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AP World History
POD #11 – Transatlantic Slave Trade
Sea Trade Motivation
Class Discussion Notes
Bulliet – “European Expansion,
1400-1550”, pp. 425-431
Historical Context
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“… maritime expansion occurred in many parts
of the world before 1450. Nevertheless, the
epic sea voyages sponsored by the Iberian
kingdoms of Portugal and Spain are of special
interest because they began a maritime
revolution that profoundly altered the course of
world history. The Portuguese and Spanish
expeditions ended the isolation of the
Americas and increased the volume of global
interaction.” (Bulliet, p. 425)
Underlying Motives for Exploration
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The sea voyages between 1400 and 1550 built upon
four changes evolving in Europe
1. revival of urban life and trade (especially after the
Crusades and the years prior to the Bubonic Plague)
2. alliances between merchants and rulers (rise of the
bourgeoisie who were willing to support strong leaders
who would maintain pro-business order with taxes)
3. struggle with Islamic powers for dominance of the
Mediterranean that mixed religious motives with the
desire for trade
4. growing intellectual curiosity about the outside world
(Renaissance & Scientific Revolution)
Immediate Motives for Exploration
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Christian Militancy – spread the Christian faith (this
would become even more of a priority after the
Reformation as both Catholics and the Protestant
sects competed for control of new lands and new
peoples)
Material Wealth – desired by both kings and the
people (especially the rising bourgeoisie) and,
therefore, sought new trade routes to Asia, Africa and
later the Americas
Although the Iberian Peninsula was not a center of the
Renaissance both Portugal and Spain were open to
discovering new ideas (especially geographical
knowledge)
Role of the Italian City-States
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By 1450 the Italian City-States had gained
control of Mediterranean trade as well as trade
with Northern Europe
 This trade was highly profitable and allowed
for the Renaissance to explode on the scene
 Despite the fact that the Ottomans in the east
disrupted trade the Italian city-states did not
lead the way in exploring the Atlantic
 It should be noted that many of the individual
explorers, however, were of Italian ancestry
Leading Exploration Sponsors
Iberian rulers had strong economic,
religious and political motives to expand
their influence
 Military & Maritime technological
innovation provided the means to
overcome the dangerous and unfamiliar
ocean environments, gain control of the
existing maritime trade routes and
conquer new lands
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Iberian Peninsula
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History and geography led the Iberian kingdoms in
a different trade and exploration path
By 1250 the kingdoms of Portugal, Castile, and
Aragon had reconquered all of Iberia from the
Muslims (except for the southern Kingdom of
Granada)
1469 –marriage of Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand
of Aragon led to the conquest of Granada by 1492
The creation of Spain created the 16th century’s
most powerful state
Portuguese Voyages
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“Portugal’s decision to invest significant resources in
new exploration rested on the well-established Atlantic
fishing industry and a history of anti-Muslim warfare.
When the Muslim government of Morocco in
northwestern Africa showed weakness in the fifteenth
century, the Portuguese attacked, conquering the city
of Ceuta in 1415. The capture of this rich North
African city gave the Portuguese better intelligence of
the caravans bringing gold and slaves to Ceuta from
African states south of the Sahara. Militarily unable to
push inland and gain direct access to the gold trade,
the Portuguese sought more direct contact with the
gold producers by sailing down the African coast.”
(Bulliet, p. 426)
Prince Henry the Navigator
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Third son of the king of Portugal
Led the attack on Ceuta
Devoted his life to promoting exploration (he himself never
traveled far from home)
Goal – convert Africans to Christianity, make contact with
Christian rulers in Africa, and join with the African Christian in a
joint crusade against the Ottomans
Goal – discover new places and new contacts that would prove to
be profitable (first Africa and later Asia, especially India)
Researcher – established a research center at Sagres to study
and improve upon the ideas of the Italian merchants and Jewish
cartographers and the technology of the Chinese and Muslims
European Sailing Technologies
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Old Technology – Galleys powered by large numbers
of oarsmen, Three-Masted Ships using square sails
were both insufficient for the Atlantic Ocean
Caravel – new ship smaller than the older model
European ships, Chinese Junks or Indian Dhows –
their size allowed them to enter shallower water and
triangular sails allowed them to take wind from either
side and yet still use the square sail when in a
following wind – increased maneuverability – cannon
placement also made them an effective fighting ship
Portuguese Explorers
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The slave trade in Africa quickly became the most
profitable commercial activity
Gold Coast would become the headquarters of the
Portuguese West African Trade
Bartolomeu Dias – first Portuguese sailor to round the
southern tip of Africa and enter the Indian Ocean
Vasco da Gama – sailed around Africa and reached
India
Pedro Alvares Cabral – sailed too far west and
reached the South American mainland allowing
Portugal to lay claim to Brazil (one of the western
hemisphere’s richest colonies)
Spanish Voyages
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“In contrast to the persistence and planning behind
Portugal’s century-long exploration of the South
Atlantic, haste and blind luck lay behind Spain’s early
discoveries. Throughout most of the fifteenth century,
the Spanish kingdoms were preoccupied with internal
affairs: completion of the reconquest of southern Iberia
from the Muslims; amalgamation of the various
dynasties; and the conversion or expulsion of religious
minorities. The Portuguese had already found a new
route to the Indian Ocean by the time of the Spanish
monarchs were ready to turn to overseas exploration.”
(Bulliet, p. 429)
Christopher Columbus
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Genoese mariner, made four voyages across the
Atlantic between 1492 and 1504
 Refused to accept that he had found a new unknown
continent to the old world, insisting that he had found a
new shorter route to the Indian Ocean
 A four year study by a Castilian commission concluded
that a westward sea route to the Indies rested on too
many questionable geographical assumptions
 His math had the distance of his journey being fives
times shorter than it was it reality
Treaty of Tordesillas
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“To prevent disputes arising from their efforts to exploit
their new discoveries and spread Christianity, Spain
and Portugal agreed to split the world between them.
The Treaty of Tordesillas, negotiated by the pope in
1494, drew an imaginary line down the middle of the
North Atlantic Ocean. The treaty allocated lands east
of the line in Africa and southern Asia to Portugal;
lands to the west in the Americas were reserved for
Spain. Cabral’s discovery of Brazil, however, gave
Portugal valid claim to the part of South America
located east of the line.” (Bulliet, pp. 430-431)
Ferdinand Magellan
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1519 began an expedition to complete
Columbus’ journey to the east
 His journey began with 5 ships and 230 men
and returned home to the Iberian peninsula
with 1 ship and 19 men
 Despite his death in a war in the Philippines he
was considered the first person to
circumnavigate the earth as ten years earlier
he had sailed from Europe to the East Indies
under his native Portuguese flag