The Foundations of European Exploration

C16, S2 pp. 388 - 391

Improvements in Technology

• Mapmaking– More accurate

• Navigation- – Compass- enabled ships

to sail beyond sight of land & not get lost

• New ships-– traveled further, faster, &

through harsh weather conditions

Economic Changes

• Commercial Revolution- (1400s-1700s)– Standardization of money

• Banks could store & lend large sums of money to governments or businesses wanting to explore

– Joint-Stock Company• Money raised by selling shares (stock) to investors• Raise large sums of money to finance exploration

– European Monarchs (1400s-1500s) • sought riches through conquest & discovery that would

make them more powerful than rival countries

Mercantilism

• Belief that there is a fixed amount of money available in the world and it is the job of the government to do all that it can to increase the country’s wealth– Measured by gold & silver

• Favorable Balance of Trade- – Tariffs- reduced the amount of goods from other countries– Subsides- encouraged new industries for export

• Role of Colonies- – Colonies not allowed to manufacture or import goods– Forced to buy manufactured goods from home country

Social Change

• Social changes – Curiosity & spirit of discovery from the

Renaissance & Scientific Revolution– Hope of wealth or gain land – Escape religious persecution or spread

religion

Portugal’s First Explorers

• Prince Henry- Prince Henry- “The Navigator”“The Navigator”– Wanted Gold for PortugalWanted Gold for Portugal

• Bartolomeu Dias-Bartolomeu Dias- (1488) (1488) – Cape of Good HopeCape of Good Hope

• Vasco da Gama-Vasco da Gama- – Indian Ocean Indian Ocean

• Both found trade route from Both found trade route from Europe to India & the East Europe to India & the East IndiesIndies

Christopher Columbus

• Wanted to find shorter route to Asia • Landed in modern day Bahamas

• Thought he found an island off the coast of India; called the “West Indies”

I’m not as nice as you think

Impact of Columbus’ Voyages

Dividing the New Lands

• Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)– Spain and Portugal most

powerful countries split the world in half

Vespucci, Balboa, & Magellan

• Amerigo Vespucci- America named after him

• Vasco Nunez Balboa (Spain)- Panama

• Ferdinand Magellan (Portugal)- 1519– Pacific Ocean (pacificus = calm)– 1st round-the- world voyage

Look at map on page 396

• Copy the voyages onto the blank map• Answer the following questions on the

back:– How did Dias and Da Gama enable

Portugal to trade directly with Asia?– Why did Portugal take the lead in finding a

sea route?– How did these explorations give Portugal a

trade advantage over other European nations?

The Slave Trade

• Triangular Trade-Triangular Trade- goods goods to Africa, slaves to the to Africa, slaves to the Americas, products to Americas, products to EuropeEurope

• Not all African kingdoms Not all African kingdoms participated in slave tradeparticipated in slave trade

Portuguese Expansion

• Conquered most of Asian Islands, East African coast, and Brazil

• BUT…..

Portuguese Empire Weakens

• Portuguese governmentPortuguese government – WeakWeak– lacked wealth & population for lacked wealth & population for

expansion/colonizationexpansion/colonization

• In 1580, Spain annexed PortugalIn 1580, Spain annexed Portugal– Regained independence in 1640Regained independence in 1640

Spanish Colonial Empire

• Conquistadors- Spanish Conquerors • Cortez conquered Aztecs

– Seized Montezuma– Pizzaro claimed Peru for Spain

–Set up colonies–disease weakened Aztec

populations; Spain grew wealthy

Your taking a trip

• You are about to embark on a journey at sea. What items would you need to survive the adventure?– Choose the most important people needed to run a ship (a captain?

a cook? a doctor? a navigator? a crewman? all of these people?)– What type of ship will you take their journey in?– Where are you sailing from and where do you expect to go?– What food and drink will you take to last the journey– If you must stop along the way to resupply, where do you plan to

get their supplies?– Will you take extra clothing or bedding?– How will you maintain hygiene?– Does the group want to include medical supplies? What kind of

medical supplies do you think you will need? • What scientific/math knowledge would you need to steer

the ship?• What supplies will be needed to keep the ship sailing?