Chapter 15
European
Exploration and
Conquest, 1450–1650
A detail from an
early-seventeenth-century
Flemish painting
depicting maps
A detail from an early-seventeenthcentury Flemish painting depicting
maps, illustrated travel books, a globe,
a compass, and an astrolabe.
Reproduced by courtesy of the Trustees, The NationalGallery, London
The Afro-Eurasian Trading
World Before Columbus
The Indian Ocean was the center of
the Afro-Eurasian trading world. After
a period of decline following the Black
Death and the Mongol invasions, trade
revived in the fifteenth century. Muslim
merchants dominated trade, linking
ports in East Africa and the
Red Sea with those in India and the
Malay Archipelago. The
Chinese Admiral Zheng He’s voyages
(1405–1433) followed the most
important Indian Ocean trade routes,
hoping to impose Ming dominance of
trade and tribute.
Source: Some data from The Times Atlas of World History, 3d ed., page 146.
The Port of Banten in Western Java
Influenced by Muslim traders and emerging in the early sixteenth century's a Muslim
kingdom, Banten evolved into a thriving entrepôt. The city stood on the trade route to
China and, as this Dutch engraving suggests, in the seventeenth century the Dutch
East India Company used Banten as an important collection point for spices
purchased for sale in Europe.
Archives Charmet/The Bridgeman Art Library
Bellini: Procession in the Piazza San Marco
The Piazza San Marco was, and remains, the principal square of Venice. Located on
the Grand Canal, it is home to Saint Mark’s Basilica and the palace of the doge, the
officer elected for life by the city’s aristocracy to rule the city. Many Venetian festivals,
like this procession recorded in 1496 by the great artist Gentile Bellini, took place in
the square.
Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY
Ptolemy’s Geography
The recovery of Ptolemy’s Geography in the early fifteenth century gave Europeans new access to
ancient geographical knowledge. This 1486 world map, based on Ptolemy, is a great advance over
medieval maps but contains errors with significant consequences for future exploration. It shows the
world watered by a single ocean, with land covering three-quarters of the world's surface and with
Europe, Africa, and Asia as the only continents. Africa and Asia are joined, making the Indian Ocean a
landlocked sea and rendering the circumnavigation of Africa impossible. The continent of Asia is
stretched far to the east, greatly shortening the distance from Europe to Asia.
Giraudon/ArtResource, NY
Nocturnal
An instrument for determining the hour of night at sea by finding the progress of
certain stars around the polestar (center aperture).
National Maritime Museum, London
Overseas Exploration and
Conquest, Fifteenth and
Sixteenth Centuries
The voyages of discovery marked a
dramatic new phase in the
centuries-old migrations of European
peoples. This map depicts the
voyages of Ferdinand Magellan,
Christopher Columbus, and Vasco
daGama.•1What was the
contemporary significance of each of
these voyages? •2 Was the
importance of the voyages primarily
economic, political, or cultural?•3
Which voyage had the
most impact, and why?
The Portuguese Fleet
Embarked for the Indies
This image shows a Portuguese trading
fleet in the late fifteenth century, bound
for the riches of the Indies. Between
1500 and1635, over nine hundred ships
sailed from Portugal to portion the Indian
Ocean, in annual fleets composed of
five to ten ships.
British Museum/HarperCollins Publishers/The Art Archive
World Map of Diogo Ribeiro, 1529
This map integrates the wealth of new information provided by European explorers in
the decades after Columbus’s 1492 voyage. Working on commission for the Spanish
king Charles V, the mapmaker incorporated new details on Africa, South America,
India, the Malay Archipelago, and China. Note the inaccuracy in his placement of the
Moluccas, or Spice Islands, which are much too far east. This “mistake” was intended
to serve Spain’s interests in trade negotiations with the Portuguese.
Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
The Aztec Capital of Tenochtitlán
Occupying a large island, Tenochtitlán was laid out in concentric circles. The administrative and religious
buildings were at the heart of the city, which was surrounded by residential quarters. Cortés himself
marveled at the city in his letters: “It has four approaches by means of artificial causeways. . . . The city is
as large as Seville or Cordoba. . . . There are bridges, very large, strong, and well constructed, so that,
over many, ten horsemen can ride abreast. . . . The city has many squares where markets are held. . . .
There is one square, twice as large as that of Salamanca, all surrounded by arcades, where there are
daily more than sixty thousand souls, buying and selling. In the service and manners of its people, their
fashion of living was almost the same as in Spain, with just as much harmony and order.”
The Newberry Library
Doña Marina Translating for Hernando Cortés During His Meeting with
Montezuma
In April 1519 Doña Marina (or La Malinche as she is known in Mexico) was among twenty women given
to the Spanish as slaves. Fluentin Nahuatl and Yucatec Mayan spoken by a Spanish priest
accompanying Cortes), she acted as an interpreter and diplomatic guide for the Spanish. She had a close
personal relationship with Cortés and bore his son Don Martín Cortés in1522. Doña Marina has been
seen as a traitor to her people, as a victim of Spanish conquest, and as the founder of the Mexican
people. She highlights the complex interaction between native peoples and the Spanish and the
particular role women often played as cultural mediators between the two sides.
American Museum of Natural History,Image VC #31
Seaborne Trading Empires in
the Sixteenth and
Seventeenth Centuries
By the mid-seventeenth century, trade
linked all parts of the world, except for
Australia. Notice that trade in slaves
was not confined to the Atlantic but
involved almost all parts of the world.
A New World Sugar Refinery, Brazil
Sugar was the most important and most profitable plantation crop in the New World.
This image shows the processing and refinement of sugar on a Brazilian plantation.
Sugar cane was grown, harvested, and processed by African slaves who labored
under brutal and ruthless conditions to generate enormous profits for plantation
owners.
The Bridgeman Art Library/Getty Images
Chinese Porcelain
This porcelain from a seventeenth century Chinese ship’s cargo, recovered from the
sea, was intended for European luxury markets.
Christie’s Images
Philip II, ca 1533
This portrait of Philip II as a young man
and crown prince of Spain is by the
celebrated artist Titian, who was court
painter to Philip’s father, Charles V. After
taking the throne, Philip became another
great patron of the artist.
Scala/Art Resource, NY
Christopher Columbus, by
Ridolpho Ghirlandio. Friend of
Raphael and teacher of
Michelangelo,
Christopher Columbus, by Ridolpho
Ghirlandio. Friend of Raphael and
teacher of Michelangelo, Ghirlandio
(1483–1561) enjoyed distinction as
portrait painter, and so we can assume
that this is a good likeness of the older
Columbus.
Scala/ArtResource, NY