The Age of Exploration
Parts of a Ship
Age of Pirates
A Pirates Creed
Ye Captain shall have full command during the time of engagement, and shall have
authority at all other times to conduct the ship accordingly. He who disobeys
him may be punished unless the majority vote against the punishment.
If ye Captain's vessel is shipwrecked, the crew pledges to remain until he has
possessed himself of a vessel. If the vessel is the common property of the
crew, the first vessel captured shall belong to ye Captain with one share of the
spoil.
If ye introduce on board a woman in disguise, ye shall be punished to death.
If one Brother steals from another, his nose or ears are to be cut off. If he sins
again, he is to be given a musket, bullets, lead and a bottle of water and
marooned on an island.
If there is any doubt in a dispute between ye Brothers, a court of honor is to decide
the verdict. If a Brother is proved in the wrong, the first time he shall be
pardoned, but should he offend again, he shall be tied to a gun, and there
shall receive from each of the ship's company one strike of the lash. The
same punishment shall be given to ye among us, including officers, who shall
get drunk, while on the ship, to the point of losing ye senses.
Whoever shall be placed on sentry, and upon his post shall go to sleep, shall in the
first case be lashed by all the Brothers, and should he again offend, his head
shall be split.
All ye who shall plot to desert, or having deserted shall be captured, shall have ye
heads split open.
Quarrels between several Brothers whilst aboard ye ship shall be settled ashore
with pistol and sword. He that draws first blood shall be the victor. No
Myths & Omens
#Unlucky Friday—Christ’s Crucifixion
#Women on Board—Bad Luck
#Evil in Bananas—Many Banana ships sank
#Whistling on Board—Change in Course of Wind
#Go-Easy Captains—Crew did not Fear him
#Sirens--Singing Mermaids lured Men overboard
“Superstition at Sea”
(read handout)
Famous Pirates
Blackbeard
Calico Jack
Anne Bonny
Chapter 6: The Age of
Exploration 1500 -1800
Section 1: Exploration and Expansion
1.
Motives and Means
A. Europeans had been attracted to Asia for hundreds of
years.
- 13th Century – Marco Polo wrote about his travels to
China in The Travels. It was read by many.
- 14th Century – conquest by the Ottoman Turks reduced
the ability of Europeans to travel by land to the far east.
Therefore, people start to think about traveling to Asia by
sea.
Marco Polo & The Travels
Ottoman
Turks
Economic motives:
- Wanted spices: used to preserve and flavor food; were very
expensive after being shipped across land by Arab
middlemen
“The 3 G’s”: God, Gold, Glory!!!
- Wanted precious metals: gold and silver
- Spread the Catholic faith to natives
C. Means:
- 15th century: European monarchs had increase their power
and resources.
- New technology made sailing beyond Europe possible.
- by 1500, cartographers had made accurate maps
(mercator projection maps) of the area explored.
Compass
Astrolabe
Improved Ships
2. The Portuguese Trading Empire
A. Portugal led the way in overseas
exploration.
B. Prince Henry the Navigator: Sailed along
coast of Africa;
discovered new sources of Gold
Portugal
Prince Henry “The Navigator”
C. Bartholomeu Dias: first to sail
around southern tip of Africa;
becomes known as Cape of Good
Hope;
opened trade
with Asia
D. Vasco da Gama: first to reach the
spice port of Calicut, India
E. Portugal was able to build this
trading empire because of their guns
and knowledge and skill of
navigating the seas.
3. Voyages to the Americas
A. Spanish wanted to sail West to reach the
spice islands; establish their own trade
routes
B. Christopher Columbus: sailed westward for
Spain; explored Cuba, Hispaniola all major
Caribbean Islands and Honduras; called all the
“Indies”
C. Line of Demarcation
C. Line of Demarcation – was created
because both Spain and Portugal feared the
other would claim some of its newly
discovered territories.
Treaty of Tordesillas
- Treaty of Tordesillas – set the line of
demarcation – an imaginary line that ran
north and south – Spain had right to explore
anything west of the line and Portugal
anything east of the line.
D. Soon other European countries join the
race to claim and explore the Americas
- England – John Cabot: explored New
England coastline
Portugal - Pedro Cabral – explored
and what is today Brazil
Amerigo Vespucci – cartographer – mapped
the new world and in letters and on maps
referred to the new lands as the Americas
The Spanish Empire:
A. Conquistadors: people who conquered the Americas
B. Hernan Cortes : conquered the Aztec Empire in Central
Mexico.
C. Francisco Pizzaro: Conquered the
Incan Empire in Peru.
D. Government: system of colonial
administration
- Queen Isabella declared the Indians her subjects.
- granted encomienda: use Native Americans as
labors; put to work on sugar plantations and gold and
silver mines; treated poorly
E. European diseases – smallpox,
measles, typhus – killed millions of
Indians because they were not
immune.
F. European systems of religion,
language, culture, and government
destroyed native American society.
5. Economic Impact and Competition
A. European conquers sought gold and silver – caused (inflation)
B. Columbian Exchange: extensive exchange of plants and animals
between old and new worlds – better nutrition; result: people
live longer
C. New Rivals Enter the Scene (Asia):
-
Ferdinand Magellan claimed Philippine Islands
for Spain – became a major base for trade in the
Pacific.
- Portuguese controlled the spice trade in
Europe and Asia for most of 1500s.
- 1600s, the Dutch replace the Portuguese
as the major European power – started
East India Company
-1700s and 1800s, English and French
contributed to the decline of the Dutch
trading empire.
D. Commercial Revolution: increased
international trade with the development of
colonies and trading post
E. Mercantilism: economic theory that held
that the prosperity of a nation depended on a
large supply of gold and silver.
- should export more than you import
(balance of trade)