Age of Exploration and Discovery in the Renaissance

Age of Exploration and Discovery in the

Renaissance

New Empires in the East and West

On the Brink of a New WorldThose who had gone before…MAYBE

• Magical Kingdom of Prester John (12th century tale that a Christian kingdom existed in the East)

• Travelogues of Marco Polo (13TH century - Asia) • The Travels of John Mandeville (14th century – Supposed

adventures in the East)

Motives: God, Glory, GoldEconomic motives

• Access to the East – spices, silk, coffee• The New World of the West – gold, silver, coffee, sugar,

tobaccoNational and personal pride/fameReligious Zeal

• Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans,

MeansCentralization of political authority Maps

new maps – more advanced cartographyShips and Sailing

Naval technology – compass, astrolabe, back-staff, lateen (triangular) sail coupled with square sailIncreased size and structure of ships Knowledge of wind patterns

Ptolemy’s World Map ca. 150 A.D.

Ortelius - 1579

Mercator – 1596

A Seventeenth-Century World Map

Sundial & Compass

Mariner’s Astrolabe

Back-StaffCross-Staff

The Development of a Portuguese Maritime Empire

In Search of SpicesTravel the coast of Africa searching for all-water route1511 – Albuquerque wants to control Malacca = destroy Arab trade & provide a way station on route to Moluccas (Spice Islands)

Reasons for SuccessExcellent naval technology More advanced weaponry (gun ships)

Unable to maintain long-term empire abroadLacked the power as a European nationLacked the population necessary to expand abroadLacked the desire to colonize Asia

So why was Spain able to Succeed?

Map 14.1: Discoveries and Possessions in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries

Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) – decreed by Spanish pope Alexander VI, that all trade to the west go to Spain and to the east to Portugal.

Slaughter of the Natives

The Spanish Empire in the New World

Administration of the Spanish EmpireEncomienda – natives = subjects of Castile (taxed and put to work) to be protected, paid and spiritually supervised – instead they were exploited and abused

• Anton Montecino and Bartholome las Casas decry abuse• Encomienda abolished in 1542!!

Viceroys &– chief civil and military officer to the king (in Mexico City and Lima)audiencias – advisory group that also functioned as supreme judicial bodyThe Church – Spanish monarchs allowed to appoint bishops & clergy, build churches, collect fees, supervise religious orders in New World; Spanish Inquisition in Peru (1570) and Mexico (1571)

Consequences: intended or otherwise

In your opinion, in what way(s) did exploration of 15th and 16th centuries impact the conquerors and the conquered the most

Price Revolution (aka Inflation)Price revolution (a very slow “revolution”)

rise in prices = fall in value of currency Causes for the Price Revolution “Bullionism” influx of gold & silver bullion, provided primarily by Spain Increase in population also increases demand for land and food = higher prices

Who suffers from higher prices?Peasant and laborer wages rose the least = drop in standard of livingSome governments – excessive borrowing from bankers = new and higher taxes

Who benefits?Landowners and Entrepreneurs profit from higher rents, higher prices, bigger markets, and cheap labor costs

Increased Social TensionContinuing cracks in breakdown of feudal society; clergy vs. laity, nobility vs. peasantry, urban elite vs. guilds/artisans