1. Age of Exploration

2. Early Modern Era ( )
The era that Europe ‘woke up’ (Renaissance – rebirth)
Old (Greco-Roman) and new (Chinese and Islamic)
knowledge poured in from the Islamic and Mongol world
This caused the Renaissance (rebirth) of
European knowledge, tech, and culture
The role of Europe changed to the dominant
world force in military and trade
these Europeans are here to stay and take your stuff!

5. European Renaissance (rebirth) 1300-1600
After centuries of world irrelevance in the Middle Ages, European knowledge
and power grew massively in the 15th and 16th centuries
Classical Greco-Roman knowledge was rediscovered through the crusades
( ) European invasions to reclaim the Jerusalem
The scholarly work was written in Greek and kept/translated by the Arabs
Knowledge also crept in through Muslim Spain (print)and Venetian trade
with the Abassid Caliphate, the Mongols, and the Ottoman Empire (Turks)
This new and rediscovered knowledge brought Europe out of the Middle Ages,
and advanced their tech and weaponry beyond the rest of the world

6. Ability to Explore – Route to China
New tech: caravel (small maneuverable ship
with lateen sails), compass, and astrolabe (mapmaking)
Additionally, the portolan map technique (based on time
and distance traveled) made it far easier to accurately chart
and navigate new areas
Europeans also developed a better understanding of global wind patterns
(trade winds and Westerlies) and harnessed their patterns for travel
Weaponization of gunpowder (cannons and guns) gave
Europeans a massive advantage vs. other civilizations

9. Reconnaissance
With these new techniques, the Europeans (Portuguese and Spanish first)
sought God (spreading Christianity), Gold (a path to the East), and Glory (conquest)
Exploration was far too expensive for individual merchants
and required the investment of multiple parties (joint stock)
Increasingly powerful and centralized monarchs
(kings) began to fund these explorations (Port/Spa)
Wealthy Italian-city states invested and sent their
knowledge, and well-educated & experienced sailors
Over the course of the next two centuries (1500s-1700s) Europeans would compete over
trade and territory, fighting wars, pirating, and establishing vast maritime empires

10. Portuguese Empire (1500s/1600s)

11. Exploration Begins
The first explorers were funded by Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal in
1443 to find a route around Africa to the Indian Ocean
Upon arrival, European guns were too powerful for Muslim and Indian empires,
so the Portuguese setup a ‘trade-post empire’
Portuguese ships captured towns and other ship, forcing
them to purchase a cartaz (a permit for trade – )
Within the next years, the Spanish, British, and Dutch also
captured areas within the Indian Ocean (as well as the rest of the world)
While Europeans did not have many goods to offer, they did control and run
the trade for high profits, thus enhancing trade networks already in existence***

13. Portuguese Empire (1500s/1600s)

14. Spanish Empire – 1500s-1700s

15. Spanish Success
Following Portugal’s lead, other Europeans enhanced existing Asian
trade routes by functioning as the trade transporters and profiteers
After the Portuguese setup their ‘trade post empire’ along the
African and Indian Ocean Coast, Spain focused on the Americas
Dividing the ‘New World,’ the pope split at Brazil
With Portugal getting the East, and Spain the West
Spain quickly went on to conquer for G/G/G, and amassed large
amounts of silver, gold, and income from overseas colonies (tobacco)
The success of Spain and Portugal encouraged the British, French, and Dutch to
join the fray in the 1600s, and begin settlement and trade post empires of their own