exploration, scientific revolution, and enlightenment

Exploration, Scientific Revolution, and

Enlightenment

Vocabulary

• Capitalism – An economic system in which individuals and private businesses run most industries.

• Circumnavigate – To go all the way around. • Columbian Exchange – An exchange of plants,

animals, and ideas between the New World (Americas) and the Old World (Europe).

Vocabulary

• Enlightenment – A period during the 1600’s and 1700’s when reason was used to guide people’s thoughts about society, politics, and philosophy.

• Market Economy – An economic system in which individuals decide what goods and services they will buy.

• Mercantilism – A system in which a government controls all economic activity in a country and its colonies to make the government stronger and richer.

Vocabulary

• Scientific Method – A step-by-step method for performing experiments and other scientific research.

• Scientific Revolution – A series of events that led to the birth of modern science; it lasted from about 1540 to 1700.

Why did people want to explore the world?

1. Asian Spices

• Italy and Egypt controlled trade with Asia.• Direct routes would cut out the middle men.

2. Religion

• Christians wanted to counter the spread of Islam in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

3. Technology Advancements

• Astrolabe• Compass• More accurate maps– These advancements allow sailors to move farther

away from the coast. They also allow them to go farther and be more accurate in their navigations.

4. Shipbuilding Advancements

• Caravels- Ships that used triangular sails which could sail against the wind.

• Rudders- Replaced the oars and improve the steering.

Portuguese inventions allow them to get further ahead in

exploration.

Portuguese in Exploration• Henry the Navigator - Ruler of Portugal that built an

observatory and a navigation school. • This educated more sailors and encouraged

exploration. • He sponsored several voyages but never sailed himself.

Portuguese in Exploration

• Bartolomeu Dias - Sailor who sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, the southern tip of Africa.

• He had to turn back because supplies were low otherwise he would have made it to India.

Portuguese in Exploration

• Vasco de Gama – Explorer who sailed around Africa and landed in India.

• He discovered a sea route to Asia!• This made Portugal an important naval power

in the Indian Ocean.

Spanish in Exploration

• Christopher Columbus – Italian Sailor who sailed out looking for a shorter route to Asia.

• Spanish Monarch supported his journey for the following reasons:– Riches– New Territory– Catholic Converts

• Columbus landed on an island in Bahamas. He thought he had reached Asia when in reality he found the Americas!

Spanish in Exploration• Ferdinand Magellan - Sailed around the Southern

tip of South America. • Magellan died while trying to show force against a

tribal group. Through a number of misjudgments Magellan’s attack didn’t work. As his men retreated Magellan was hit by a native’s spear and died.

• His crew continued the journey. They were able to circumnavigate the world!


• The Spanish hope to find gold and silver as a result of their exploration.

• They also want to convert the natives to Christianity.


• At this time in America, also known as the New World, the Aztec and Inca Empires are at their height.

• They are rich empires with a lot of gold and silver.

Spanish in Exploration• The Spanish attack these empires.

They have better guns which allow them to conquer the Aztecs and Incas.

• Also, they bring with them diseases that the natives had never been exposed to.

• The new diseases wipe out ¾ of the native population.

• Spain ruled much of the Americas.

English in Exploration

• England and France look for routes through North America since Spain and Portugal control the Southern routes.

• England was also looking for riches in addition to a route to Asia.


• Spain was controlling all of the gold and silver that once belonged to Aztecs and Incas.

• English explorer Sir Frances Drake stole from Spanish transport ships.

• This upset Spain!


• Spain sends 130 ships to attack England. The fleet was called the Spanish Armada.

• These ships were large and heavily adorned with decoration. • The English had faster ships and better guns. • The Armada was defeated!• This means that Spain did not invade England and they now

had an opponent for the best fleet on the sea!


• Another important explorer for the English was James Cook.

• Cook and his crew were searching for a Northern Passage through North America that would connect the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.

• They could not find a passage so they sailed south. • They discovered what we today know as the Hawaiian

Islands. Cook called them the Sandwich Islands though. He named them after his friend the Earl of Sandwich.

French in Exploration

• Jacques Cartier was a French explorer. His journeys led to Canada being claimed by the French.

Colonization Following Exploration• Portugal – Brazil. They only set up this

colony when their power in the region was being threatened by other countries.

• Spain – Mexico, Latin America, Caribbean, and Southern North America. Took over the Aztec and Inca empires and controlled large amounts of gold and silver. Set up colonies in these areas. Put encomienda in place. This is a system where the Spanish government allowed citizens to demand work from the natives.

Colonization Following Exploration• England – Eastern Coast of North

America, Parts of Canada, Australia. Came to the New World looking for riches and religious freedom. Australia was set up by English convicts. This happened because English prisons were overcrowded.

• France – Parts of Canada, Southern tip of South America. Disappointed that gold and silver was not plentiful like in the region the Spanish settled. French soon found out that furs were a valuable resource of their region.

Results of Exploration• New Knowledge of the World • Proved Old Beliefs Wrong• Discovered that the Americas were separate

from Asia• Geographers Made Better Maps • New Lands were Claimed and Settled• New Trade Routes were Discovered

Results of Exploration• The discovery of new trade routes led to an

increase in trade and an increase in the variety of trade goods.

• This resulted in two new forms of trade:– Columbian Trade– Triangular Trade

Columbian Trade

Columbian Trade

• Results of the Exchange:• Eating habits change.• Culture of Europe was introduced around the

world.• Many new converts to Christianity.• New technology was spread to other parts of the

world that weren’t as developed as Europe. • New textiles were made from sheep’s wool. • Plantations were created in the Americas.

Triangular Trade

• The development of plantations would lead to triangular trade.

• Under triangular trade slaves were taken to the West Indies where they were traded for sugar cane. The sugar cane was taken to New England where it was made into rum and other products. It then was shipped out and sold within the colonies.

Triangular Trade

Triangular Trade

• The worst part of Triangular Trade was the Middle Passage.

• This was the part of the trip from Africa to the West Indies, as they crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

• Many slaves would be packed onto ships without enough food and water. They would be chained together in cramped conditions. Many would die on the journey. Europeans did not care though because they only viewed slaves as property.

Triangular Trade

Trade and Economic Power

• European countries saw colonies as a way to make money. • This caused mercantilism to develop. This means that the

government controls all economic activity in the country and colonies. Their goal is to make the country stronger and richer.

• Countries used mercantilism to keep trade balanced, meaning they imported and exported an equal amount. Also they used it to find more gold and silver. These valuables were considered a measure of how great a country was.


• Netherlands becomes a trading power because of their business skills and shipbuilding skills. They set up trading posts in India, Japan, and Southern Africa.

• England also increased trade by setting up trading posts in Asia and resources and trade with their North American colonies.


• Dutch and English set up banks to deal with all the money that they gained from trade.

• Banks would exchange the money for merchants who because of trade where stuck dealing with money from around the world.

• Banks would also loan money for others to start new businesses.

• Banking, new trade routes, and manufacturing caused power to shift from countries like Portugal and Spain to now England and the Netherlands.


• Economic growth and wealth changed business in Europe.

• Manufactured goods were in higher demand. Here are several reasons why:– Europe’s population was growing– Farmers could grow food at lower cost. Since

people weren’t spending money on food they could spend it on other things.

– Colonies had to get their goods from Europe.

Trade and Economic Power• Capitalism, an economic system in which

individuals and private businesses run industries, began during this time period.

• Market Economies, where individuals decide what goods and services they will buy and sell, along with capitalism became the basis for economies of Europe and the Americas.


• Supply and Demand are apart of those economic systems.

Scientific Revolution

• Around the time Magellan was attempting to circumnavigate the world, great discoveries were being made in the scientific world .

• This would be the beginning of the Scientific Revolution.

Scientific Revolution• Before the Scientific Revolution people just

took the word of authorities or the Catholic Church.

• After the Scientific Revolution people felt freer to question old beliefs, study the world around them, and use logic to explain what they saw.


• Science is a Latin word that means “Knowledge” or “Understanding”.

• Scientist follow certain steps. – Observation– Theory– Experiment– Explanation

• Prior to the Scientific Revolution discovering knowledge in this way was uncommon.


• Ancient Greek and Roman thinkers were rationalist. This means that they looked at the world in a rational, logical way.

• Muslims translated the Greek and Romans ideas to Arabic and added some of their own ideas. Later it was translated back to Latin and Europeans started to study it and become more rational.

Scientific Revolution• Humanist ideas that focused on nature and

alchemy (experiments that aimed to turn common metals into gold) also contributed to the Scientific Revolution.

• Something then happened that made everyone doubt the ancient ideas….


• Columbus’ findings caused everyone to doubt the ancient ideas. He used a map created by a great ancient thinker. No where on that map did it show a separate landmass, North America.

• People were very surprised that real world experience would disprove ancient ideas.

Scientific Revolution• The Scientific Revolution

is thought to have started with the publishing of a book that contradicted ancient beliefs about astronomy.

• The book was called On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres and it was written by Nicolas Copernicus.

Men and Ideas of the Scientific Revolution

• Nicolas Copernicus – Wrote On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres. In this book he explained his idea that the planets orbited around the sun. This contradicted ancient thinker, Ptolemy, idea that the Earth was the center of the universe and everything orbited around it.

• Copernicus was never able to prove his idea but he did inspire new thinking.


• Tycho Brache – He plotted the positions of more than 750 stars.

• He was able to do this through careful observation and record keeping.

• He set an example that other scientist would begin to follow.


• Johannes Kepler – Assistant to Tycho Brache. Later he tried to map the orbit of the planets but he figured out that the orbits were not circular but elliptical.

• Kepler’s basic ideas about orbits are still believed and accepted today.


• Galileo Galilee – First person to study • the sky with a telescope. • He saw craters on the moon and discovered

that moons orbit Jupiter. • Galileo was also concerned with mechanics

or the study of objects in motion. Rather than just studying them in nature, Galileo set up experiments. He was the first scientist to routinely use experiments.


• Galileo thought that scientific study would change how people understood the world. In turn he thought that would improve their standard of living and then break down barriers between people.

• He was not able to write about his ideas because of the great pressure he felt from the church. Since his ideas opposed the church’s ideas that church leaders kept him from writing.


• Sir Isaac Newton – Published Principa Mathmatica. He also had theories about gravity and motion that were proven so many times that they have now been named laws.

• Also discovered that light was made up of many colors. This helped him create the reflecting telescope which is used in large observatories even today.

• His ideas became the basis of all scientific study until the 1900’s.

Men and Ideas of the


• Inventions of the Scientific Revolution:– Microscope – Used to observe plants and animals living in a drop of

pond water. – Thermometer – Developed by Galileo and used to measure

temperature. – Telescope – Improved by Galileo and used to make many of his

discoveries. – Barometer – Used to measure air pressure and helped in predicting the

weather.

*All of these inventions helped scientist learn about the world.

Scientific Revolutions Effects

• Science was pursued in a systematic fashion. Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes encouraged the orderly process of experimenting and recording data. This led to the Scientific Method which is based on experiments and observation. Those are the main principles of science!

Scientific Revolution Effects

• Science affected other areas of life. • People thought that logic could explain problems such

as poverty and war. They thought they could use reason to improve life.

• Laws that governed nature and human behavior were also discovered.

• People started to believe that if these laws governed everyone then everyone must be equal.

• Science opposed the Church’s beliefs. This led to conflict between the two.

The Age of Reason

• The discoveries made through exploration and the Scientific Revolution began to question long held beliefs about science, religion, and government.

• Scholars were relying on reason and logic. • They felt that reason and logic could achieve three

great goals – knowledge, happiness, and freedom!• Achieving those goals would then lead to an

improved society.

The Age of Reason

• The use of reason in guiding people’s thoughts about philosophy, society, and

politics was the Enlightenment or the Age of

Reason.

Roots of the Enlightenment

EnlightenmentHuman reason could be

used to achieve knowledge, freedom and

happiness; achieving these goals would improve society.

ChristianityFaith and

reason together could explain

the world.

Renaissance and Reformation

Humanist emphasized human achievement and said that people could improve their

world.

Greek and Roman Philosophers

Logic could discover new truths; natural law

governed how the world operated.

Scientific RevolutionScientific Laws, not

religion governed the natural world.

New Ideas of the Enlightenment

• Voltaire was a philosopher who mocked government and religion in his writings. He thought that humans could improve their own existence and that they didn’t need to trust that God would improve their happiness.

• He also spoke out against censorship since he had been censored.

• “I (may) disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”

• That saying emphasizes freedom of thought, a main goal of the Enlightenment.


• Denis Diderot edited a book called the Encyclopedia. This book included articles from over 100 experts on science, history, and technology.

• The pope and French King both banned the book!

New Ideas of the Enlightenment• Even though there was censorship, the

Enlightenment ideas spread. • Salons were gatherings were ideas could be

shared. These salons helped spread the ideas. Salons could be hosted by women and in this way they were able to influence the Enlightenment!


• Mary Wollstonecraft – Female British writer that argued that women should have the same rights as men.


• Three more extremely important men of the Enlightenment were:

– John Locke– Charles-Louis Montesquieu– Jean-Jacques Rousseau

*These men had great influence on governments around the world.

New Ideas of the Enlightenment• John Locke – Wrote Two Treatises on Government.

He argued that government should be a contract between ruler and his people. The ruler’s power would be limited. He believed that government existed only for the good of the people.

• Also, he believed that people had natural rights such as life, liberty, and property.


• Charles-Louis Montesquieu – Wrote the Spirit of Laws which built on Locke’s ideas.

• He believed the powers of the government should be separated into different branches.

• The branches could limit each other and keep the others in check.


• Jean-Jacques Rousseau – Wrote the Social Contract. Did not believe in divine right but instead in popular sovereignty. This is the idea that governments should express the will of the people.

• “Man is born free but is everywhere else in chains.”• People enter into a Social Contract where they give

their government the right to create and enforce laws.

New Ideas of the Enlightenment• The ideas of the Enlightenment would lead to

another period of change in the world. • As the ideas of the Enlightenment spread changes

began to occur in the governments around the world.

exploration, scientific revolution, and enlightenment

Documents

scientific revolution

enlightenment exploration

spanish monarch

economic system

explorationthe spanish

new world americas

old world europe

scientific research