1. The Age of Exploration Mr. Epps World History SSWH10
Pages ,
Mr. Epps
World History
SSWH10
Chapters 13 and 16

2. Zheng He (pronounced “Jung Huh”)
Chinese Explorer
- Scale of Ming expeditions reflects imperial China’s resources and importance
- Admiral Zheng He commanded expeditions for Ming China
: Forfeited voyages due to increased interaction with “barbarians”
Chapter 16, pages
Mentioned in Crash Course video #21, Columbus, de Gama, and Zheng He! 15th Century Mariners,

3. Iberian Background
Context from pages
By 1250, Iberian kingdoms of Portugal, Castile, and Aragon had reconquered all of Iberia except the Muslim kingdom of Granada.
Political marriage of Isabelle of Castile & Ferdinand of Aragon in facilitated the conquest of Granada & the creation of Spain, 16th century Europe’s most powerful state.
Iberian rulers & their adventurous subjects sought material returns.

4. Motives for Exploration
Four trends that
accompanied
Portuguese & Spanish
exploration:
1. The revival of urban life and trade.
2. The unique alliance between merchants and rulers in Europe.
3. A struggle with Islamic powers for dominance in the Mediterranean that mixed religious motives with the desire for trade.
4. Growing intellectual curiosity about the outside world.
Pages

5. Portuguese Voyages
Prince Henry the Navigator: devoted most of his life to exploration.
- Converted Africans to Christianity.
- Launched crusades against Muslims.
- Desire to reach India.
He improved navigational instruments:
Cartography
Astrolabe
Compass
Page 432, mentioned in Crash Course video #21, Columbus, de Gama, and Zheng He! 15th Century Mariners,

6. European Sailing Technologies
Caravel: small, highly maneuverable three-masted ship
Triangular lateen sails for improved maneuverability
- Square Atlantic sails for increased speed
- Small cannons
- Knowledge of ocean winds
Page 433, mentioned in Crash Course video #21, Columbus, de Gama, and Zheng He! 15th Century Mariners,

7. Portuguese in Africa and Asia
Portuguese raids on the NW coast of Africa & the Canary Islands during the 1400s initiated a profitable slave trade.
Portuguese crown continued to sponsor exploration; commercial interests, like the gold trade, fueled private expeditions.
Gold Coast: region in West Africa named for its gold exports to Europe
Bartolomeu Dias: led the first expedition to sail from the Atlantic around the southern tip of Africa & sight the Indian Ocean. ( )
Mentioned in Crash Course video #21, Columbus, de Gama, and Zheng He! 15th Century Mariners,

8. Portuguese & Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama: led the
first naval expedition from Europe to sail to India,
opened an important commercial sea route
- Did not make a great impression on the citizens of India’s city of Calicut when he arrived in 1498
- Residents and Muslim officials showed mild interest
in the new Portuguese trading partners, since his gifts were somewhat comical
Page 432, mentioned in Crash Course video #21, Columbus, de Gama, and Zheng He! 15th Century Mariners,

9. Pick up the speed, Spain
In contrast to Portugal’s planed expeditions, Spain’s discoveries were results of haste and blind luck.
- Spanish kingdoms were preoccupied with internal affairs: re-conquest of Iberia from the Muslims and the conversion of minorities
- Portuguese had already found a new route to the Indian Ocean by the time Spanish monarchs were ready to turn to overseas exploration
Pages , mentioned in Crash Course video #21, Columbus, de Gama, and Zheng He! 15th Century Mariners,

10. Columbus and Spanish Exploration
The leader of the Spanish overseas
mission was Christopher Columbus, a
mariner from Genoa
Four voyages between 1492 and 1504 established the existence of a vast new
world across the Atlantic
Pages , mentioned in Crash Course video #21, Columbus, de Gama, and Zheng He! 15th Century Mariners,

11. Columbus and Spanish Exploration
Columbus, however, refused to accept
that he had found unknown continents &
people; he insisted he had simply found a
shorter route to the Indian Ocean
Serious misreading of the maps of the
time led Columbus to believe that the
Canary Islands were a mere 2400 nautical
miles from Japan; the actual distance was 5x as far
Pages , mentioned in Crash Course video #21, Columbus, de Gama, and Zheng He! 15th Century Mariners,

12. Columbus It was not easy for Columbus to
find a sponsor willing to take on
the costs of testing his theory that
one could reach Asia by sailing
west. Finally succeeded by
gaining support of Ferdinand and
Isabelle.
Crew of 90 men departed on
August 3, 1492 toward “the
regions of India”. The expedition traveled in three small ships: the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.
He insisted on calling the inhabitants “Indians” because he believed he had arrived at the East Indies.
Pages , mentioned in Crash Course video #21, Columbus, de Gama, and Zheng He! 15th Century Mariners,

13. Amerigo Vespucci
Amerigo Vespucci’s explorations, on behalf of Spain and Portugal, led mapmakers to name the new continents “America” after him, rather than “Columbia” after Columbus.
Page 433

14. Treaty of Tordesillas - 1494
Spain
Portugal
Drew an imaginary line down the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean; given European’s ignorance of the earth’s true size at the time, the division still did not settle all disputes
Ferdinand Magellan: led the Spanish expedition of that was the first to sail around the entire world.
Despite Magellan’s death during his voyage, he is considered the first person to encircle the globe.
Page 433, Pope Alexander VI in 1494 settled a dispute between Portugal and Spain, mentioned in Crash Course video #21, Columbus, de Gama, and Zheng He! 15th Century Mariners,

15. The Americas
The Spanish established a vast territorial empire in the Americas in contrast to the trading empires the Portuguese created in Africa and Asia.
The Spanish and Portuguese had similar motives for expansion and used identical ships and weapons.
It was the spread of new diseases, especially smallpox, among Amerindians after 1518 that weakened their ability to resist and facilitated Spanish and Portuguese occupation.
Pages

16. Conquistadors
They sought to serve God by defeating nonbelievers and placing them under Christian control.
Conquistadors: conquerors of Mexico, Central America, and Peru. New expeditions searched for gold and labor sources across the region.
Pages

17. The Conquest of the Aztecs
After demonstrating his military skills in a series of battles with the Maya, Cortés learned of the rich Aztec Empire in central Mexico. They came as allies (friends).
Emperor Montezuma of the Aztecs hesitated to use force and attempted diplomacy instead. Cortés pushed toward Tenochtitlan using firearms, cavalry, and steel swords.
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18. The Conquest of the Aztecs
Montezuma was quickly imprisoned by Cortés and his treasury was looted.
The Spanish massacred hundreds during a religious festival which provoked a mass rebellion. Montezuma also died.
Disease (smallpox) aided in the capture of Tenochtitlan and other expeditions in the coming years.
Pages

19. The Conquest of the Inca
Atahualpa defeated his brother in a battle *and imprisoned him* for the throne of the empire.
Francisco Pizarro (Spanish) entered the region in 1530.
Having seen signs of the civil war that had just occurred, Pizarro arranged to meet the Incan emperor, Atahualpa.
Pages

20. The Conquest of the Inca
With brutality, Pizarro executed Atahualpa and his followers as soon as they arrived at the meeting.
Pizarro established a new capital at Lima in 1535.
Pages