Chapter 19The Age of Exploration

History BackgroundFactors leading to the Age of

Exploration◦The Crusades – Europeans wanted

Asian goods◦Marco Polo’s visit to China – made

people curious about the East.◦Navigation easier and more

accurate.◦Renaissance cartographers improved

map making.◦Improvements to wind driven ships

made transoceanic voyages possible.

Countries sought own routes to EastItalian city-states monopolized

trade routes to AsiaPortugal explored the African

coast.Vasco da Gama (Portugese)

sailed around Africa and on to India.

Spain (Christopher Columbus) tried to reach India by going west. Americas came first!

Consequences of Reaching AmericasSpain and Portugal gained

wealth.Aztecs and Incas fell to superior

technology and disease.Soon English, French, and Dutch

laid claim to the “New Worlds”Native American cultures fell.

Europe profitsDevelop industriesBuild armies and naviesBirth of capitalismCapitalism led to greater wealth

among individuals and nations.

RevolutionaryGeographic knowledge of the

worldNative American and African

cultures exposedEconomic and political power to

western European nations◦Sets the stage for more revolutionary

changes.

Section 1: The Voyages of DiscoveryCartography – the science of

making maps and globesCaravel – a small, narrow ship

with two or three masts and triangular sails

Galleon – a large, fast ship with three masts and both square and triangular sails that carried trade goods and treasures.

Circumnavigate – sail completely around

Shipbuilding RevolutionCaravel: fast and easy

to maneuver in various wind and sea conditions

Galleon: for long-distance trips needing more room for supplies and a large crew

Successful VoyagesAdvances in Technology

◦More accurate maps and globes◦Magnetic compass◦Astrolabe◦Faster, lighter sailing ships instead of

heavy, slow rowing ships

Voyages – PortugueseBartolomeu Dias: 1488; first

Europeans to sail past Cape of Good Hope. Now known you could reach Indian Ocean by sea.

Vasco da Gama: 1497; round Cape of Good Hope on to India and returned to Portugal. Charted a round-trip route from Europe to Asia

Voyages - Columbus1492; set sail (with backing from

Spain) west Landed in what is now the

BahamasThought that the distance from

Europe west to Asia was thousands of miles less than it really was.

Made three return voyages

Voyages – The “New World”1500, Pedro Cabral, sailed to

South America (thought he was going to the Indian Ocean)

1501, Amerigo Vespucci concluded that Columbus had discovered a “New World”

A German cartographer named the new world “America”, a Latin version of Vespucci’s first name.

Voyages - Magellan1519, Ferdinand Magellan sailed

from Spain with 5 ships and a crew of over 250

Eventually landed in the Philippine Islands.

Magellan died in a battle with the islanders.

1522, one of Magellan’s ships (along with 18 surviving crew members) made it back to Spain.

They circumnavigated the world!

New View of the World“The hidden half of the globe is

brought to light”Revealed the extent of Africa and

the existence of the AmericasEuropeans wanted to know about

world geographyPrinters made portable atlasesGerardus Mercator published a

new world map.

Gerardus MercatorPublished a new world mapSpherical Earth shown on a flat

gridCame to be known as Mercator

projectionsStill used by sailors today.

Section 2: The Conquest of the AmericasBullion – precious metals melted

into bars

Immunity – the ability of the body to fight a disease

Colonization – the process of taking over territory, creating new government, and settling towns

The Spanish Conquer Two EmpiresCortes defeats Moctezuma

◦Had two interpreters that gave Cortes vital information about the Aztecs.

◦Formed alliances with Aztec enemies◦Took Moctezuma prisoner while being an

honored guest◦Moctezuma killed in the battle between the

Spanish and the Aztecs◦Spanish forced to retreat. Cortes returned for

another try.◦Smallpox epidemic killed many Aztecs.◦The survivors surrendered in August 1521

Aztec Poem

“Nothing but flowers and songs of sorrow

Are left in Mexico and Tlatelolco…

We are crushed to the ground;

We lie in ruins.”

Francisco PizarroPizarro took advantage of chaos

caused by smallpox, civil war, and a divided Inca Empire.

Invited Atahualpa to a friendly meeting and threw him in prison.

Pizarro rejected the Inca ransom and had Atahualpa killed.

Without a leader, the Incas fell to the Spaniards in Cuzco 1533.

The Impact of ConquestEnriched Spain but devastated

the Aztecs and IncasSpanish colonies brought great

wealth to Spain; millions of Aztecs/Incas wiped out from disease and their cultural treasures destroyed

The wealth of the Spanish colonies in the Americas led to other Europeans’ desire for colonies in the Americas.

The Impact of ConquestConquistadors melted down

carved gold ornaments, statues, and wall decorations.

These masterpieces of Aztec and Inca art were lost forever.

Conquistadors also ruined cities and built their own.◦Tore down Templo Mayor; built

Mexico city over the ruins

The Impact of ConquestConquistadors destroyed

temples, statues of Gods, and books

Killed native priestsCalled the quipus “books of the

devil” and burned them.All Inca history was lost; Aztec

history books were burned.Millions of Aztecs/Incas died from

smallpox, but the Spanish were immune.

Section 3 – The Planting of ColoniesColumbian Exchange: the

exchange of people, other living things, and ideas between the Eastern and Western hemispheres

Missionaries: church members who try to convert people to a particular religion.

Mission: a religious settlement or base where missionaries work

Global EmpiresEuropean nations founded global

empires.◦Trading Posts helped people to trade freely◦Colonies were established around the world◦Missions were built so church members

could live there and preach their beliefs to others.

◦Europeans established three types of settlements: trading posts, colonies, and missions.

Missionaries’ SuccessMost Successful: China, Japan,

Philippine Islands

Least Successful: New France and English colonies

The Columbian ExchangeThe great voyages of discovery

started a global exchange or people, plants, animals, diseases, and ideas.

Plants:◦Maize (or corn), sugar cane, and

many morePeople:

◦Enslaved Africans, European and Asian immigrants

The Columbian ExchangeAnimals:

◦Horses, cows, pigs, goats, chickens

Other goods:◦Diseases, ideas, and beliefs

The Columbian ExchangeFrom the Americas to Europe, Africa, and Asia:MaizePotatoBeansPeanutSquashPeppersTomatoCocoa

From Europe, Africa, and Asia to the Americas:WheatSugarBananaRiceHorsePigCowChickensmallpox

Section 4: The Origins of Modern CapitalismCottage industry: the use of

workers at home with their own equipment

Traditional economy: an economy in which the exchange of goods is based on custom

Market economy: an economy in which prices and the distribution of goods are based on competition in a market

The Beginnings of CapitalismCapitalism is an economy based

on the private ownership of property and the use of property to compete for profits, or gains, in a market.

Main goal: to make the largest possible profit!

Key Parts of CapitalismFree market (sellers compete to

supply goods). Supply and demand – the price revolution

Using money to make even more profits

Landownership◦English landowners forced peasants

off the land so they could use it to produce wool for sale. Wool was more profitable than farming.

MercantilismAn economic policy that

promotes building a nation’s strength by expanding its trade.

Goal: bring as much wealth as possible into the country.

Believed the main goal of trade was to make a nation more powerful.

Money from trade paid for strong powerful armies and navies.

Impact of MercantilismSellers’ countries got richerBuyers’ countries got poorer

Trading patterns increasedRaw materials often found in

faraway lands