Maritime Revolution
Before 1450 - 1550
Expansion before 1450Pacific Ocean
• Polynesians– New Guinea to Hawaii to New Zealand– Expansion or accidental?
• Malayo-Indonesians– Madagascar
Expansion before 1450Indian Ocean
• Muslim Traders– Very important by 1400– Trade ports not empire
• Ming Empire– Mongol defeat leads to early expansionism– Voyages of Zheng He– Ways to show off wealth
rather than trade– Africa– By 1433 voyages ended– POWER VACUUM
Expansion before 1450Atlantic Ocean
• Vikings– First major power– Exploration and settlement– Impact of changing climate in 1200
• Europeans– Applied Mediterranean knowledge– Mostly Genoese and Portuguese– Expeditionary - Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands
• Africans– Mansa Musa
• Americas– Limited– Arawaks into Lesser Antilles
European Expansion1400-1550
• Who?– Iberian Kingdoms (Spain & Portugal)– Economic, political & religious inspiration– Improvements in their technology allowed them to “master”
maritime push• Four Trends in Latin West since 1000
– Revival of urban life and trade– European idea of alliance b/w rulers & merchants– Struggle with Islamic Empires over Med.– Growing intellectual curiosity
• Why not Italians?– Venice & Genoa had pre-existing trade alliances with Muslims
(access to SR through the Med.)– Ships too small for Atlantic Ocean– Merchant Princes supported trade in N Europe, Black Sea,
Indian Ocean
Why Portugal?
• c. 1415 – attack on Morocco (Muslim)– Part crusade, tournament, plundering
• Importance of Gold– Unable to push inland– Sought direct contact with Gold producers– Need to sail
• Henry the Navigator– Multiple agendas – religion,
ottoman, exploration– Cartography
• Caravel– Smaller, lighter, more maneuverable, small cannons
• Order of Christ Money– Red crosses on ships
• Slavery and gold
• Cruzado– Link between religion and exploration
• Real Success comes after private investors become involved– Sao Tome
• Seek a passage to India
Why Spain?• History of conflict with Muslims
– Aragon & Castile unite to capture Granada• Later entrance into Revolution• Columbus - 1492
– Expedition sponsored by Queen Isabella
– Never believed he reached “New” World
• Vespucci– Explores “new” world
• Treaty of Tordesillas – 1494– Negotiated by pope– Splits Atlantic Ocean with imaginary line– Americas = Spain– Africa & S Asia = Portugal
African Encounters with Europe
• Portugal– Offered new markets for African goods
• Gold Coast & Benin– Trade gold, pepper, some
slavery– African nations held power
• Kongo– Only had slaves to offer
• Ethiopia– Only Christian Empire on east coast– Alliances against the Turks– Conflict over version of Christianity
Indian Ocean Encounters with Europeans
• Portugal– Sought access to trade– Crown decided that IO would belong to them alone – use of
force• Why did Portugal gain power so easily? (1505 – 1535)
– Superior weaponry and ships– Small port cities, not empire– Large empires not interested in maritime intrusion – internal
focus– Seized Malacca
• Methods of control– Taxation– Portuguese “passports”– Execution
• Response– Larger empires ignored or considered unimportant– Smaller trade ports attempted resistance - failed
America Encounters with Europe• Spain
– Territorial Empire rather than trade– No contact between Amerindians and others – had to
rely on conquest & plunder• Arawak
– Hispaniola (Haiti)– 1493 – Columbus 2nd voyage with settlers– 1495 rebellion: quashed, ended with death and
bondage– Famine and smallpox spread– 1502 – all remaining Arawaks made slaves to
colonists• Conquistadors
– Defeat non-believers, bring them to god and get rich in the process
American Empires
• Cortes and Aztecs– Aztec empire only 100 yrs old– Loyalty divided – “new” could offer more– Tlaxcalans – Moctezuma– 1521 defeat – impact of smallpox
• Pizarro and the Incans– Taxes, exile and forced labor used
to control– Civil war– 1531 Pizarro sets out– Pizarro betrays Atahualpa– Internal conflict leads to splintering
