Global History I: Spiconardi
Crusades Exposed Europeans
to the goods of the far east
Increased demand of spices and silk
Fall of the Byzantine Empire (________) European merchants
wanted to find new routes around Muslim controlled territories
Desire for new sources of wealth Commercial Revolution increased reliance
on gold and silver Monarchs needed to finance continual wars
and conflicts in Europe In particular Spain
Desire to Spread Christianity Advancements in Science &
Technology Improved geographic knowledge &
cartography Magnetic Compass Astrolabe Instrument used to figure out
latitude at seas Bigger, better, and faster ships
explorers could sail across or against the wind
Portugal took the lead in European exploration
Prince Henry “The Navigator” Encouraged Portuguese exploration through a
navigation school for cartographers, shipbuilders, sea captains and scientists
Bartolomeu Dias First European
Explorer to sail to the tip of Africa known as the Cape of Good Hope. Could not continue to India due to a storm that destroyed his fleet.
Vasco da Gama First European to sail around the Cape of Good Hope and make it to India Legacy
Completed longest recorded sea voyage to that point in history
Established Portugal as a trade empire for centuries
Ruthless Methods Killed Muslim merchants and sacked Indian City of Calicut when he didn’t like the trade deals he was offered.
Spain Inspired by the Portuguese to establish their own trade empire Isabella & Ferdinand “Queen and King of
Spain” who wanted to gain a share of the rich spice trade and spread Christianity (especially Isabella)
Cristoforo Colombo Believed he could reach India by sailing west
across the Atlantic Reached Caribbean in 1492, but believed he
reached India until the day he died
Cristoforo Colombo Great Man or Villian?
Opened the Americas to colonization Precipitated the Columbian Exchange (Three
continent cultural diffusion) Enslaved Native Indians Purposely killed Indians and spread small pox Leads to European imperialism
Imperialism one country dominating the politics, economics, and culture of another country or people
Why is Columbus credited with “discovering” America?
Washington Irving
•Writes the The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus
•Book is romantic history
•Claims Columbus reached America•Claims Europeans thought Earth was flat
Ferdinand Magellan led the first expedition that successfully circumnavigated (sail around the world) Magellan is killed in the Philippines, so he
never circumnavigates (only 18 of his men make it)
Treaty of Tordesillas
Treaty of Tordesillas Spain & Portugal argue over land
claims in the “New World” Pope Alexander VI brokers a deal
in which Spain gets the Americas, while Portugal would get Brazil (upon it’s discovery in 1500) and the west coast of Africa
Europeans establish colonies in the “New World,” Africa, and Asia