Explorers from Portugal and Spain
As a result of their location facing the Atlantic Ocean, Portugal and Spain were well
suited to kicking off the Age of Exploration.
The Portuguese
• Portugal was first country to
launch large-scale voyages of
exploration
• Begun largely due to efforts of
Prince Henry, son of King John
I of Portugal
• Often called Henry the
Navigator, not himself explorer
• Patron, supporter of those who
wished to explore
Navigation Court
• Early 1400s, Henry
established court to which he
brought sailors, mapmakers,
astronomers, others
• Expeditions sent west to
islands in Atlantic, south to
explore western coast of Africa
• Portuguese settled Azores,
Madeira Islands, learned more
about Africa’s coast
Exploration Attempts
Water Route to India
• Prince Henry’s ultimate goal—find water route around Africa to India
• Died before goal accomplished; attempts to find such a route not abandoned
• 1488, Bartolomeu Dias became first to sail around southern tip of Africa
da Gama
• 1497, Vasco da Gama set out for India, stopped at several African ports
• Learned Muslim merchants actively involved in trade
• Journey took more than 10 months, eventually reached Calicut in India
Lucrative Trade
• da Gama’s trip inspired another expedition to India, led by Pedro Cabral
• Sailed west; sighted, claimed land that became known as Brazil
• Portugal established trading centers; became rich, powerful European nation
Spain vs. Portugal
• 1493 Pope Alexander VI divided these lands between
Spain and Portugal
• Spain got the western part; Portugal got the east.
• (1494) Treaty of Tordesillas granted Brazil to Portugal
by moving the line of demarcation over parts of south
America.
• The Portugal began conquering major trading cities in
the Arabian Sea, India, & as far east as Indonesia &
Malaysia.
Explorers and their Routes
Chapter 16, section 1, pages 472-473
European Explorations For Spices, About 1500
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Progress Monitoring Transparency
Portugal Builds an Eastern Empire
• In 1497, Vasco da Gama led four ships that
reached the great spice port of Calicut on the
west coast of India.
• In 1502, he forced a treaty of friendship on
the ruler of Calicut.
• As a result, the Portuguese seized key ports
around the Indian Ocean to create a vast
trading empire.
Trading Post Empires:
Portuguese Trading Posts
• Portuguese trading posts were designed not
to conquer territory but to control trade
routes by forcing merchant vessels to stop and
pay duties
• By the mid-16th Century, Portuguese
merchants had built more than 50 trading
posts between west Africa and east Asia
Portugal Builds and Eastern Empire
• Afonso d’Alboquerque led the effort seizing Hormuz in 1508,
Goa in 1510, and Melaka in 1511
– Alboquerque tried to control trade throughout the Indian
Ocean
• Goa- Island off the coast of India
• Malacca- Sea port in the East Indies
– Once controlled by Muslims
– In 1511 the Portuguese take control of the city
and massacre the cities Muslims
*The Portuguese had a limited cultural impact in the region
• only partially successful because of an insufficient
number of ships to enforce his plan
Trading Post Empires:
English and Dutch Trading Posts
• Like the Portuguese, the English and Dutch
built trading posts on the Asian coasts but
they did not attempt to control shipping on
the high seas
• The English and Dutch had two main
advantages over the Portuguese
– Faster, cheaper, and more powerful ships
– Joint-stock companies
Trading Post Empires:
English and Dutch Trading Posts
• Joint-stock companies enabled investors to realize profits
while limiting risks to their investments
– English East India Company
– Dutch United East India Company (VOC)
• Companies had government support to buy, sell, and build
trading posts and even make war, but they were privately
owned
• Advanced nautical technology, military power, efficient
organization, and relentless pursuit of profit allowed the jointstock companies to form a global trade network
– The companies had the power of a sovereign nation, and came to
dominate the regions
Trading Post Empires:
Philippines and Indonesia
• In most cases the Europeans traded peacefully
with the Asians (partly because they were
unable to subjugate them)
• The two exceptions were the Philippines and
Indonesia where Europeans were able to use
massive force to establish imperial regimes
Trading Post Empires:
Philippines and Indonesia
• The Spanish arrived in the Philippines
in 1565, controlled most of the
coastal regions by 1575, and
controlled most of the archipelago
during the 17th Century
• Spanish activities revolved around
trade and Christianity
– (Today the Philippines are 83%
Roman Catholic)
• The most prominent area was the
port of Manila which supported the
trade of silk from China with New
World silver from Mexico
“Manila galleons” transported
cargo from the Philippines to
Mexico
Trading Post Empires:
Philippines and Indonesia
• In Indonesia, the Dutch focused on trade and did not
try to win converts to Christianity
– Took from Portuguese
– (Today Indonesia is 88% Muslim)
• The VOC established a monopoly over the spice
trade, seeking less to rule than to control spice
production
• Used a variety of techniques
– Formed local alliances, uprooted plants on islands they did
not control, attacked people who sold their spices to
others
New Colonial Rivals
Trading Post Empires: Seven Years’ War
• Commercial competition ultimately generated
violence
– In 1746 French forces seized the English trading
post at Madras, India
– In the Caribbean English pirates attacked Spanish
vessels and French and English forces fought over
the sugar islands
• The violence culminated in the Seven Years’
War (1756-1763)
Trading Post Empires: Seven Years’ War
• A global war
– In Europe, Britain and Prussia fought
against France, Austria, and Russia
– In India, British and French allied
with local rulers and fought each
other
– In the Caribbean, the Spanish and
French fought the British
– In North America, the Seven Years’
War merged with the on-going
French and Indian War (1754-1763)
which pitted the British and French
against each other
Trading Post Empires: Seven Years’ War
• In the end Britain emerged victorious, but
challenges continued
• Still Britain was now in a position to dominate
world trade for the foreseeable future
• The Seven Years’ War paved the way for the
establishment of the British Empire of the 19th
Century
European Footholds in South and Southeast Asia
Mughal India and European Traders
The British East India Company and the French East India Company both
operated in Indian coastal towns with the permission of the Mughal rulers.
When Britain and France went to war in the mid-1700s, the British and their
Indian sepoys drove the French out of India. The British then came to dominate
the subcontinent.
Mughal India & European Traders
A CENTER OF VALUABLE TRADE
• Besides producing spices, India was the world
leader in textile manufacturing.
• It exported large quantities of silk and cotton
cloth.
• The Mughal empire was larger, richer, and
more powerful than any kingdom in Europe.
• Several weak rulers held the throne in the
early 1700s.
Mughal India & European Traders
A GREAT EMPIRE SHATTERS
• Corruption became widespread, and the central
government eventually collapsed.
• Both the English and French East India Companies made
alliances with local officials and independent rajahs.
• By the mid-1700s, the British and the French had become
locked in a bitter struggle for global power.
• In 1756, war between Britain and France erupted in
Europe.
• The fighting soon spread, involving both nations’ lands in
Asia and the Americas.
Progress Monitoring Transparency
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The Beginnings of Our Global Age:
Europe, Africa, and Asia
Encounters in East Asia
European Contact with Ming China
The Ming allowed Europeans to come and trade, but they
limited their visits to one area and to one season. Christian
missionaries were welcomed for their knowledge of many
subjects, but had little success in converting the Chinese.
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