Early European Exploration

1. Early European Exploration The BIG Ideas… • Why did the Iberians (Portuguese and Spanish nations on the Iberian Peninsula) begin exploring the Atlantic and Indian Oceans in the 1400s? • What were the consequences of this exploration?

2. Reasons for European Exploration (especially by Spain and Portugal)

3. 1. 1257/1492 C.E.Reconquista • Years that Muslims were defeated in Portugal and Spain • Wars create a sense of national identity • New Monarchs consolidated power and the desire to convert people to Christianity was strong

4. 2. Declining Trade • Asian/North African cities were hit hard by Plague – Trade routes disrupted • Luxury goods were scarce & expensive • …a perfect time to make $$$ through trade! Black Plague Buboe

5. 3. Collapse of Pax Mongolica • Silk Roads unsafe, so trade slows down • Desire for Indian cotton, E. African gold, S.E. Asian Spices, Chinese silks & porcelain remained strong

6. 4. Fall of Constantinople • 1453 C.E., Ottoman Empire defeats the Byzantine Empire • Muslims in total control of trade routes • cuts off access to Slavs (slaves = cheap labor) from the Balkans • Jacked up prices on luxury goods

7. What Made European Exploration Possible? • Improvements in maritime and military technologies • Compass, caravel ship, astrolabe and sextant, gunpowder • Revival of urban life & trade • Desire for trade to acquire Asian Luxury Products • Governments in Europe were willing to sponsor exploration with financial backing, in the hopes of making money

8. Portuguese Exploration • Geographically it was natural to explore routes in the Atlantic Ocean • Henry the Navigator = opened a School of Navigation • Represents government support of exploration to seek trade • Study of navigation and cartography (mapmaking) • Improvements on magnetic compass and astrolabe • Creation of the caravel ship • 1st Action of Portugal = Attack on Ceuta ( a rich North African city) in 1415 • Interest in gold and slaves

9. Portuguese Exploration • Portugal’s Goal = Go AROUND Africa to reach Asia • As they moved down the Africa coast… • Portugal LEASED a West African trade port from Songhai and traded peacefully for gold, ivory, pepper • Were NOT strong enough to dominate – had to pay for trading rights • Exchanged guns, cannons, metal goods for African gold • They took over some tropical islands, where they began to grow sugar • 1497-1498: Vasco da Gama sailed around Africa and reached India – he traded at the IOMS port of Calicut for spices (mostly pepper). - This wide swing around West Africa to catch the current led to the discovery of South America (Brazil) in 1500

11. Changes in IOMS Trade • Before = no central control. • Traders operated independently of governments • Portuguese introduced use of organized gov’t military force to the system • Governments invested in the success of trading operations • Sugar was produced by slaves off the coast of Europe/West Africa – slave trade from W. Africa picks up • A new “Atlantic System” of trade develops

13. Portuguese possessions at their height Red = actual ownership Pink = areas of influence Blue = area of first European Exploration LESSON: EUROPEANS GAINED SMALL COASTAL ENCLAVES in the IOMS– THAT’S IT!

14. Spanish Exploration • Spain was worried about Portuguese successes gaining trade through a route around Africa • Spain’s monarchs purposefully sponsored voyages by Christopher Columbus • The Goal was NOT to find a “New World” or to explore without purpose. The Goal was to get to Asia by going around the other wide of the globe. • Treaty of Tordesillas (1494): Spain and Portugal drew an imaginary line down the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean – splitting the world’s territory in ½ between themselves. LOL (See “hubris” in the dictionary)

16. Spanish Conquests • Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the Caribbean allows Spain to being growing sugar • Spain also sent “conquistadors” to create colonies in the Americas • Aztecs – conquered in 1519 • Incas – conquered in 1532 • Mostly, diseases like smallpox helped the small, weak government of Spain conquer these huge empires of millions of people

17. The Atlantic Trade System After Portugal and Spain’s explorations, Europe FINALLY HAS A TRADING SYSTEM THEY CAN PARTICIPATE IN! WOOHOOOO! Other European nations like the Netherlands, England, and France soon get in on the game.

19. Trade Develops/Atlantic Slave Trade Begins • West African Kingdoms = Empire Building • Kongo, Benin, Ashanti • W. African Empires begin using male POWs from African wars to sell to European in the Atlantic System. • Europeans traded guns for slaves • Slave trade was controlled by Africans at first • After about 100 years, slaves were the #1 export. This disrupted population patterns, b/c so many men were taken into slavery.