peoples diets. Increased nutrition means people live longer, boosting the world’s population

Triangular Trade

The Negative Impacts  European’s crave sugar. The Caribbean is the ideal setting for sugar cane to grow, but the plantations are labor intensive. The result?  The development of the African slave trade. The infamous Middle Passage leads to the death of 20% of those slaves on board the ships  Why were African slaves considered a better choice of labor? They were strangers to America with no allies or places to hide in case they escaped. Also physically stronger

The terrible conditions of the voyage…

The Encomienda System Native Indians were also oppressed. Spain used what was known as the encomienda system to basically enslave the native population in order to exploit the land for its precious resources.

Effect of Disease…

Negative Impacts Continued Disease Ravages Americans Smallpox, measles, typhus Hispaniola – pop. 250,000 in 1492 pop. 500 in 1538 Mexico – pop. 25 Million in 1519 pop. 1 Million in 1630 Cultures also mixed. Spanish peninsulares (those born in Spain) mixed with the native Americans. The mixed offspring were known as mestizos