Transition to the Modern Era Exploration Transition to the Modern Era

West Africans explored the Atlantic in large ocean-going canoes. The Chinese and the Muslims were not the only peoples to explore the maritime world before the Europeans. What was the maritime progress of Malayo-Polynesians, Africans, and Amerindians before 1450 Malayo-Polynesians traveled the Pacific basin for thousands of years, covering several thousand miles in relatively small craft. Linguistic and biological evidence supports the intentional nature of Malayo-Polynesian expansion. West Africans explored the Atlantic in large ocean-going canoes. South American Arawaks and Caribs colonized the islands and territories of the Caribbean basin and also undertook voyages to the North American mainland.

Europeans were not the first to explore the world and come in contact with far-off peoples and lands. What were the maritime patterns of global exploration of the Chinese and Muslims before 1450? Chinese exploration, particularly that of the Ming, who sponsored several imperial fleets. These fleets were meant to extend not only trade, but also Ming dominion and power. Some indication of the size and power of the Ming fleets in relation to European fleets is important. These fleet were more grand and more impressive than the later European fleets. The Chinese, however, quickly abandoned maritime expansion in favor of their land-based empire. The rise of Medieval Islam led to a network of traders in the Indian Ocean.

What was the impact of the Spanish in the Americas, as compared with the Portuguese in Africa and the East? What enabled the Spanish to conquer such enormous territory with so few men? The Spanish were more likely to seek territory and conquest, whereas the Portuguese preferred trading partners. Besides, Amerindians had been completely isolated from the rest of the world—in contrast to the peoples that the Portuguese encountered, who were not strangers to world commerce. Epidemic disease reduced the Amerindian population dramatically, allowing the Spanish to gain a foothold. Spanish steel swords, armor, horses, firearms, and deceit, along with allies among the Amerindians, finished the conquest that disease had begun. Spanish imposition of forced labor and religious conversion helped control Spain’s new empire.

European overseas expansion before 1550 was the product of two related phenomena. What were these phenomena, and how did they encourage European expansion? First, European economic, religious, and political incentives should be explored. Europe’s commercial revival, and in particular trade with the East, was a motivating factor in exploration. Political unification and the era of the new monarchies played a major role, as did the desire to expand Christianity. Second, maritime and military technologies allowed the full expression of those incentives, resulting in overseas expansion. The development of the caravel, new mapping and navigation skills, and firearms all contributed to the ability of Europeans to explore and conquer.

Describe the maritime history of the Vikings? They were the greatest sailors of the Atlantic in the early Middle Ages. They sailed small open boats to raid European villages for centuries. They discovered and settled many north Atlantic islands. Vikings discovered Iceland in 1770 and Greenland in 982. It is believed one group came in sight of North America in 986. Fifteen years later, Leif Erikson created a settlement on Newfoundland.

In what ways were interactions between East Africans and the Portuguese similar or different than those interactions of the Portuguese and West Africans? Early Portuguese visitors sometimes failed to make a favorable impression on African rulers, but Portuguese officials were not above using displays of pomp and pageantry to try to impress Africans. The permanent outposts Europeans established along the coast were primarily for commerce. The existence and continued operations of the Portuguese could be halted if Africans so desired. Trade for slaves was not unequal; the Portuguese did not offer valueless trinkets in exchange. Some African kingdoms rejected missionaries and Christianity, while others embraced them. In East Africa, the situation was quite different, partly because of Muslim suspicion of Portuguese motives. Except for their allies Malindi and Ethiopia, the Portuguese bombarded and assaulted rival trading centers. For instance, a fleet of eighty-one Portuguese ships and seven thousand men devastated Swahili coastal cities. Portuguese power was ocean-based and exerted very little control on land. Thus, the maritime trading cities and empires of the Indian Ocean were much more vulnerable than the land-based empires of West Africa.