THE AGE OF EXPLORATION

World History

In Search of Spice and Profit

In Search of Spice and Profit During the Middle Ages, spices

from Asia brought huge profits

Asian goods and spices flowed to Europe along complex overland routes

In Search of Spice and Profit Each time goods passed from

one trader to another – From Muslim merchants to Italian merchants – the prices increased

Europeans wanted to cut out the middle man

In Search of Spice and Profit By the late 1400s, this desire

spurred Europeans to explore the oceans

Improvements in technology helped Europeans conquer the vast oceans of the world

Advances in Technology

Advances in Technology and Knowledge Cartographers (map-makers)

created more accurate maps and sea charts

Europeans also gained access to the astrolabe

Advances in Technology and Knowledge The astrolabe had been

developed by the Greeks and had been perfected by Arabs

It determined latitude at sea

Astrolabe

Mariner’s Astrolabe

Advances in Technology The Portuguese developed the

Caravel

The Caravel was a type of ship that combined the best elements of European, Arab, and Chinese sailing.

Caravel

Caravel

Explorers

Exploration Portugal led the way in

exploration

Portuguese ships explored the coast of West Africa and rounded the Cape of Good Hope to reach spices in Asia

Explorers Bartolomeu Dias is the first

known European to sail around the Cape of Good Hope (1480s)

His exploration proved that it was possible to reach India by going around Africa

Dias

Explorers Vasco da Gama was the first

European to sail directly from Europe to India

Da Gama

Explorers In 1492, Columbus convinced

the king and queen of Spain that he could reach Southeast Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean

Columbus

Explorers Columbus thought he had

reached the islands off the coast of East Asia, but instead had discovered two new Continents

Conquest of the Americas

Conquest of the Americas European powers built colonial

empires in the Americas

They began an exchange of plants, animals, institutions, values, and ideas that affects the world to this day

Conquest of the Americas This exchange of goods between the

New World and the Old World is known as the Columbian Exchange

Conquest of the Americas A flood of Spanish explorers,

settlers, and missionaries followed Columbus to the Americas

These Spanish conquerors were known as conquistadors.

Conquest of the Americas The conquistadors claimed all of

the land and people that they visited for the king and Church

The conquistadors overthrow Aztec and Inca civilizations

Conquest of the Americas Disease also spread

Europeans unknowingly carried diseases to which Native Americans had no immunity – wiping out entire communities

Conquest of the Americas An immediate result of Spanish

conquest was the flow of gold and silver

The wealth of the Americas helped make Spain the most powerful country in Europe

Conquest of the Americas In order to build an empire, Spain

set out to impose its culture, language, religion, and way of life on millions of people

To the Spanish, winning souls for God was as important as gaining land

Conquest of the Americas Spanish soldiers helped Roman

Catholic missionaries who built churches

Conquest of the Americas Sugar cane became a key

resource for the Spanish

To grow enough, the Spanish set up plantations

Conquest of the Americas Plantations: large estate run by

an owner or overseer

Plantations need large numbers of workers to be profitable

Conquest of the Americas Spanish monarchs gave the

conquistadors encomiendas

Encomiendas: the right to demand labor or tribute

Conquest of the Americas The conquistadors used

encomiendas to enslave Native Americans under brutal conditions

Later, settlers would import Africans and force them to work as slaves

Struggle for North America

Struggle for North America In the 1500s and 1600s, France and

England joined Spain in claiming parts of North America

Although North America did not appear to have as much gold as Central and South America, it did yield tobacco and fur

English Colonies Britain began establishing colonies in

North America

Many Europeans wanted to come to North America in search of land and profit

English Colonies To do so, the immigrants signed on as

indentured servants

They were under contract to work for seven years in exchange for ocean passage and fixed labor with an employer in the New World

English Colonies In New England, the first collective

settlement of Europeans was the Pilgrim colony founded in 1620

They were dissenters from the official doctrines of the Church of England

English Colonies The Pilgrim colony was bound together

by the Mayflower Compact

It established a governing body for the colony

English Colonies Of the 102 Pilgrims that arrived at

Plymouth, fewer than half survived the first year

It was only with the help of Native Americans that the colony was able to survive

English Colonies In 1630, the Puritans arrived in New

England

Unlike the Pilgrims that wanted to separate from the Church of England, the Puritans wanted to purify the Church.

English Colonies The Puritans were richer and

better educated than the Pilgrims

The Puritans denied religious freedom to others

English Colonies The Quaker colony was founded

in Pennsylvania by William Penn

Penn joined the Quakers after hearing a lecture on their principles, which included pacifism

English Colonies Pennsylvania became known

throughout western Europe for their religious toleration

People from many countries and faiths immigrated to Pennsylvania for this reason

French Colonies France established its first

colony in Quebec, Canada

From there France moved to the Great Lakes and then down the Mississippi

The French also established New Orleans

Exploration in Australia and New Zealand

Exploration in Australia and New Zealand

While the Americas had been colonized quickly, much of the Pacific was still untouched by Europeans

Exploration in Australia and New Zealand The Chinese landed on Australia

in the 16th Century

The Portuguese mapped the northern and eastern coasts of Australia

The Spanish probably knew of the existence of Australia

In the early 1600s, a few Dutch sailors reached parts of the coast

The Dutch East India Company, under command of Abel Tasman, explored New Zealand, Tasmania, and the north coast of Australia

Exploration in Australia and New Zealand

Tasman wrote of the miserable people (Aborigines) that lived in the area and how the area did not hold much promise

Due to Tasman’s report and the decline of Spanish, Dutch, and Portuguese power, Australia remained virtually untouched for a century and a half

Exploration in Australia and New Zealand

In 1768, Britain’s Captain James Cook set out on a three year voyage to explore Australia and New Zealand

Cook found the Aborigines to be peaceful and welcoming

Exploration in Australia and New Zealand

Based on Cook’s report, the British government decided that Australia could serve as a penal colony

Penal Colony: colonies used to house a nations criminals

Exploration in Australia and New Zealand

In the 1800s, Australia’s use as a prison began to decline

Gold was discovered in the 1850s and 1890s, promoting settlers to come to Australia

Just as in other lands of exploration, European diseases killed off the majority of Aborigines

Exploration in Australia and New Zealand