European Societies
Around 1492
By: Elizabeth, Adam, Maya, Sarah, Sophie, Lucas and Mitchel
Religion
• Roman Catholic Church dominates; pope, bishops make
decisions
• Parish priests interpret scriptures, administer sacraments
Crusading Christianity
• Crusades—Christian military expeditions to take Holy Land,
1096–1270
• Isabella, Ferdinand end reconquista or reconquest of
Spain,1492
• Crusades led to decreased power for the Pope, increased
power for European
monarchs, and increased trade between Europe and Asia
Decline in Church Authority
• Reformation—disputes over church practices, authority in the
1500s • Europe divided between Catholicism and Protestantism
Politicics
• European societies were based • Majority pop. was Peasants
on social hierarchy
• Supplied with land and
• Monarchs and Nobles controlled protection in return for livestock
the wealth and power
or crops
• Never rise above Social class you • Traders gained Social Mobility
were born in
Trade and
Geography
How the geography of Europe affected the development and
advancement of the trade.
The Geography of Europe in 1492
The Geography of Europe in 1492
Present Day Europe
Present Day World
Why was Europe’s Location VITAL
for Successful Trade?
• Europe is located next to many, many bodies of
water:
• The Mediterranean Sea
• The Atlantic Ocean
• The North Sea
• The Black Sea
• The Baltic Sea
• The Norwegian Sea
Therefore…
• Because Europe was located in close proximity to Asia, North
America, South America, Africa, and even the Middle East, European
people, like Christopher Columbus, were able to to travel to many
different lands using different forms of transportation.
• When Christopher Columbus discovered other lands, like AMERICA,
Europe’s trade and knowledge was able to expand greatly, then went
on many other voyages to expand Europe’s knowledge of the ‘new
world’ that awaited them
• This exploration and resulted in:
• Cultural Diffusion
• Advanced Technology and Cities
• An Economically Stable Government due to riches, prosperous lands,
and trade that started to be exploited
• Exploring and discovering of Different Lands, Continents, and Trade
Routes
• Specialization of Jobs and Labor (explorers, merchants…)
Meet Christopher Columbus
• This short video will introduce you to Christopher Columbus,
and will allow all of you to see why he was such an asset to
Europe, and how he led Europe on it’s path of trade and
advancement
• Christopher Columbus discovered these ‘new worlds’:
• ‘Asia’ (Americas)
• Cuba
• Hispaniola
• Caribbean
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSJKoOaRZmE
European Trade Routes in 1492
European Trade Routes in 1492
Trade in Europe
• At this time (1492):
• There was trade in the Middle East, Europeans traded goods for silk,
cloth, and spices
• Europe traded with the Americas for whale oil, lumber, furs, rice, silk,
indigo, tobacco, sugar, molasses, and wood. In return, Europe gave
the Americas luxuries and manufactured goods
• Europe traded guns, cloth, iron, and beer, in return for gold, ivory,
spices, and hardwoods from Africa
• Christopher Columbus first came to the Americas in 1492 while
seeking the West Indies which allowed for the slave trade to begin:
• Slaves from West Africa, Central Africa, American Indians, and South
Americans were shipped over to the ‘new world’
• Then, Europeans would sell the slaves to one another, making a profit;
thus, earning the name, ‘the slave trade’
GROWTH OF COMMERCE
• The first people documented to have profited from trade with
Asians were Italian merchants from Venice and Florence.
• This led to the revolutionary business institutions being
created: international banks and corporations. International
banking allowed people to transfer their money to different
cities. Corporations were joint-stock companies, which meant
investors could put together their riches.
• Of important significance is especially the development of the
joint-stock companies, because they financed the expeditions
to America.
Popular wanted items from the
East
•
•
•
•
Chinese silk and porcelain
Tea from India
Persian rugs
Spices (Pepper, Curry, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.)
Factors that affected the
economy
• POPULATION: The population was steadily increasing during
the 1400’s, resulting in a rise in prosperity, towns growing as
well as the growth in commerce. Rise in population meant less
land; thus making land worth more. Now the rich landowners
could spend more money on goods, which caused an rise in
economic growth and increased trade that benefitted all
merchants. Also, more peasants were forced to look for work
in the city due to rents rising.
• RISE OF NATIONS: With the crusades weakening the nobles,
this gave the monarchs the opportunity to have more control
over their land. To do this they introduced new taxes, raised
armies and made stronger central governments. By investing
some of their tax income into weaponry, the monarchs
arsenal could overpower anyone who opposed them; whether
it was Native Americans or Africans.
Motives behind funding
explorers
• Only kings/queens from powerful nations like Spain, Portugal,
France, and England had the money and power to fund
overseas exploration.
• They funded out of hope the new land would have valuable
resources, seeing as gold and silver were scarce in Europe
during the mid 1400’s.
• Also the “Renaissance Spirit”, giving people the drive to seek
out glory, fame and achievements.
• Other motives: New land, slaves, etc.
RENAISSANCE SPIRIT
• “Renaissance” = rebirth
• A rekindling of people’s curiosity and craving for knowledge of
the world inspired people to think differently. People started
to value education, science, the arts, and achievement.
• Said to have started in the 1450’s especially after Gutenberg
released the printing press and scholars rediscovering ancient
documents.
• Printing press resulted in books being produced quicker and
being sold cheaper.
Military
• The Crusades weakened the nobility and therefore
strengthened the monarchies. Monarchs began to
exert more control over their land and people, and
among the changes was the need to raise
professional armies.
• Big, professional armies are very expensive, and the
need for resources and supplies grew with the
number. Therefore monarchs had a motive to
encourage the quest for new land and trading routes,
so that the profit could maintain their standing
armies.
• Advances in maritime technology also affected
European militaries. The invention of the caravel, a
lighter, swifter, and more maneuverable ship and
other navigational inventions such as the compass
and the astrolabe resulted in more military control in
the seas adjacent to Europe.
• Though the Chinese had introduced gunpowder to
Europe before this time, Europeans continued to
refine the formulae and find new uses for it, which
was put to use with their militaries.
New Age of Expansion
• New communication and trade routes
• First global businesses
• New technologies
• Foods
• Death of Native Americans
• Rising slavery
New Age of Expansion
• Portugal created a sailing school by Prince Henry.
• Explored further around Africa
• In 1488 the whole African coast was fully
discovered by Portuguese.
• Columbus began his search to find a faster rout
to Asia in 1492.
• Columbus’s ship ‘Pinta’ was a carvel.
New Age of Expansion-Exports
• Foods :
•
•
•
•
•
Tomato
Potato
Peanut
Corn
Cassava
• Foods :
• Cotton
• Tobacco
• Indigo
Rise of Nations
• Crusades weakened the society and monarchies.
• Western Europe monarchs began to take more control of
the lands
• Collecting more taxes, raising the number of armies, and
strengthening their governments.
• Merchants were willing to pay the new taxes, but in
exchange for protection, expansion or trade.
• By the 1400s the four major nations that were taking a
new form are: Portugal, Spain, France, and England.
Rise of Nations
• Monarchs increased power investing some tax revenues
in new weapons used to limit the power of the
independent nobles.
• In the 1400s the major weapons were developed more
and would also eventually outmatch the weapons of the
Africans and Native Americans.
• Only the king and queen of a nation were given the
power to finance overseas explorations.
• Trading was encouraged to maintain a standing army.
• By the mid 1400s Europe’s gold and silver mines were
running low. That’s when the monarchs of Spain, France
and England started looking overseas for wealth.
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