The Age of Exploration

Why explore? …Causes Renaissance = discovery and innovation

Italians control trade with Asia (via Mediterranean)

Causes… Missionaries want to spread their

religion

Others: Fame and Glory, Curiosity

Why now? Advances in Technology Compass and Astrolabe (from

China)

TechnologyAdvances in shipbuilding:

Bigger ships withstand bad weather

The Caravel

Rudder

Lateen Sails

Portuguese:

Henry the Navigator – set up a school to teach navigation/create maps

Goal – find a route

around Africa to India

Vasco Da Gama – Sailed to India

Portugal sets up trade w/ India

Spain and Portugal – first to set sail

The SpanishColumbus – 1492 travels to

America (Hispaniola)

Amerigo Vespucci – Travels to South America, realizes it’s not Asia

Balboa – 1513 crosses Panama

first European to see Pacific

Ferdinand Magellan 1519-1522 - Lead the first

expedition around the world, died on the way

English

Cabot – 1497 sails to coast of Canada

Sir Francis Drake – Went around South America, accidentally sailed around the world

Henry Hudson 1607 -

Searched for Northwest

Passage around North

America

Found NY and Canada

Colony:

Settlement founded

by a “mother

country,” usually

for profit

Spanish Colonization Ecomienda system: Settler is given

natives as slaves to work the land, he must teach them Christianity

Conquistador – Spanish military leaders who fought natives

Hernan Cortez Conquistador who

conquered the Aztecs

Used Aztec enemies against them

Captured/killed Moctezuma II

Francisco Pizarro – Conquistador who killed the Incan Emperor and took over Incan empire

The Spanish held Americas

Colonization:conquering and

maintaining control of a territory

Viceroy – Spanish officials in charge of colonial territory

Economics of Colonialism

Mercantalism = Colonies exsist to make $$$ for mother

country

Spanish colonies mined gold and silver and sent it back to Spain

Effects of Ecomienda System

Native populations decrease by 90%

Bartolome de Las Casas – suggests using African slaves instead

Portugal Wants Colonies

Claims South American Territory

Conflict with Spain

Pope steps in (2x)

Treaty of Tordesillas

West of the line = Spanish

East of the line = Portuguese

Treaty of Tordesillas

Colony of Brazil – large plantations, worked by Native and later African Slaves

Becomes $$$-maker for Portugal

French“New France” (aka Canada )

No gold or silver

But…

Fish + Fur = $$$

So…

No large settlements,

mostly trappers/traders

Dutch Colony of New Netherland

New Amsterdam

Focused on other colonies

English Several small colonies, not money makers – at first

The Columbian Exchange

Contact between Europe and Americas leads to

plants/animals spreading to new locations

Effects of Columbian Exchange

Positive

New types of food means better nutrition

People live longer

Negative

Diseases also spread

Significant decreases in the native population

(They die, a lot)

Effects on NativesPopulation

Inca

1492 – 13 million

1600 – 2 million

Native Americans

1492 – 2 million

1900 – 500,000

So, an alternative source of Slaves is needed

MercantilismNation’s wealth = Nation’s Strength

Wealth = Gold/Silver

Strength = ability to fund Military

Nations should have complete control of their economy

Mercantilism

Fixed amount of wealth in the world

2 ways to create wealth:

Colonies

Favorable Balance of trade

Favorable Balance of Trade:

“Better in than out”

more $$$ coming into country than going out

high tariffs on imports

Colonies exist to create wealth for mother country

Colonies should not trade with other countries

Colonies should buy

from mother country

Capitalism

Private ownership of means of production in order to create wealth (profits)

Joint-Stock Companies

Investors pool money into one larger business

Buy shares, get that share of profits

Risk only money invested

The Atlantic Slave Trade

Plantations raise cash crops on a large scale

Need cheap labor

Natives die a lot

African Slaves

The Triangle Trade

The Middle Passage

Effects

15-20 Million Africans enslaved

Western Africa devastated and divided

African Diaspora – diffusion of African Culture around the world