The Beginning of the Global Age ca 1400s 1550s

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The Beginning of the Global Ageca 1400s 1550s

• The Search for Spices

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Motivations for Exploring the East

• Crusades introduced many Europeans to luxury
  goods from Asia
• Spices cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, cloves
• Spices preserve meat, add flavor, medicine,
  perfumes
• Black Death and break up of Mongol Empire
  disturbs trade
• Population grows again

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Spice Islands

• The chief source of spices could be found on the
  Moluccas an island chain in present day
  Indonesia
• Arabs and Italians controlled trade
• Europeans (outside of Italy) knew it would be
  more profitable if they had direct access to Asia

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Spice Islands
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Prince Henry the Navigator

• Portuguese
• 1415 Madeira, Azores, and Ceuta (north Africa)
• Felt Africa had a lot of promise
• Convert people to Christianity
• Another source of riches controlled by Muslims

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Prince Henry
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Bartholomeu Dias

• 1488 Rounded the southern tip of Africa
• Named the Cape of Good Hope because it opened
  the way for a sea route to Asia

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Vasco De Gama

• 1497 Reaches Calicut on the West coast of India
• Half his crew was lost
• Left a merchant whose main job was to buy spices
  and store it until he returned
• Portuguese would seize ports around India

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De Gama
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Christopher Columbus

• Italian
• Believed he could reach Asia by sailing West
  across the Atlantic Ocean
• Columbus believed the Earth was a sphere
• Under estimated the size of the Earth
• Portugal refused to sponsor him
• King Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain financed his
  voyage
• Strengthen Catholicism
• Spanish Inquisition weakened the nation in
  affluence and culture
• Wanted to Columbus voyage to bring them wealth
  and prestige

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Columbus
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Dividing the Globe in Half

• Line of Demarcation divided the non European
  world into two zones
• Spain east of the line (Americas)
• Portugal west of the line (Africa and India)
• Treaty of Tordesillas
• Other European nations saw this as arrogance
  entered the race for world exploration and
  domination

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Treaty of Tordesillas
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Ferdinand Magellan

• 1520 Reaches the southern tip of South America
• Straits of Magellan
• Names it the Pacific or peaceful
• 1522 reaches Philippines (he was killed)
• Crew first to circumnavigate around the globe

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Magellan