15th Century Timelines
Episode Five: Century of the Sail
(1400-1500)
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999
/millennium/learning/timelines/
15th Century Segments
China
Italy
Central America
Turkey
Portugal
The Larger Fifteenth-Century World Context
Events occurring between 1400 to 1500 set the stage
for the modern era. In 1428 the Aztecs embarked on a
series of successful military campaigns to expand their
empire. By the end of the century, their empire stretched
from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific and as far south
as Guatemala. Captives served as sacrificial victims for
Aztec religious rituals. 20,000 victims were sacrificed in
1487 during dedication ceremonies for the new temple
at Tenochtilan. In Peru, the Inca Empire was established
through a series of conquests by two military leaders,
beginning in 1438. Inca leaders expanded their empire
over a period of 40 years until it stretched more than
2000 miles along the Andes mountain range.
Reading, Writing and Travel
In 1402, the Koreans perfected moveable metal type.
During the years that followed, they steadily devised new
fonts and added printing in multiple colors. Their printing
processes were adapted by the Chinese. By the end of the
century, more people were reading books in China than
any other society in the world. Advances in printing
technology paralleled other developments. Up to 1411,
Ming rulers continued to improve the Grand Canal so grain
shipments from the south could be transported north to
the capital of Beijing. Silk production increased. The
second Ming emperor financed a series of 7 voyages into
the Indian Ocean under the command of the Chinese
Muslim Zheng He. Government supported expeditions
ceased in 1434, a year after the death of the emperor. By
the end of the fifteenth century, Ming attention was
focused on rebuilding the Great Wall to protect China from
northern nomadic invasions.
Southeast Asia
In Southeast Asia, the Vietnamese revolted
against Chinese rule and gained independence
in 1428. Increasing levels of Chinese migration
into south China pushed the Thai and Burmese
into the river valleys of Southeast Asia. In 1431
the Thai defeated the Khmers who had built the
elaborate temple palaces of Angkor Wat and
Angkor Thom. Buddhism became the dominant
religion in the inland regions while inhabitants of
the ports and the island kingdoms converted to
Islam. The Southeast Asian island kingdoms
continued to prosper through their trade in
peppercorns and spices.
Muslim Advances
After the Chinese withdrew from the Indian Ocean,
trade was left to the Muslims. Indian textile
centers, financed by commercial interests,
developed a "putting out" system to distribute
cotton and silk to local villagers. Villagers wove silk
or cotton into textiles using the spinning wheel, the
vertical loom, and block printing. City states along
the east coast of Africa traded gold, ivory, and
slaves. The Songhai empire, with its famed cities
of Jenne and Timbuktu along the Niger river in
West Africa, reached its height in approximately
1475. Muslims and other merchants traveled
inland from Africa to the islands of Southeast Asia,
linking regional markets with the coastal ports.
Travel and Trade
At the western terminus of the Silk Road, overland
caravans changed hands. Representatives of the Italian
city states bought Asian products for European markets.
Constantinople surrendered to the Ottoman Turks in
1453. From there the Ottomans extended their rule into
the Balkans. Serbia was annexed in 1454; Bosnia in
1463; Albania in 1468. By the end of the century, the
Ottomans were challenging Hungary. Strategically, the
Ottomans realized that if they could control the eastern
shores of the Mediterranean and extend their rule into
Egypt, they could control overland trade to Asia.
Orthodox Christian refugees from Constantinople sought
the protection of the Italian city states. As they traveled
west, they brought with them the cultural treasures of the
Byzantine tradition.
The Italian city states continued to prosper
through their control of Mediterranean trade. At
the western end of the Mediterranean, the
Spanish were on the verge of reconquering the
last Muslim strongholds. A successful Portuguese
attack on the wealthy North African city of Cueta
opened a window for the Portuguese to the world
beyond. Prince Henry, a younger son of the
Portuguese king, established a school of
navigation with the hope of outflanking the
Muslims by sailing around Africa to the Indian
Ocean. During the 1400's Prince Henry's school of
navigation developed the caravel, with its rigid hull
and multiple masts.
He hired expert mapmakers, sea captains, and
ship builders. Jewish mapmakers developed
accurate portolano maps from information
delivered by Portuguese sailors who worked their
way along the west African coast. Prince Henry
also sought the advice of the Genoise who knew
something about the Saharan gold trade. Ship
builders added a lateen sail, which was a common
feature on ships in the Persian Gulf, and stern
post rudders. Ship captains used Muslim
astrolabes and Chinese compasses. The
Portuguese were ready for exploration.
Expeditions
By 1500, Europeans had the technological
advantage in ship design, mining, metallurgy and
gunpowder weapons. Caravels were floating
fortresses. These ships could withstand the recoil
of heavy cannon fired from the deck and yet were
agile and durable in the water. The Portuguese
established a lucrative trade in gold and slaves with
the west coast of Africa. In 1488 they reached the
Cape of Good Hope. By 1498 Vasco da Gama had
sailed all the way to India with the help of a Muslim
pilot. Columbus used the same navigational
technology to sail west from Spain in 1492. These
expeditions ushered in an age of European
exploration and expansion
15th Century People
Christopher Columbus
1451-1506
He failed four times to find a route westward
from Europe to the Orient, but the Italian
explorer stumbled upon two giant continents rich
in raw materials and agricultural products that
would change the economy and politics of the
world. Christopher Columbus is often criticized -principally for cruelty toward and enslavement of
Caribbean natives -- but his delivery on a
promise to "discover islands and mainland in the
Ocean Sea," however inadvertent, has never
been surpassed.
Leonardo De Vinci
1452-1519
Renaissance man -- one who knows much and
can do more, whose interests are broad and
deep, whose zest for inquiry is indefatigable -was born in Vinci, Italy, in 1452 and named
Leonardo. As an apprentice he quickly showed
painting and sculptural talents. Soon after came
projects in engineering, anatomy, architecture,
scientific illustration, mapmaking, mathematics,
optics. While his finished works -- notably Mona
Lisa and The Last Supper -- are few, his copious
and disorderly notebooks continue to enthrall us.
Regarded as the greatest of great amateurs, this
enduring icon of the Renaissance set a mark
unequaled by any who came after.
Admiral Zheng He
1371 - 1435
In the early decades of the 15th century, the seas off
Asia were dominated by the huge Chinese treasure ships
of Admiral Zheng He -- each one of them five times as
large as a typical European caravel. Zheng, a court
eunuch turned diplomat, led seven naval expeditions for
Ming Emperor Yongle between 1405 and 1433. Zheng's
assignment was to extend China's political sway
overseas. His first entourage included 62 ships and
27,800 men; the others were of similar scale, making
them the most fantastic naval ventures the world had
yet seen. His journeys took him to the east coast of
Africa, to Mecca and to India. Zheng always brought
back exotic souvenirs as proof of his exploits, including,
once, an African giraffe.
Joan of Arc 1412-1431
A young peasant who believed she was guided by
the voices of saints, Joan of Arc led the French to
crucial victories in the Hundred Years War and
became a surpassing hero for her countrymen
and her fellow Catholics. The teenager who
dressed in men's clothing defeated the English at
Orleans in 1429; her triumph at Reims not only
earned her the nation's adulation but paved the
way for the coronation of King Charles VII. On a
campaign to free Paris, she was captured, tried
for heresy and burned at the stake. Named a
saint in 1920, she has been the subject of
hundreds of movies, books and plays, including
Shaw's Saint Joan.
Johan Gutenberg, 1400-1468
The invention of the printing press
by Johan Gutenberg (1400-1468)
and use of moveable type by the end
of the 15th century contributed to
the dissemination of printed material
and the spread of ideas. Prior to this
time, books were hand-lettered
usually by monks that limited their
availability.
Segments – 15th Century
CHINA - Summary
China began to recover from the
plagues and famines of the fourteenth
century and turn her energies to
maritime expansion.
China was best equipped to expand,
with technologies far exceeding those
of her rivals. Ambitious expeditions left
the shores of Asia during the reign of
Emperor Yong Le, led by the eunuch
Admiral Zheng He. For nearly three
decades, Zheng, he set sail with fleets
as large as 200 ships and with crews
totaling 27,000 men.
The ships were some the largest
wooden vessels ever constructed, over
400 feet long and 180 feet wide. They
were powered by twelve bamboo sails
on nine masts and could sail at any
angle to the wind.
While some claim these expeditions
aimed to determine whether there was
anything in the world China did not
possess, others say the motives of the
voyages were unclear. The fleets
traveled to points all around the vast
Indian Ocean, exchanging gifts with
people they met, returning with exotic
animals and goods.
The expeditions were eventually
abandoned; perhaps Confucian
scholars decided nothing brought
back was of use to China. China
entered a period of self-created
isolation.
ITALY - Summary
Western Christendom began to recover
from the plague, and European culture
experienced a "re-birth" or renaissance.
The Renaissance was arguably dependent
on sea links between Italy and Atlantic
Europe as well as with Constantinople
and other major ports around the
Mediterranean.
Improved and extended maritime
connections between Italy,
Alexandria, and Cairo ensured the
import of exotic spices, clothes, and
artifacts from the East. A few private,
influential families vied with one
another to show off their newfound
wealth and stimulated progress in art
and architecture.
Ambitious new buildings sprang up,
works of decorative art were
commissioned, cathedrals were
adorned with beautiful new frescoes,
and artists devised new methods to
portray it all on canvas. Italy's strong
demand for luxuries and spices in turn
inspired the sea voyages of Spain and
Portugal.
These two countries were on the
periphery of Europe and were
desperate to gain access to wealth.
Trading goods with countries like
Italy could provide it.
CENTRAL AMERICA - Summary
In the Americas, the Aztecs created a
vast empire without the use of windpowered crafts or water-based trade;
the Aztec civilization was entirely
land-bound. The heart of the Aztec
empire was the city of Tenochtitlan, a
huge, vibrant island in the midst of a
swampy lake.
From this city the Aztecs controlled
thousands of outlying settlements,
demanding the tribute which
helped keep the main city provisioned
and viable. The children of elite citizens
were reared to be part of a disciplined
warrior class. The warriors maintained
the Aztecs' control over conquered
peoples.
The constant conquest of new peoples
was also essential to supply sacrificial
victims for offerings to the gods. The
Aztec civilization would thrive until
the arrival of the Spanish in the next
century.
TURKEY - Summary
The Ottoman people exploited both
land and sea-based military
technologies to establish a new and
vigorous Muslim empire in formerly
Christian lands.
In 1453, Mehmet the Conqueror led
a 100,000-strong army towards
Constantinople. Constantinople was
one of the richest cities in
Christendom, as prosperous as
Venice, Florence, or Milan. But
Mehmet¹s army outnumbered the
inhabitants 7 to 1, and his victory
was complete.
The conquest changed the fate of
Constantinople forever. Mehmet saved
the ancient Christian
cathedral of Hagia Sophia from
destruction, but converted it into a
mosque. In addition, he built a vast
palace - the Topkapi Sarayi - with
kitchens capable of feeding 10,000
people in a day.
It was laid out like a nomad's tent, but
on a grand scale, and echoed the
Ottomans' Turkish style of art and
architecture. Other conquests allowed
the domain of the Ottomans to grow.
Their empire eventually stretched from
the Danube in present-day Hungary to
the Euphrates in present-day Iraq,
straddling the Silk Road.
Finally, the Ottomans successfully
challenged the Venetian empire at
sea, establishing their control over all
but the western portion of the
Mediterranean.
PORTUGAL - Summary
The sail changed the fortunes of Portugal
and Spain, two sparsely populated
maritime nations located on the Iberian
peninsula. Merchants were motivated to
find a new sea route to the east so they
could bypass the many middlemen who
imposed taxes and the Ottomans who
now had a stranglehold on the
important trade routes. The
Portuguese edged their way south
around the coast of Africa, despite
some dangerous sailing waters.
Bartolomew Dias rounded the Cape
of Good Hope in 1488. But
Christopher Columbus was the only
one willing to take the ambitious
gamble of a direct westerly journey.
No one knew what lay to the west of
the Iberian peninsula, but many
feared the expanse of ocean was the
domain of monsters and serpents. By
Columbus' calculation, travelling west
would eventually bring him to Japan
where he would secure exotic goods
to sell.
The trade winds carried him to San
Salvador Island on October 12, 1492.
He discovered new territories and
brought two very separate parts of the
world together for the first time in
history. But the real triumph was
reserved for Vasco de Gama, who 7
years later actually reached India and
the Orient by sea.
Expansion and subsequent
colonization by the Spanish and
Portuguese would forever change the
course of history.
15th Century Legacies
Moveable metal type encouraged printing, thereby expanding
literacy and the diffusion of ideas that stimulated change.
Migrations and conquests had an impact on the world's cultural
landscape: the Chinese migrated into Southeast Asia; the Thai,
Burmese, and Vietnamese established states in Southeast Asia;
the Ottoman Turks controlled shipping between the Black Sea and
Mediterranean and the land routes from Southwest Asia into the
Balkans; the Spanish and Portuguese conquered Iberia; the
Aztecs conquered Mexico and parts of Central America; the Inca
conquered Peru.
India became a leader in the production of cotton textiles using
advanced methods of block printing, dying, and weaving.
15th Century Legacies
The Portuguese-African slave trade became profitable and
established.
Expanding zones of maritime trade linked larger regions of
the eastern hemisphere.
Zheng He, Vasco da Gama, and Columbus established a
tradition of state-sponsored exploration that continues into
the twentieth century.
Europeans won control of the world's shipping lanes
through technological changes in ship design, map making,
mining, metallurgy, and gunpowder weapons.