The Age of Discovery
Reasons for European Exploration
GLORY – European countries wanting to
expand their territory
GOLD - Europeans want to get rich by:
1.Getting gold and new natural resources from
new lands they discovered
2.Trading spices
GOD - Europeans wanted to spread Christianity
Technological Improvements
Astrolabe – used to determine
latitude at sea
Caravel – mast ship that was larger,
faster, and more maneuverable
Mercator projection – good map
for sailing b/c it shows true
direction
Astrolabe
(Muslims)
Allowed sailors
to determine
how far north
or south of the
equator they
were based on
the stars
Caravel
Mutliple masts
and a new kind
of rudder in the
rear enabled
sailors to steer
into the wind
Mercator Projection (1569)
Portuguese Explorers
Prince Henry the Navigator
Portuguese Exploration
Organized a school of exploration new technology & mapping info.
Created a navigation school where
mapmakers, shipbuilders, scientists
and captains could exchange
information
Sent expeditions to explore coast of
West Africa to create ports of trade &
eventually reach India
Bartolomeu Dias
Portuguese Exploration
1487-Sailing for India, Dias is caught
in an awful storm.
Gets to southern tip of Africa first – he
named it “Cape of Good Hope”
Out of food and resources, decides to
return home
Vasco da Gama
Portuguese Exploration
Sailed around Africa to western
coast of India
Dangerous but highly profitable
voyage
Buys spices and sells for 4,000x
original price
Spanish Explorers
Spanish Exploration
Christopher Columbus
Wanted to find trade route to India
but instead landed in West Indies –
thought he was in INDIA!
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstu
dies/famoushistoricalfigures/christ
ophercolumbus/
Spanish Exploration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM-igYjn6E4&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active
Ferdinand Magellan
First expedition to
circumnavigate
(circle) the globe
Claimed
Philippines for
Spain
French and English:
Jacques Cartier – French explorer claimed
Canada for France First encountered the
St. Lawrence River
Sir Francis Drake – He is famous for
leading the first English circumnavigation
of the world, from 1577 to 1580. Friend of
Elizabeth I – defeated Spanish Armada
Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494
Agreement between Spain &
Portugal
Line of Demarcation divides “New”
World”
Portugal gets Brazil & East Indies
Spain gets Central America, most of
Caribbean & So. America
Conquistadors and
Consequences of
Exploration
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudi
es/worldhistory/conquistadors/
Spanish Exploration
Hernan Cortes - conquistador who
arrived in Mexico in 1519
Aztecs believed he was a God
Defeated Aztecs by:
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worldhistory/azteccivilization/
• Superior weapons
• Used enemies to help
• Disease
Cortes and Montezuma
Aztec Empire
ps: forest.ms un: bedford
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Spanish Exploration
Francisco Pizarro
Conquistador who arrived in Peru
in 1523
Captured Atahualpa, Inca Emperor
Spanish eventually conquered
Incan Empire, taking over lands
from Ecuador to Chile
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worldhistory/incacivilization/
Pizarro and Atahualpa
Inca Empire
Reasons for Conquistadors’ Success
1. Epidemics of disease led to a
decline in population
2. Alliances w/other tribes that
resented Aztec or Inca power
3. Superior military technology
4. Religious fears
5. Horses (new to warfare)
Europeans R.A.C.E.D to conquer
the Americas
R–
rigid class system and dictatorships
in Latin Am.
A – Africans brought as slaves
C – colonies imitate culture of parent
country
E – Europeans immigrate to Americas
D – diseases killed native peoples
Impact of Exploration
on Indigenous (Native) People
90% of indigenous (native)
population died b/c of enslavement,
overwork, or diseases:
Smallpox
Measles
Influenza
Labor intensive plantations
Encomienda system – right
to demand labor from the
natives living in a certain area
African slavery – b/c most
natives died under
encomienda system- needed
new workforce
Spanish Colonial Rule
Council of the Indies in Spain
passed laws for colonies
Viceroy, or royal governor,
administered strict control over
natives & those living in colonies
Social Classes in Spanish
America
Peninsulares – born in Spain
Creoles – American-born descendents
of Spanish settlers
Mestizos – Native & Spanish descent
Mulattoes – Spanish & African
descent
Native Americans
African slaves
The Portuguese in Brazil
Cabral claimed Brazil for Portugal
Nobles given land grants; shared
profits with king in Portugal
Turned to plantation agriculture
(esp. sugar) and livestock raising
5 million + Africans brought into
Brazil as slaves
Mercantilism
• Country’s Wealth is measured in gold &
silver.
• Aimed at strengthening economy of mother
country (MC) in Europe
• MC wants to export more than it imports
• Colonies exist to provide raw materials &
resources
• Colonies must buy high-priced finished
goods when sold back to them from MC
A New Business Organization
New Ventures
• Overseas business ventures often too
expensive for individual investors
• Investors began pooling money in jointstock companies
Columbian Exchange
Transfer of plants,
animals, and disease
b/n the Western and
Eastern Hemispheres
Impact of Columbian Exchange
The Introduction of New Diseases
• Native Americans had no natural resistance to
European diseases
• Smallpox, measles, influenza, malaria killed millions
• Population of central Mexico may have decreased by
more than 30 percent in the 10 years following first
contact with Europeans
Different Foods
• Exchange of foods, animals had dramatic impact on later societies
• Over time crops native to Americas became staples in diets of Europeans
• Foods provided substantial nutrition, helped people live longer
Economics
• Activities like Texas cattle ranching, Brazilian coffee growing not possible
without Columbian Exchange- because cows, coffee native to Old World
• Traditional cuisines changed because of Columbian Exchange
Columbian Exchange Led To:
Transfer of plants, animals, and disease b/n
the Western and Eastern Hemispheres
C
R
O
P
S
C. Cash crops grown in Americas
Europeans need lots of workers
R. Racial slavery (Africans)
Europeans used African slaves to work the
lands
Q: Why couldn’t they use Native
Americans?
O. Oh, cash crops
Tobacco
Coffee
And Sugar
P. Plantation system to grow cash
crops
S. Slaves from Africa
Used the Middle Passage to transport slaves
Triangular Trade and The Middle Passage
Triangular Trade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCHvD2DyWeY
Atlantic slave trade began in
1500s by Europeans, need labor
force to work in Americas
Native in Americas were dying
Middle Passage was the horrible
journey across the ocean where
nearly half the slaves died
Triangular Trade
Means of Diffusion of Christianity
Migration of Europeans to colonies
Influence of Catholics and Protestants
who carried their faith, language, and
cultures to “new” lands
Conversion of indigenous peoples:
sometimes harsh & brutal; punished for
practicing indigenous religion