Age of Exploration1400s-1500s

Why did Europeans explore?• Trade w/ Asia– Mongol Empire• Silk Road• Local rulers taxed goods

– Ottoman Turks• Conquered Byzantine Empire• Blocked trading posts

What to do now!• Search for a trade route to East Asia• Those involved: Portugal, Spain, France, England

How did Europeans Explore?• Technology– Astrolabe: finds latitude– Compass– Rudder: Steering of ships– Caravels: Ship with triangular sails to help travel faster

How did they pay for the Expeditions?

• Trade• Rulers taxed their people• Portugal, Spain, France, and England all became powerful.

How did they learn about geography?

• Ptolemy’s map• Printing press spread

Ptolemy’s ideas– longitude and latitude.

• Geography of East Africa and the Indian Ocean– Al-Idrisi, Arab geographer

• Why not find a way around Africa to get to Asia!

Portugal #1• England & France were

fighting• Spain was fighting the

Muslims

2nd Spain 3rd England 4th French

The Portuguese• Trading in Asia instead

of the Americas• Fought a war against

the Muslims in the Indian Ocean & won

• Built trading posts in India, China, Japan, the Persian Gulf, and the Moluccas (Spice Islands) of Southeast Asia.

Spain vs. England• England (Protestant)

didn’t like Spain (Catholic).

• The Dutch, who were a part of Spain, also became Protestant & rebelled.

• Queen Elizabeth told privateers to attack Spanish ships.

Spain vs. England• Spain’s King Philip II was mad – Spanish Armada 1588.• Too big for the English Channel • The English ships were able to move faster, attack the Armada, and get away fast.

– Storm broke up the fleet.» The English won, and felt powerful against the Spanish.

This gave the English and Dutch the boost they needed to start exploring, too.

French

• Exploring stopped. Protestants & Catholics started fighting.

How to get rich• Mercantilism- a country gains power by building

up its gold and silver– Mercantilists believed they could do this by exportation

(selling to other countries) rather than simply importing (buying) goods.

– They believed in setting up colonies. On these settlements people lived and produced goods for their country that they didn’t have at home.

– Ex: 13 colonies controlled by the British

Mercantilism encourages trade and colonies

• Europeans wanted to gain access and control of goods they liked– Colonies

• Spain colonized Philippines

• England and France colonized India

• Netherlands colonized Indonesia

Joint-Stock Company

• Commerce- buying & selling of goods in large amounts over long distances– Buy a bunch of goods.

• Store the goods– Later, ship goods

• Entrepreneurs invested (put money into) business projects.– They formed a Joint-Stock Company when projects

were large. • People invest in the project by buying a share (stock) of the

company.

Cottage Industry• How to make a profit– Buy goods cheap– Sell goods for more money

• Merchants were upset because goods were too expensive to buy.– Asked peasants to help.

• Peasants were happy for work

• 1 major good was wool• Peasants could work from

home in their cottages

Columbian Exchange• Global exchange: people shared ideas, goods,

diseases• Named after Columbus

North/Central American foods and animals

South American Foods and animals

European, African, and Asian foods and animals

Corn, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, squash

Chili peppers, peanuts, chocolate, tobacco

Wheat, oats, barley, rye, rice, bananas, sugarcane, coffee, oranges

Pigs, sheep, cattle, chickens, horses

Hepatitis, polio, syphilis Smallpox, measles, malaria, tuberculosis, influenza

How It Was Possible

• Trade: Western Europe wanted to trade with the far East & the silk road was blocked by the Turks

• Christianity: Explain Christianity beyond the Muslim Empire & missionaries try to convert inferior people whom they conquered over

Reasons Behind Exploration

• Big Tariffs (taxes) to pay for the expeditions to search for new routes around Asia• New methods of navigation and ships

Quiz

1. Why did Europeans start exploring?2. What four European countries began

exploring first?3. How were expeditions funded?4. What was the Columbian Exchange?5. Define invest.