Early European Explorations

Why did the Iberians (Portuguese and Spanish) sail first?

Why did Europeans go on voyages at all?

Portuguese possessions at their height

Red = actual ownershipPink = areas of influenceBlue = area of first European Exploration

LESSON: EUROPEANS GAINED SMALL COASTAL ENCLAVES – THAT’S IT!

1. Internal Factors• Poor, faced ocean• Small country

(Portugal), primogeniture

• Excellent navigators and ship builders (gained compass, astrolabe, improved sails, caravel)

2. 1257/1492 C.E.

• Year that Muslims were defeated in Portugal and Spain

• No more Muslim rule

• Wars create a sense of national identity

• Monarchs consolidated power

3. Trade• Asian/North African cities were hit hard by

Plague

• Luxury goods scarce & $$$• Around 1400, Europe was in recovery, perfect

time to make $$$ through trade!

Black Plague Buboe

4. Fall of Constantinople

• 1453 C.E., Muslims in total control of trade routes

• cuts off access to Slavs (slaves = cheap labor) from the Balkans

• Jacked up prices on luxury goods

5. The Middle Man

• Desired to cut Muslims out

• Wanted GOLD

• Wanted pepper/spices

• Wanted porcelain

• Desired to go directly to the source

5. Collapse of Pax Mongolica

• Silk Road unsafe

• How to get Indian cotton, E. African gold, S.E. Asian Spices? – go around Africa to reach the riches of India

by H2O!

Need + Opportunity + Skill =

European Exploration

Portugal Makes its Move• 1415 C.E. – Sack Moroccan city of Ceuta

•

• Discover there is a LOT of gold there

• New Goal = reach Songhai by sailing around West Africa to the source

Ceuta

Difficulties• Water Currents – can go down not up

• Prince Henry the Navigator; opens a

school to figure it all out

• 1462 – Reach around the bulge of W. Africa

• Songhai – Portugal LEASED a port and traded peacefully for gold, ivory, pepper

• Were NOT strong enough to dominate – had to pay for trading rights

• Exchanged guns, cannons, metal goods

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 extract gold to trade w/ Europeans. 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.

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