4. Background
• By 1400, Europeans were ready to venture
beyond their borders
• Renaissance encouraged a new spirit of
adventure and curiosity
• Printing press (Guttenberg- approx. 1450)
spread ideas and new maps and charts
5. Causes of European Exploration
• #1 New Trade Routes
– People want wealth; achieve that through trade
• Traded spices (nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, pepper)
• Introduced during Crusades; people still demanded
goods once wars ended
• Demand greater than supply > high prices
6. (cont’d)
• Trade routes controlled by Italians and
Muslims:
– Muslims sold Asian goods to Italians
– Italian merchants resold items at increased prices
to merchants throughout Europe
– Other traders did not like this and wanted new
routes that bypassed Italian merchants
– Italy had great location
7. (cont’d)
• #2 Spread Christianity
– Crusades left hostility between Christians and
Muslims
– Europeans believed they had a sacred duty to
continue fighting Muslims and convert non-
Christians
8. (cont’d)
• Example– Bartolomeu Dias: early portuguese
explorer
– “For God, glory, and gold”
• “To serve God and His majesty, to give light to
those who were in darkness and to grow rich
as all men desire”
9. (cont’d)
• #3 New Exploration Technologies
– Caravel: stronger, sturdier ship with triangular sails
(adopted from Arabs); made it possible to sail
against the wind
– Astrolabe: brass circle with carefully adjusted rings
marked off in degrees; used to calculate latitude
(perfected by Muslims)
– Compass: magnetically tracked direction (Chinese
invention)
10. (cont’d)
• #4 New land/power and wealth=
• Imperialism- a smaller country dominates a
smaller one for the following reasons:
– Wealth
– Power
– Resources
– Nationalism
11. Major Players in Europe before 16th
Century
• Portugal
• Spain
• France
• Dutch
• England? > did not really start until 17th
century > Queen Elizabeth I
• Others join later
12. Portugal leads the way
• Portugal was first to establish trading outposts
along the west coast of Africa
• Prince Henry (Henry the Navigator): son of
Portugal’s king
– Nations most enthusiastic supporter of
exploration
– Conquered Muslim city in North Africa where he
discovered exotic wealth never found in Europe
(cinnamon, cloves, pepper, silver, gold, jewels) >
Middle Passage; resources
13. (cont’d)
• Henry determined to find the source of that
wealth > mainly the Muslims who were so
wealthy
• 1419 he founded a navigation school in
Portugal
(mapmakers, shipbuilders, scientists, and sea
captains, gathered there to perfect their
trade)
14. (cont’d)
• By Henry’s death, Portugal held a series of
trading posts along western African shores
– Traded for gold and ivory
– Eventually, they traded for African captives
(slaves)
– Next, Portugal search for a trade route to Asia
16. The Slave Trade
1. Existed in Africa before the coming of the
Europeans.
2. Portuguese replaced European slaves with
Africans.
– Sugar cane and sugar plantations
– First boatload of African slaves brought by the
Spanish in 1518
– 275,000 enslaved Africans were exported to other
countries
3. Between 16th century and 19th century, approx.
10 million Africans shipped to the Americas
17. Hernan Cortes
• Went into Mexico in 1518
• Encountered the Aztecs
• Brutally conquered and took power – became
governor
• Destroyed Tenochtitlan
• Seen as a hero to some and as a villain to
others
18. Francisco Pizarro
• Went into Panama with Balboa in 1513
• Took an interest in conquests and riches
• Went into South America around 1522 – went
into Colombia and Ecuador
• Best known for his brutal conquests in Peru in
1532
• Natives were already there, (the Inca)
• Destroyed Inca culture and society
• Was killed by angry natives in 1541
19. Amerigo Vespucci
• Went into the Americas
• Chronicled his voyages with letters
• Named America (after ‘Amerigo’)
20. Spain vs. Portugal
• Spain vs. Portugal
– Portugal believed that Spain reached Asia and that
Columbus claimed lands that the Portuguese might
have reached first
– Pope Alexander VI divided the land between the two
nations
– He drew the Line of Demarcation: imaginary
North/South line that gave lands on the east to
Portugal and the lands on the west to Spain
• In 1494 Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of
Tordesillas: they agreed to honor the line
21. Trading Empires in the Indian Ocean
• Portugal
– Built huge trading empire by capturing many
Muslim owned lands (with help from cannons
mounted on their ships)
• (Straits of Hormuz, Goa, Strait of Malacca, Spice
Islands)
• By capturing these Muslim-owned lands, the
Portuguese broke the Italian-Muslim domination of
trade and sold goods at 1/5 the cost
22. (cont’d)
• English and Dutch
– 1600 they began to challenge Portugal
– Dutch owned the largest fleet of ships with 20,000
vessels
– Both formed East India Company to establish and
direct trade throughout Asia. Also could mint
money, make treaties, and raise armies.
23. (cont’d)
• Dutch East India Company eventually drove
out the English and established dominance
over the region
• By 1700, Dutch ruled much of Indonesia, the
Spice Islands, and the Cape of Good Hope
24. (cont’d)
• French
– Established its own East India Company
– It struggled at first, faced attacks from the Dutch,
eventually establish output in India
– **Although Europeans took control of many port
cities their influence rarely spread beyond the
ports