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describe how trade and political
centralization transformed West Africa
before the advent of the Atlantic Slave
Trade.
describe the role the Columbian
Exchange played in the formation of
the Atlantic world.
identify and explain the difference
between the various colonial footholds
in North America (Spanish, French,
English, and Dutch)
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The confluence of African, Asian, and
European people since ancient times
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West African gold; European guns; Indian
spices
Med. Commerce was closely
intertwined with religion and politics
Christians felt hemmed in by Muslims
who possessed superior wealth,
power, and technology
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Crusaders had suffered bloody and
humiliating loses in attempts to capture
Jerusalem
Europe felt the Muslim power came
from their control of lucrative trade
routes
Europeans sought a way around the
Muslim merchants and Turkish tax
collectors
The development of the printing press
expanded reading and also the stories of
exploration (Marco Polo)
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And after Isabella and Ferdinand
completed the reconquista by
seizing Granada in 1492 they
began to look westward
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This also opened the western mouth
of the Mediterranean
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The major arena of long-distant
travel and trade was the transSaharan caravan trade
Gold became the standard for
nearly all European currencies
New African states emerged to
take advantage of exporting
gold
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By 1500 accumulated wealth was able to
pay for magnificent architecture,
paintings, etc., all commissioned by
government
Strong national monarchs in France,
England, and Spain
However, most Europeans (75%) were
peasants
Doubling of the population: From 55
mil. In 1450 to 100 mil. In 1600
Enclosure movement converted land to
private property, created wonderers
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European towns were numerous
yet small – around a few thousand
The joint-stock company was
formed – the ancestor to the
modern corporation – and a new
economic outlook of profit and
acquisition of wealth (unimpeded)
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This replace the old form of
reciprocity: a just price and a
reasonable profit
 This had been important in the
business relationship
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The chief economic entity was
the family
The nuclear family served as a
“little commonwealth”
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With specific ideas of sovereignty
and roles
People not with their families
were viewed with suspicion
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Europe was recovering from the
Black Death which had killed 1/3
of the population
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Most of 16th Century Europe adhered
to Christianity
However, there were fears of witches
and magic
The Catholic Church wielded
awesome spiritual power and offered
indulgences
This provoked challenges, especially
Martin Luther and John Calvin
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Luther stressed faith and Calvin insisted
upon Predestination
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Luther’s “priesthood of all
believers” insisted on the
importance of the layperson
and reading
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Henry VIII desire for a male heir
Creation of the Church of England,
which then for the next 100 yrs.
struggles between degrees of
“Catholicism” and acceptance of
Puritan views.
These Puritans (both Separatists and
Non-Separatists) become influential
in the settling of America
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The first out of the gate, the first to
overcome impediments to longdistant trade
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Adoption of the triangular Arab sail
Create the caravel – more maneuverable
against the wind
Mastering the compass and astrolabe
Renaissance scholars search more
accurate readings of ancient texts
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The goal was to circumvent the
Moroccan control of the African
gold trade topple Muslim power
Discovering the Canaries, Azores,
and Madeiras was the first step
A place to test weapons, settlement and
slavery
 As well, the first example of pestilence
 Assimilation and intermarriage
enveloped the few survivors
 The colonists cleared the forests
(domesticated plants and animals) for
profitable export
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By the time of Prince Henry the
Navigator died in 1460 Portugal had
established itself in Arguin and south
of the Sahara (modern day Mauritania),
established through treaties with
African rulers
In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias had reached
the Cape of Good Hope
A decade later da Gama had reached
India
The profits keep rolling in and the
expeditions continue
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The conquest and transformation of
the Atlantic islands prepared for the
discovery, invasion, and remaking of
the Americas.
Both Portuguese and the Spanish
learned how to organize and sustain
prolonged oceanic voyages.
Weapons, mounted men, war dogs,
exploitation of indigenous rivalries,
disease, slave usage
 It was their first profitable exploitation
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Institution took two basic forms
Ten to fifteen slaves given for a
Berber horse
Guns traded to the Africans
exacerbated conflict amongst
Africans
Differences in this New Slavery
Magnitude
 Dehumanization
 Race as a factor
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Coupled with Columbus’s religious
fervor and ambition for wealth and
glory, Ferdinand and Isabella sought
to break the Portuguese monopoly on
direct trade with Asia
What had deterred Europeans was
not “falling off the Earth,” it was the
inability to carry supplies; however
Columbus underestimated the
voyage to Indian
Three ships, about 90 men and 33
days later Columbus hits the
Bahamas
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Thanks to the new printing press, the
word of Columbus’s discovery spread
rapidly
Columbus was offered a tenth of the
profits and a goal to convert the
Indians
This success also brought about the
Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494
Upon his second voyage he found the
Taino had killed the 39 men that were
left
This was pretext for war, captives, and
slaves
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Hispaniola
2/3 of the colonists died in the first
decade
 But the Taino suffered far worse
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 From 300,000 in 1492
 To 33,000 in 1510
 To 500 in 1548
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Although not genocidal in intent- the
Spanish actually wanted the Taino for
slaves- the colonization was genocidal
in effect
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Ignoring the Treaty, Henry VII sent
John Cabot (Italian) to explore the
north Atlantic in 1497
1500 – Portuguese claim Brazil
America is named
1513 – Balboa crosses the Isthmus
to see the Pacific
1519 – Magellan makes it to the
Philippines
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These hit every region from the
American southwest, Pacific
Northwest to eastern Canada and
New England
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In 1793 beaches of the PNW were
littered with skulls and bones and saw
the faces of survivors pocked with scars
Repeated and diverse epidemics
provided little opportunity for
natives to repopulate
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Between 2-10 million Native
Americans in the future U.S. and
Canada in 1492
It was an uneven exchange
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The Europeans died in far greater
numbers when they tried to
colonize sub-Saharan Africa
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Europeans got venereal syphilis
Yellow fever and malaria
Why did the Native Americans not
have these types of diseases?
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Subarctic trek
Scattered population
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All in a village got sick at the
same time, and therefore no one
could care for the sick
Smallpox
New diseases also sapped morale
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Leaders were no match for the
outsiders
It destroyed kinship
Many turned to the God of those that
brought the disease
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Three factors helped develop
powerful pathogens in the Old
World
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Long-distance trade and invasions
 Larger pool of potential hosts and
constant exchange and mutation
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Urbanization
 Crowded population kept diseases
cycling
 More garbage and excrement
 More vermin
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Living among domesticated animals
 Cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses
 Natives only domesticated the dog (which
rarely shares diseases with humans)
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The colonizers did not necessarily
champion the death; they needed
the natives for labor
Beginning in 1518, slaves begin to
be transported in larger numbers
to Hispaniola
Prior to 1820, at least 2/3 of the 12
million emigrants (Old to the New
World)were slaves
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From 1492 to 1800: proportion of
the world’s population
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European: 11% to 20%
Native America: 7% to 1%
Contrast this with Africa
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African tropical diseases actually
harmed the Europeans
European colonists took over, but
only amidst conquered minorities
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By 1800 in America
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Indians – 600,000
Euro-Americans – 5 million
African-Americans– 1 million
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European population surges due to
an increased supply of nutrients
Comparison of the indigenous crops
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Average yield in calories per hectare (2.5
acres)
 New World: Cassava 9.9; maize 7.3;
potatoes 7.5
 Old World: wheat 4.2; barley 5.1; oats 5.5
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In Europe it had taken five acres of
grain to support one family; with
potatoes five acres supported three
families
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What the exchange meant for
Europeans.
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Expanded food supply permitted
reproduction at a unprecedented rate
Acquisition of fertile and extensive new
lands
Outlet for surplus population that
flowed to the New World
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Determined to farm in a European
manner, they introduced their
domesticated livestock and plants
Livestock
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Plants
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Honeybees, pigs, horses, mules, sheep, cattle
(rats)
Wheat, barley, rye, oats, grasses, grapevines
(weeds)
Ranging cattle and pigs wreaked havoc
on the America landscape
258 of the approximately 500 weeds
species in the U.S. originated in the Old
World