Transcript The Age of Exploration

The Age of Exploration
Mr. Simmons
World History
Motives and Means
1.
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Attraction to Asia
Most fascinated with Marco Polo’s
visit to the far east
Travel by land was difficult due to
the Ottoman Empire.
Europeans wanted a route by sea.
Motives and Means (cont)
2. Desire for wealth
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Hope to find precious medals and
expand trade (spices)
3. Religious expansion
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Desire to spread Catholic Faith to
the natives.
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“God, Glory, and Gold” were three
motives for exploration
Motives and Means (cont)
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By 15th Century most European monarchies had
the means and the technology to support
expansion and long voyages.
Technology was acquired from the Arabs
Portolani were charts that closely resembled the
distances and positions of coastlines.
Cartography art/science of mapmaking, had been
successful in creating fairly accurate maps.
Compass lead to direction
Astrolabe showed latitude coordinates
Question
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What motive for expansion do you
think was the strongest for the
captains and sailors of these initial
voyages?
Portugal
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First leaders of exploration (1420)
Bartholomeu Dias rounded tip of Africa
(1488)
Vasco da Gama sailed to the Port of
Calcutta in India (1498) returned with
spices and made profits of several
thousand percent.
Spice Trade in Melaka, China, and
Moluccas (Spice Islands)
Portugal didn’t have power, people or
desire to colonize any of the Asian
regions.
Voyages to the Americas
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Spain wanted to find an easier route to
Asia and the spice trade so sailed west.
Christopher Columbus believed he could
reach Asia by sailing west, he was
financed by Queen Isabella of Spain
In 1492 he reached Cuba (believed he
reached Asia)
Other countries realized Columbus had
discovered a new frontier.
England -John Cabot explored New
England
America was named for Italian explorer
Question

Only one country in the Americas
speaks Portuguese today what is it
and how did Portuguese become the
dominant language?
The Spanish Empire
The conquistadores were the Spanish conquerors
of the New World
 Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incans which led
to Spanish domination in Latin America
 Spanish system of colonial administration
-natives were called Indians and were subjects to
Queen Isabella
-Encomienda gave Spain the right to use natives as
laborers
 Disease, starvation, and forced labor took huge
toll on native populations also forced assimilation
such as religion (Catholicism)
-Haiti 100,000 to 300
-Mexico 25 million to 3 million
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Question
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Today there is a push to replace the
word Indian with Native American.
Why do you think this is so? Why are
the names of peoples and groups
important to society?
Economic Impact
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Raw materials found in the New World
pushed the exploration
Gold, silver, sugar, cotton, dyes, vanilla,
hides, tobacco, corn, potatoes, coffee.
Trade had become competitive between
the European powers
The Dutch became very influential
establishing the East and West India
Companies
The English started to become dominate
taking control of several trading outpost.
(New York)
Economic Impact (cont)
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English chartered the Massachusetts Bay
Colony in 1630
By 1700 the English controlled North
America’s eastern seaboard
Colony – settlement of people living in a
new territory linked to mother country by
trade and governmental control.
Mercantilism led to the idea of capatilism