The Age of Exploration

“What Columbus did to the Arawaks of the Bahamas, Cortez did to the Aztecs of Mexico, Pizarro did to the

Incas of Peru, and the English Settlers did to the Powhatans and the Pequots” --Howard Zinn

How did Portugal take the lead? • Henry the Navigator

– King’s Brother– Had vision for his country – Wanted to spread Christianity – Started a school of navigation

at Sagres • Other Explorers

– Bartholomeu Dias (down west coast of Africa)

– Vasco da Gama (around Africa to India)

– Christopher Columbus (not financed by king)

• What is the religious make-up of Europe during this time?

• Why did the king refuse to fund Christopher Columbus?

• What was Portugal’s vision for colonization?

From Exploration to Empire (1492 to 1550)

More Exploration in the New World

• Amerigo Vespucci—believed it was a new continent

• Vasco Nunez de Balboa—explored eastern coast of Central America and walked to the Pacific

• Ferdinand Magellan—searched for a strait to get to the Pacific; saw penguins; crew circumnavigated the globe

Why did Columbus win? “Moreover, in 1492 Columbus did little that the Vikings had

not accomplished around 1000 AD. The next year, however, owing to developments in Europe, Spain found it possible to equip Columbus with 1,200 to 1,500 men, 17 ships, cannons, crossbows, guns, horses, and attack dogs. Now Columbus proceeded to make history. He and the Spanish took over the island of Haiti, an ocean away from Spain, renamed it Hispaniola (“little Spain”), and then threw its inhabitants into serfdom and slavery. This was new. It was followed by even more stupendous feats: Spaniards subduing Peru and Mexico, Portugal taking Brazil, and eventually Britain taking the Atlantic coast of what is now the United States and Canada.” --James Loewen

What is the Columbian Exchange?

Syncretism: combining elements from different cultures to make something newhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQPA5oNpfM4

Spanish Conquistadors (soldier-adventurers)

• Hernando Cortez– Sailed from Cuba to Mexico in 1519– Seized Tenochtitlan (Aztec capital) with help from other

Native Americans– Moctezuma (Aztec leader) tried to get him to leave by

offering gold • Francisco Pizarro

– Landed on coast of Peru in 1531– Seized Cuzco (Inca capital)– Atahualpa (Inca leader) was kidnapped and killed

• Juan Ponce de Leon – Sailed north from Costa Rica and landed in Florida in

1528– Fought with Native Americans and was killed– 4 of 400 members of the crew made it back to Spanish

territory eight years later• Francisco Coronado

– Explored New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and Kansas in search of gold

• Hernando de Soto– Explored the Southeastern United States and

Mississippi River in search of gold

Spain’s Empire in the Americans• How could a few hundred Spanish soldiers defeat

Native American armies many times their size? – Technology– Horses– Alliances

• What kind of government did Spain develop to control its colonies? – Encomiendas system—land grants that included the right

to demand labor or taxes from Native Americans– Spanish settlers started mines, ranches and plantations

(large farms) – Dangerous conditions and brutal treatment of Native

Americans led to depopulation – Spanish missions (religious settlements) were established

by priests to convert Native Americans to Christianity (San Diego, Dan Antonio, San Francisco)

– By 1517, the Spanish began importing African slaves to replace the Native Americans who had died

• What social hierarchy existed in the Spanish colonies?– Peninsulares—colonists born in Spain; government

officials and other high status jobs – Creoles—two Spanish parents; wealthy merchants and

plantation owners – Mestizos—Spanish and Indian parents; low level ranchers,

farmers, merchants – Mulattos—Spanish and African parents; lower level jobs– Africans and Native Americans; usually slaves