THE AGE OF EXPLORATION 15 th & 16 th CENTURY

World History

Section 1

THE AGE OF EXPLORATION 15TH & 16TH CENTURY

BACKGROUND15th Century Achievements

-Century Rise of Nation-ism among the New Nations

-States of Europe emergence of powerful new nation

-States with assertive Monarchs

-Invention of the Printing Press

-Expansion of Trade & Business Activity

-Renaissance quest for knowledge

-Reconquista completed in Spain- 1492

MOTIVATING FACTORS FOR EUROPEAN EXPANSION• Desire to enhance National Prestige (Nationalism)

• Nation Wealth & Territory Prestige for Monarchs.

• Possibility of Personal Wealth, Fame, & Social Prestige.

• Quest for New Geographical knowledge.

• Desire to spread Christianity.

• Intensifying International competition among the powerful Nations.

• States of Europe desire to find new Trade Routes to the East.

• Increase Profits.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT IMPACTED EXPLORATION• Better & faster Ship design

• Printing Press

• More reliable Magnetic Compass

• The invention of the Clock (allowed for new navigational methods- Eventually Longitude)

• Astrolabe- Latitude Navigation

• More accurate Maps

• Gun Powder & New Weapons

-Cannons and Muskets

SHIPS

ARMED VESSEL

PRINTING PRESS

ASTROLABE

NEW WEAPONS 15TH-16TH CENTURY

IMPROVED COMPASS

Section 2

MAJOR NATION- STATES INVOLVED IN EXPLORATION

PORTUGAL• Claimed parts of:

-West Africa

-Parts of Asia

-Large Portion of South America (Brazil)

“Treaty of Tordesillas”

Major Emphasis

-Trade & Gold

Slave Trade= West Africa

This created New Products & Spices

PRINCE HENRY THE NAVIGATOR OF PORTUGAL• National Policies strongly supported

exploration and trade.

• Portugal had a long tradition of navigation and trade.

SLAVE TRADE (WEST AFRICA)• African slaves were brought to the

New World to primarily work in agriculture.

• Portugal was the major slave trading European nation.

SPAIN

Claimed= (Caribbean Islands) (Central America) – Except *Brazil (Mexico) (South West North America) (Philippines)

FERDINAND & ISABELLA OF SPAINSUPPORTED, “EXPLORATION” & “EXPANSION”

KING FERDINAND & QUEEN ISABELLA OF SPAIN

MAJOR EMPHASIS• Accumulation of Gold & Silver

• Expansion of Trade

• Farming- Sugar Plantations

• Some Slave Trade- “Limited” -Spain outlawed the slave trade in the 1700’s

• Active in the Spread of Christianity

-(Jesuits Missionaries)

• Enhance personal Prestige & Social Standing

-Strict Social Hierarchy in Spain

-(Feudal in many respects)

LINE OF DEMARCATION 1493• Official agreement that divided the territories claimed by Spain & Portugal in

the New World.

• Imaginary line drawn by Pope Alexander VI

• Lands East of the Line (Portugal)

• Lands West of the line (Spain)

LINE OF DEMARCATION

LINE OF DEMARCATION

ENGLAND• East Coast of North America

• Canada

• India

MAJOR EMPHASIS• Expansion of Territory

• Trade

• New Opportunities for Middle Class

• Fleeing Religious persecution

MAJOR EUROPEAN EXPLORERS • Vasco De Gama- first to sail around the Cape of Good

Hope.

• Magellan- first voyage to circumnavigate the globe .

• Columbus- first European voyage to arrive in the New World.

• Cortez- conquest of the Aztec Empire in Mexico.

• Pizarro- conquest of the Incan Empire in Peru.

• Balboa- first to see the Pacific Ocean- Crossed Panama (isthmus)

• Ponce De Leon- explored Florida.

• Coronado- first European to see the Grand Canyon and explore the southern U.S.

VASCO DE- GAMA (PORTUGUESE)

MAGELLAN (PORTUGUESE)

• Magellan did not survive the voyage.

• Of the 270 men who began the voyage around the Globe, only 18 finished and returned to Europe.

• Magellan died April 27th, 1521

MAGELLAN TIME LINE

MAP OF MAGELLAN’S VOYAGE

ANOTHER LOOK AT MAGELLAN’S TRIP

COLUMBUS- (ITALIAN)LED 3 VOYAGES TO THE NEW WORLD

NINA, PINTA, SANTA MARIA

CORTEZ (SPANISH) DEFEATED “AZTEC EMPIRE”

AZTEC EMPIRE DEFEATED

PIZARRO (SPANISH)

PIZARRO- CONQUEST OF THE INCAN EMPIRE (PERU)

INCAN EMPIRE IN PERU(THE ANCIENT INCAN CITY OF “MACHU PICCHU”)

BALBOA• Crossing the

Isthmus of Panama (Pacific Ocean)

• First European to cross from the Atlantic to the Pacific

Oceans.

CORONADO EXPLORED THE SOUTHWEST U.S.(GRAND CANYON)

Section 3

LABOR & INDUSTRY IN THE NEW WORLD

“ENCOMIENDA”• Tribute Labor System= native peoples were required to give labor to the

European settlers.

MINING• Silver Mines @

POTOSI.• Vast amounts of

(Gold) & (Silver) were sent to Spain from the New World.

• Primary Labor Force was “Indigenous Population”

PLANTATIONS- SUGAR BECAME A MAJOR EXPORT CROP.NATIVE PEOPLE & AFRICAN SLAVES WORKED THE FARM AND PLANTATIONS.

15TH & 16TH CENTURY ECONOMIC MODEL“MERCANTILISM”• Based on the accumulation of Gold & Silver (precious metals)

• Gold and Silver were the measure of Wealth (not Business of Production)

• The PURPOSE of the economy was “Serve the State”

• Trade was focused on primarily on Exporting and selling goods in the new colonies.

• Little Capital investment in business.

• Colonial holdings were seen as:

-A source of Raw Materials

-Markets for European Goods

Section 4

THE IMPACT OF EUROPEAN EXPANSION- AGE OF EXPLORATION

TRIANGLE OF TRADE

ECONOMIC• Rapid economic growth and increase in business activity.

• Vast amounts of Gold & Silver flooded into Europe.

• Prices of Good rose due to INFLATION and MERCANTILIST economic policies.

• Expanded opportunities for the rising middle class.

• Majority of Europeans saw little improvement in their “Standard of Living.”

• CAPITALISM began to emerge –(exception was in Spain)

POLITICAL• Western Europe began to Dominate the Globe

-(New land were claimed and colonized)

-(Western political models were installed)

• The “Rivalry” between the Nation-States of Europe intensified.

• International tension grew.

SOCIETAL• Social values began to be more focused on MATERIAL WEALTH and SOCIAL

STANDING.

• Growing SECULAR trends.

• Rising MIDDLE CLASS benefitted from New economic & social opportunities.

• POWER & WEALTH in the colonies came to be concentrated in the hands of few.

-(Social & Economic issues have continued to PLAGUE these regions as a result of this trend.)

RELIGIOUS• Christianity spread across the Globe

-(The Americas)

-(Parts of Asia)

• Christian Missionaries worked to Convert Native populations

-(The Jesuits were very active)

-(Started Missions)

-(Established Schools)

• Very often Conversations were forced and or coerced; however, many truly converted to Christianity.

• Christianity of blended with traditional religious beliefs and practices

-(Know as Syncretism)

GLOBAL• Millions of Africans were imported to the New World as Slaves.

• Animals were brought to the Americas

-(Horses & Cattle)

• New Plants and Crops were Exchanged

-Tomatoes

-Potatoes

-Corn

-Early forms of pain killers (developed by Natives)

INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS• Native populations in the New World were “Decimated.”

-Estimated that from (1500)-(1600) the populations shrank from 20 million to 2 million.

Causes:

~Disease & Malnutrition

~War & Conflict

~Harsh Labor

INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS MIXED WITH EUROPEANS & AFRICANS~New Cultural and Racial Groups

~Blending of Cultures Language Religion Customs Music Art

The End.

THE AGE OF EXPLORATION WAS IN MANY WAYS A REFLECTION OF THE

IDEALS AND VALUES OF THE RENAISSANCE.