Ch. 17: The Maritime Revolution, to 1550

I. Global Maritime Expansion Before 1450

A. The Pacific Ocean Over several thousand years, people from the Malay peninsula crossed to the islands of the East Indies, New Guinea, Melanesia, Polynesia, the Marquesas, New Zealand, and other islands out to Hawaii. Polynesian expansion was the result of planned voyages with the intent of establishing colonies. Mariners navigated by stars and by observations of ocean currents and evidence of land.

B. The Indian Ocean i. Malayo-Indonesians colonized Madagascar in a series of voyages that continued through the 15th century. ii. Arab seafarers used the monsoon patterns to establish Indian Ocean trade routes. The routes flourished as the rise of Islam created new markets and new networks of Muslim traders.

iii. Chinese Ming dynasty sponsored voyages 1405-1433 iii. Chinese Ming dynasty sponsored voyages 1405-1433. Voyages on grand scale, involving fleets of over 60 large “treasure ships” & hundreds of support vessels. iv. Treasure ships carried out trade in luxury goods (silk, precious metals) as well as stimulating diplomatic relations w/ African and Asian states. Voyages ended in 1433 (not profitable, opposed in court).

c. The Atlantic Ocean i. During relatively warm centuries of early MA, the Vikings, navigating by stars & seas, explored/settled Iceland, Greenland, & Newfoundland (Vinland). When colder climate returned after 1200, northern settlements in Greenland & settlement in Newfoundland were abandoned.

ii. Some southern Europeans and Africans attempted to explore the Atlantic (Sea of Darkness) in 14th & 15th centuries. Voyagers from Genoa (1291) and Mali (1300s) never returned. Genoese & Portuguese explorers discovered & settled the Madeiras, Azores, & Canaries in 14th cen.

iii. In Americas, the S. American Arawak colonized the Lesser & Greater Antilles by 1000. The Carib (cannibals) followed, 1st to Lesser & (by late 15th cen.) then to Greater.

II. European Expansion, 1400-1550

a. Background to European Expansion Iberian kingdoms sponsored voyages for a number of reasons, including adventurous personalities of leaders & long-term trends in Eur. historical dev.: revival of trade, struggle w/Islam for control of Mediterranean, curiosity about outside world, & alliances between rulers & merchants.

ii. City-states of N. Italy had no incentive for Atlantic routes because they had a system of alliances & trade with the Muslims that gave them a monopoly on Asian goods. (Also, Italian ships were designed for sheltered Mediterranean & could not handle Atlantic storms.) iii. Iberian kingdoms had a history of centuries of warfare w/Muslims, no significant share in Med. trade, advanced shipbuilding & cannon technology, were open to new geographical knowledge, & had exceptional leaders.

b. Portuguese Voyages i. Portuguese gained more knowledge of gold & slaves S. of Sahara when forces, led by Prince Henry (the Navigator) captured Moroccan port of Ceuta. Henry then sponsored a research & navigation institute @ Sagres to collect info about & send expeditions to sub-Saharan Africa.

ii. Research institute staff studied & improved navigational instruments, including compass & astrolabe. Designed new vessel, the caravel, w/ small size, shallow draft, square & lateen sails, & cannon making it well-suited for exploration.

iii. Portuguese explored the African coast, reaching Cape Verde in 1444 & learning to return to Portugal faster by sailing NW into the Atlantic & picking up prevailing westerly winds. iv. Voyages initially financed by income from properties held by Prince Henry’s Order of Christ. 1440s, voyages began to produce a financial return (1st from slave trade, then from gold).

v. Beginning in 1469, exploration sped up as private commercial enterprises got involved. Lisbon merchant Fernao Gomes sent voyages that discovered/developed island of Sao Tome & explored Gold Coast. Bartolomeu Dias rounded Africa (Cape of Storms, now Good Hope) & Vasco da Gama established direct contact w/ India, laying the basis for a Portuguese maritime trading empire.

c. Spanish Voyages i. When Columbus approached Spain w/ project of finding a new route to Asia, the Portuguese had already established their Indian Ocean route. Ferdinand & Isabella agreed to fund a modest voyage (& celebrate Reconquista), & Columbus sailed in 1492 w/ letters of intro to Asian rulers & an Arabic translator.

ii. After 3 voyages, Columbus still believed he had found Asia, but others realized they were “new” lands (Amerigo Vespucci). New discoveries led to Spain & Portugal signing Treaty of Tordesillas, dividing world along a line down the center of the N. Atlantic. Spain got W., Portugal got E. (and so got Brazil).

iii. Magellan’s voyage across the Pacific confirmed Portugal’s claim to the Moluccas & established a Spanish claim to Philippines. 1st circumnavigation.

III. Encounters with Europe, 1450-1550

a. Western Africa i. During 15th cen., many Africans welcomed Portuguese & profited from/held upper hand in trade. In return for gold, Africans received a variety of Asian, African, & European goods (including firearms). Interaction between Portuguese & African rulers varied place-to-place.

ii. The oba (king) of Benin sent an ambassador to Portugal & established a royal monopoly on Portuguese trade. Benin exported a number of goods, including slaves, & rulers showed a mild interest in Christianity. After 1538, Benin limited contact w/ Portugal, declining missionaries & closing market in male slaves. iii. Kingdom of Kongo had fewer goods & thus relied more on slave trade. When Christian king Afonso I lost monopoly over slave trade his power was weakened & subjects revolted.

b. Eastern Africa Some Muslim states were suspicious of the Portuguese, while others welcomed them as allies in struggle against neighbors. On Swahili Coast, Malindi befriended Portuguese & was spared when Portuguese attacked/looted many other Swahili city-states in 1505. Christian Ethiopia sought & gained Portuguese support in war against Muslims of Adal. Muslims defeated, but Ethiopians failed to make a long-term alliance w/ Portuguese because they refused to transfer allegiance from patriarch of Alexandria to pope.

c. Indian Ocean States i. When da Gama arrived in Calicut in 1498 he made a poor impression w/ simple gifts. Nonetheless, Portuguese were determined to control I.O. trade, & superior ships & firepower gave them ability to do so. ii. In order to assert control, Portuguese bombarded Swahili city-states in 1505, captured Indian port of Goa in 1510, & took Hormuz in 1515. Extending eastward, captured Malacca in 1511 & set up trading post @ Macao in S. China in 1557.

iii. Portuguese used control over major ports to require that all spices be carried in Portuguese ships and that all other ships purchase Portuguese passports & pay customs duties to Portuguese. iv. Reactions to aggression varied. Mughal emperors took no action; Ottomans resisted & maintained superiority on Red Sea & Persian Gulf. Some smaller states cooperated; others tried evasion & resistance.

v. Portuguese never gained complete control of I. O v. Portuguese never gained complete control of I.O. trade, but dominated it enough to bring themselves considerable profit & break Italian city-states’ monopoly on pepper.

d. The Americas

i. While the Portuguese built a maritime trading empire in Africa & Asia, the Spanish built a territorial empire in the Americas. Reasons for difference: isolation of Amerindian communities & lack of resistance to Old World diseases.

ii. Arawak: agricultural. Worked gold but no long-distance trade ii. Arawak: agricultural. Worked gold but no long-distance trade. No iron. Spanish wars killed tens of thousands of Arawaks & undermined economy; by 1510, remaining Arawak of Hispaniola were forced to serve as laborers for Spanish. iii. In Antilles, extension of actions against Muslims in previous centuries: defeating non-Christians & putting them & their lands under Christian control. Actions of conquistadors in other parts of Caribbean followed same pattern.

iv. On mainland, Hernan Cortes relied on native alliances, cavalry charges, steel swords, & cannon to defeat Aztecs & capture Tenochtitlan. Conquest aided by spread of smallpox. Similarly, Francisco Pizarro’s conquest of the Inca was made possible by prior spread of smallpox among Inca population, dissatisfaction of Inca Empire’s recently conquered peoples, & by Spanish cannon & steel swords.

e. Patterns of Dominance i. 3 factors contributed to Spain’s ability to establish a vast land empire in the Americas: 1) Amerindians had no resistance to E. Hemisphere diseases (part of Columbian Exchange); 2) Spanish superior military technology (swords, armor, horses, some firearms), combined w/ aggressive fighting techniques & local allies; 3) Spain’s ability to apply pattern of conquest, forced labor, & forced conversion – pattern from Reconquista – to Americas.

ii. In the Eastern Hemisphere, Africans & Asians shared same diseases as Europeans & had enough numbers to resist Eur. forces when necessary. Portuguese & Spanish were able to gain profit by engaging in existing trade networks, which meant they could gain wealth without conquering territory.

IV. Conclusion i. The opening of new trade routes linking the Indian O., the Atlantic, and the Pacific marks a turning point in world history: the beginning of the “modern” period. ii. The simple fact of opening new trade routes was not unprecedented. What was significant about the European maritime rev. was that it laid the basis for long-term European economic & territorial expansion and for a new age of growing global interaction.