1. 7/30/2019
The Atlantic World –1800
Chapter 17

2. Spanish Conquests in the Americas
Early European explorers were motivated by Three G’s— Guns, Glory, and God—and powered by new technologies:
caravel, triangular sails, astrolabe, and magnetic compass
Columbus was soon followed by conquistadors
Hernando Cortés conquered the Aztecs 1521
Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca 1532
Their advantages were superior technology and nasty germs
steel swords and armor
gunpowder
horses
smallpox
Manipulated Native alliances and religious beliefs

3. Competing Claims in North America
The English, Dutch, and French
Made claims in North America
Colonies were economic enterprises or religious havens
Jamestown 1607
Plymouth 1620
The French and Indian War (1754 – 1763)
England defeated the French and won much of North America

4. 1544 cartography
Ferdinand Magellan
Led expedition to circumnavigate the globe,
Killed in the Philippines, 1521

5. The Atlantic Slave Trade
Slaves were needed to work the plantations of the new world
Spain’s encomienda system was failing as the Native population declined
Bartolomé de Las Casas
Spanish monk who suggested using Africans
Triangular trade (transatlantic network)
Europeans manufactured goods
Africans traded slaves for manufactured goods
The Americas were used to produce raw materials
Tobacco, sugar, coffee, rum, molasses, rice, etc…

7. The Columbian Exchange

8. A Commercial Revolution
Capitalism
Private ownership
Investment of wealth for profit
Joint-stock companies
People pooled their cash to invest in trading missions
Mercantilism
Power depends on wealth
Self-sufficient nations
Towns, Cities, and the Merchant class grew