Unit 3: Age of Exploration

1492-1660

Goals of this unit:

• To understand why Spain and Portugal were the leaders in early European Exploration.

• To develop an understanding of the Iberian system and its impact upon the social, economic, political, and religious developments in the New World.

• To gain an understanding of the Columbian Exchange and the African slave trade.

• To understand the changes in motivation and power as the Age of Exploration progressed.

The Iberian Golden Age• Conditions Favored Iberian Expansion–Muslim control of routes– Prices rising in Europe

• Portuguese and Spanish mastered new technology and techniques– Compasses, astrolabe (navigation aid to determine

distance)– Produced more accurate maps, charts– Built bigger ships to sail stormy Atlantic• Lateen sails AKA caravels

– Brass cannons to attack enemies from afar• Benefited from immunities to diseases that devastated

native populations in conquered areas

Iberian Golden Age

Motives:• Growing population called for more wealth• Spain: Reconquista – period of 600 years (9th-

15th centuries) of Spanish crusade against Muslim presence in Iberian peninsula–Provided fighting spirit, hoped to unite and

fight alongside Prester John in Ethiopian against the Muslim–Fueled by both war and economic goals

• Portugal: Avis Dynasty fueled by commerce

Portugal vs. Spain

• Portugal gained lead on Spain in 1400s– Claims along coast of West Africa– Led by Prince Henry the Navigator and Diaz• Took Cueta, later reached tip of Africa by 1488

• Spain began to challenge Portuguese claims– Conflict resolved in Treaty of Alcacovas (1479)– Columbus lobbied to both Portugal and Spain for

financial support of his West Indies trip (1492)• Queen Isabella (Spain) would his patron• Portugal saw trip as threat to their Atlantic

monopoly

• Compromise – Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)– Line drawn by Pope Alexander VI to distribute land in New World

Iberian Conquest of AmericaGOAL OF TODAY:

To develop an understanding of how and why the Portuguese and Spanish were

able to conquer the natives of the Americas.

Portuguese Empire• World empire, commercial supremacy by 1550– Posts around Africa, Southeast Asia– Vasco de Gama (1460-1524)

• Voyage to India very lucrative– Pedro Cabral (1468-1520)

• Stumbled onto Brazil

• Portuguese in Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia– Alfonso de Albuquerque dominated eastern African

regions, fortified trading posts– Goa 1510, Malacca in 1511, less success in China

Growth of New Spain• 1500s – Spain sets up American empire–Begin in West Indies, conquers –

“conquistadores”–“Vice-royalties” of New Spain

• Aztec Empire declining–Hernando Cortes arrives (1519) with army of

600, horses, crossbows, muskets, cannons–Montezuma (Aztec leader) welcomes Cortes–War breaks out, Spanish defeat Aztecs after

struggle–Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), becomes capital of

Spanish Empire

Spanish in South America

• Francisco Pizarro (1470-1541)–Conquered Inca state with 200 men–Bold, brutal, treacherous treatment of

Incas–20 years of anarchy ensue

• Conquistadores took, plundered South America–Vice-royalties in decline by mid 1600s

Growth of New Spain

• Notable ventures:–Hernando de Soto (1500-1542) explored area of

U.S. southeast–Francisco de Coronado (1510-1554) explored area

of U.S. southwest–First colony established in St. Augustine, FL (1565)–Vasco de Balboa (1479-1519) discovered the

Pacific–Francisco Magellan (1480-1521) expedition first to

circumnavigate globe, Magellan killed in Philippines

Cycle of Conquest & Colonization

Explorers Conquistadores

Mission

aries

PermanentSettlers

OfficialEuropeanColony!

The Columbian Exchange & African Slave Trade

GOAL OF TODAY:

To gain an understanding of the impacts of the Columbian Exchange and the African

Slave Trade

The Columbian Exchange

• Massive movement and interaction of biological organisms after Columbus• People, plants, animals, diseases• Between Europe, Americas, Africa

The “Columbian Exchange” Squash Avocado Peppers Sweet

Potatoes Turkey Pumpkin Tobacco Quinine Cocoa

Pineapple Cassava POTATO

Peanut TOMATO Vanilla MAIZE Syphilis

Olive COFFEE BEAN Banana Rice Onion Turnip Honeybee Barley Grape Peach SUGAR

CANE Oats

Citrus Fruits Pear Wheat HORSE Cattle Sheep Pigs

Smallpox Flu Typhus Measles Malaria Diptheria Whooping

Cough

Trinkets Liquor GUNS

Effects of Columbus’ Journey

• Exploration became journeys of conquest• Three centuries of Spanish dominance

• Largest and longest-surviving trading bloc• Financed Spain’s commanding role• Spurred other European nations to explore

• Virtual destruction of American societies• Warfare, diseases, exploitation of labor• Spanish Catholicism, economic dependency,

hierarchical social structure

Need For Labor• Native populations in America dying off

fast• Cultivation of sugar led to spread of

slavery in Brazil and West Indies• Only slavery provided enough workers

for profitable slave plantations• By 1600 the slave population exceeded

the white population in the West Indies

Majority of Africa Slave trade based out of West Africa

Middle Passage – journey from Africa to New World

Slave Ship

“Middle Passage”

“Coffin” Position Below Deck

African CaptivesThrown Overboard

Sharks followed the slave ships

Many slaves die during Middle Passage

Plantation Slavery

• Plantations drew Africans into the heart of transatlantic economy• West and central Africa – center for slaves

• Economic needs of colonial powers• Willingness to exploit weaker peoples• Built on racist notion that non-European, non-

white tribal peoples were subhuman

Slave Life

• Daily life of most slaves consisted of– Hard agricultural labor– Poor diet and clothing– Inadequate housing

• Death rate among slaves was high

Effects of Slave Trade on Africa

• Measurably changed patterns of life and balances of power– By stimulating trade or warfare– By disrupting previous market and political

structures– By substantially increasing slavery inside Africa– By disrupting the male-female ratio

• Important regional variations in impact

Effects of Slave Trade

• Greatest active period for slave trade– 1701–1810 – 60% of total

• Total numbers still debated• Number who died along the way unknown– “Middle Passage”

• Best estimates:– “Occidental trade” – at least 11 million

• Between Africa and New World– “Oriental trade” – at least 5 million

• Between Africa and Islamic lands– Enslaved within African – 15 million

Iberian Systems in the New WorldGOAL OF TODAY:

To develop an understanding of the Iberian system and its impact upon the social,

economic, political, and religious developments in the New World.

Iberian Systems in New World• Devastation from violence, disease, slavery– Iberian period pre-1600s:• Inhumane treatment, ruthless, populations wiped out– Native Americans lost 90% of population

• Demographic mix from immigration, African slaves• Iberian Economies in America– Plantations began to develop– Encomienda – system of distributing grants,

allowing buyer to take land or people living on that land• Forces those natives into labor• Brought horrendous abuses

Treasuresfrom the Americas!

Iberian Systems in New World• Initially used Amerindian labor,

imported African slaves after epidemics– Slaves worked on mines, plantations

• Suppression of native religions– Conversion to Christianity the moral

justification of colonization

• Priests report back atrocities to Spain, Rome– Charles V tries to intervene but is legally

powerless– Bartoleme de Las Casas (1474-1506)

Dominican Friar who decried system, helped phase it out in favor of contract labor

The Colonial Class System

Peninsulares Creoles

Mestizos

Mulattos

Native Indians Black Slaves

Full-blooded Spanish population

2nd GenerationFull-blooded Spanish

Spanish-Indian populationSpanish-African

population

Northern European ExplorationGOAL OF TODAY:

To understand the changes in motivation and power as the Age of Exploration

progressed

The Commercial Revolution• (Mid 1500s – mid 1700s) – period of economic

expansion, colonialism, and mercantilism– Mercantilism: a collection of governmental

policies for the regulation of economic activities, especially commercial activities, by and for the state• A nation’s international power was thought to be based

on its wealth, specifically gold supply• To accumulate gold, a country always had to sell more

goods abroad than it bought• Utilize expansion and land overseas• Create a self-sufficient economy

Northern European Expansion• The Commercial Revolution shifts power– Iberian states declining, northern states emerging• Dutch, French, British

– New products, foreign trade, bullion (gold, silver)• Spain and Portugal lacked structure to absorb precious

metals– European markets become swamped with• New products: silks, furs, ivory, carpets• New foods: potatoes, peanuts, maize, tomatoes• Also: spices, sugar, coffee, tobacco

Northern European Expansion• Economic power spreads to English,

Dutch, French, then Italians, Germans–In search of “the Northwest Passage” to

Asia–Northern European capitalism flourishes–Joint-stock companies (monopolies)

form–Agricultural practices and technology

changes

The Dutch Empire

• By 1650, Dutch dominated south Asia, Atlantic– Commercial empire, overpowered and captured

Iberian holdings in Africa, West Indies, Brazil• Dutch East India Company– Chartered company, monopoly, dominated Asian

trade in 1600s• Pepper, cinnamon, sugar, tea, tobacco, coffee

• Dutch West India Company– Settled in Hudson River region, profited from fur

trapping– Founded New Amsterdam, would become NYC

The French Empire• Starting colonizing in North America in 1600s

• French based claims to North America from past voyages of Verrazzano (1524) and Cartier (1530s)

– Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635)• Founded Quebec, fur trade is main industry

• Took advantage of declining Iberian empire– Overtook Iberian stakes, set up new trading posts• Santo Domingo (Haiti) – maintained slave labor–Became largest sugar and coffee producer in

1700s

The English Empire

• Pre-1650, English expansion not large–Internal conflicts, restricted expansion–Population growth, religious

persecution, entrepreneurship led to growth• Influx of families led to stable

development of colonies• 1500s – British voyages:–John Cabot to North America in 1497–Francis Drake – first Englishman to

circumnavigate the globe in 1580

The British Empire• Jamestown (Virginia) – 1607– Became first permanent settlement in North America• Faced numerous hardships (winter, disease, drought,

Native American attacks)• Persevered, established English culture, political

institutions• More colonies founded

• Plymouth (1620)•Massachusetts Bay (1629)•Maryland (1632)

• English commercial gains fared better in India (East India Company)

Conclusion• Europeans initiated new age of oceanic expansion• Spain, Portugal led explorations in 15th, 16th centuries– Spain declined due to lack of economic development at

home, inflation, too large an empire– Iberian domination gave way to north European expansion

• Dutch, English, French gained new vitality through financial organization, shipbuilding, metalworking, manufacturing

• Europeans encountered many societies around the world– Interacted with establish governments; respected their

domains– Intervened more directly in smaller, less organized areas

• Spanish, Portuguese expansion brought drastic change– Disease drastically reduced indigenous population– Iberians generated new cultural fusion in America– Atlantic slave trade brought disastrous consequences