World History Unit7 Exploration And Discovery

Unit #7 Exploration and

Discovery

ReconquistaRetaking of the Iberian Peninsula by Christian

soldiers after 732 AD (Battle of Tours)Completed by Portugal – early 1400sCompleted by Spain – 1492Iberian Muslims – called “Moors”Christian Soldiers: Conquistadores

Used by Spain and Portugal to explore Africa and the New World for the “Glory of God”

Kings also needed to get them off the Iberian peninsula – they could cause trouble with no one left to fight

Reconquista Image

SpicesKey to wealth in the Renaissance worldHighly desired by Europeans in an age

before refrigerationGrown in what is today Indonesia Spice Trade was controlled by Muslims

(remember – Mecca had been a trading center before Islam came to Arabia – the trade flowed through Arabia and Egypt and into the Northern Italian City States)

Pepper – worth its weight in gold by 1492Cloves and Cinnamon

both very expensive – used for “medicine”

Modern Spice Market in Turkey

Prince Henry the NavigatorPortuguese prince – Son

of King John I (first king of Portugal)

Started a school of navigation in Portugal

Wanted to bring the Renaissance to Portugal – needed money to do so

spices = moneyDreamed of sailing around

Africa and reaching the Spice Islands of the Indies

Portuguese ExplorationsSeries of explorations

sent down the coast of Africa – looking for the route around it to India

Invented the Caravel to travel into the wind (tacking)

Ran into islands off the coast of Africa (Madeira and Azores)

Found the bight of Africa in the 1450s (before Henry’s death)

Map showing Spanish and Portuguese Explorations of Africa and the New World

Kingdom of GhanaPowerful and wealthy African coastal

kingdom found in the Bight of AfricaAccidently found by the Portuguese in the

1450sThree major trading items

Salt (used for preserving meat and milk)Gold (will fund Portuguese exploration)Slaves (minor trading item in the 1450s – not really important until the discovery of the New World and the establishment of sugar plantations)

Slavery out of Africa 12 million slaves taken: 1450-

1880 Portuguese ran the trade Middle Passage – from Africa

to Havana, Cuba Where did they all go?

1 million never reached land

3 million to Brazil 2.5 million to Caribbean 3 million to New Spain 2 million to Europe (various

places – many as domestic servants , coachmen and other house laborers)

500,000 to what is today the US South

Portugal and the Search for Spices After finding Ghana the

Portuguese continued down the coast of Africa

1498 – Vasco Da Gama rounds the Cape of Good Hope and establishes trade with India and Indonesia

Portugal quickly became Europe’s spice traders

Huge money to be made by Portugal in trade (salt, slaves and spices)

Christopho ColumboFrom a common family in Genoa, Italy (a sea trading city

with connections to the Spice trade)went to Portugal early in the 1470sWorked for the Portuguese sailing from Lisbon to Iceland –

hears tale of the Vikings and western settlementsBelieved that the Vikings had actually settled north of Japan

on the east coast of AsiaHeavily influenced by the Journal of Marco Polo, an Italian

who traveled overland to China in the 13th centuryDeveloped a plan to sail west to reach the IndiesPitched his plan to the Portuguese crown – turned him down

(Portugal is already going around Africa and dealing with Ghana

1486 – Arrives in Spain – Reconquista is not finished – has to wait – Queen Isabella liked the idea, but would not fund it until the end of the Reconquista

World map from the 1490s

1492 – Two Worlds CollideJan 1492 – Granada surrenders –

Reconquista is over and the Spanish crown agrees to fund Columbus’ venture

Columbus was given three ships: Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria

October 12, 1492 – land sightedColumbus named the island “Hispaniola”

and claimed it for Spain (most experts believe he’s somewhere in the modern Bahamas)

He’s convinced that he’s somewhere off the east coast of China

Called the natives “Indians” – named after the Indies (where he believes he is)

Christopher Columbus:a critical assessmentCrazy? He saw Asians

in the CaribbeanVisionary? He opened

the way to the WestHeartbroken? He

sailed 4 times to the New World, yet always believed that he was just off the coast of Asia

Died Penniless in SpainDid he really “discover”

anything?Why is he so

important?

Nueva EspaňaSuper colony – stretched from today’s

Utah to the end of South AmericaCapital: Mexico CitySpanish really focused on the gold and

silver mines of central and south AmericaThree reasons to come to the new world

God: Christianize the American IndiansGold: gold found in Central Mexico (Aztecs) and silver found in Peru (Incas)

Glory: glory for the Conquistadores

Spanish MissionsThe Spanish used a series of missions to link the

parts of New Spain togetherMany of the cities of the American southwest

were originally missionsSan Diego, San Antonio, Santa Fe, Los Angeles,

Santa Barbara, San FranciscoMissions

1/3 Church1/3 fort1/3 school

Alamo (San Antonio)

Map of New Spain

North American ColonizationSix European Countries colonized North America – 3 were minor settlements

Russia – Alaska – fishing and whalingSweden – New Sweden (along the

Delaware River) – now southern parts of New Jersey

Netherlands (Dutch) – New Amsterdam – becomes New York in 1664

European Colonization of North America

Major European Settlements in North America

• Spanish – Nueva Espana – stretched to Utah – included Florida (has oldest city in the US)– This territory was not where Spain concentrated its

resources

• French – New France (along the St. Lawrence Seaway)– Louisiana (along the Mississippi River)– Mostly settled for trade with the Indians– French saw the Indians as allies and partners– Colonies run by Absolutism – governors had

complete control

Map of New France

English Settlements

Most were founded for religious choice

Puritans – wanted to clear the Anglican Church of its Catholicism

Quakers – went to Pennsylvania

Only Rhode Island founded for religious freedom

Gives America the idea of the “city on a hill” – we’re God’s chosen people

Generally founded for economic reasons

Cash cropsTobaccoIndigo (blue dye)RiceCotton (after 1793)

Heavily dependent on labor

Will turn to slavery by 1640 – it makes economic sense

Home of the “American Dream”

Northern Colonies(Massachusetts)

Southern Colonies(Virginia)

Map of the English Colonies before 1763

What purpose did the colonies serve? Why did they exist?

Mercantilism – economic system whereby colonies exist solely to serve the mother country in terms of providing raw materials and as a market for finished goods. The “needs” of the colony were secondary to the needs of the mother country.

Mercantilism and Triangle Trade

The Columbian ExchangeOld World to New World New World to Old World

People – colonists / slaves

Horses and other draft animals

Agricultural products – wheat

Religion – Christianity

Diseases – especially smallpox

Ideas behind government and culture

Agricultural products -- corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, potatoes

Diseases – syphilis