Early European Exploration

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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?

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Reasons for European Exploration (especially by
Spain and Portugal)
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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

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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
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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

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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

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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

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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

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Portuguese Exploration

• Portugals 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

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Changes in IOMS Trade

• Before no central control.
• Traders operated independently of governments
• Portuguese introduced use of organized govt
  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

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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 THATS IT!

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Spanish Exploration

• Spain was worried about Portuguese successes
  gaining trade through a route around Africa
• Spains 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 worlds
  territory in ½ between themselves. LOL (See
  hubris in the dictionary)

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Spanish Conquests

• Christopher Columbuss 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

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The Atlantic Trade System

• After Portugal and Spains 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.

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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.