Age of Exploration: Maritime, Trade, and Colonial Strategies

Primogeniture laws

Laws that dictate the firstborn child inherits the family estate, often leading younger siblings to seek wealth elsewhere.

Omani-European rivalry

The competition between Omani and European powers that motivated explorers like Christopher Columbus to find new trade routes.

Maritime empires

Powerful nations that expanded their influence and control over seas and trade routes through exploration and colonization.

Classical Greeks

Ancient Greek scholars whose knowledge contributed to European naval advancements.

Islamic scholars

Scholars from the Islamic world who played a key role in the transfer of navigational knowledge to Europe.

Al-Andalus

A historical region in the Iberian Peninsula where cultural and technological exchanges occurred between Muslims and Christians.

Prince Henry the Navigator

A Portuguese prince who significantly advanced maritime exploration by sponsoring expeditions along the African coast.

Magnetic Compass

A navigational instrument invented in China used for determining direction.

Astrolabe

An ancient instrument improved by Muslim navigators for calculating latitude.

Lateen Sail

A triangular sail of Arab origin that allowed ships to sail against the wind.

Cartography

The art and science of mapmaking, crucial for navigation during the Age of Exploration.

Astronomical Chart

A map that represents the positions of celestial bodies, aiding navigators in determining their location.

Carrack

A large ship design that facilitated long-distance maritime travel.

Caravel

A fast ship used by the Spanish and Portuguese, known for its agility and speed.

Fluyt

A Dutch ship design optimized for cargo transport, contributing to trade efficiency.

Gunpowder

An explosive material invented in China that played a significant role in military conquests during exploration.

Mercantilism

An economic policy aimed at maximizing a nation's wealth by exporting more than it imports.

Financial support of a state

The necessity for state funding to support expensive exploratory voyages, as private groups could not afford them.

Trading post empire

An empire focused on establishing trade routes and forts rather than large territorial conquests.

Afonso de Albuquerque

A Portuguese admiral who played a key role in establishing a trading post empire in the Indian Ocean.

Christopher Columbus

An explorer whose 1492 voyage led to the European colonization of the Americas.

Ferdinand Magellan

An explorer sponsored by Spain who led the first successful circumnavigation of the globe.

Philippines

Spain annexed the Philippines (1521), making Manila a major commercial center.

Silver Trade

Spanish ships called galleons traded across the Pacific, exchanging silver from the Western Hemisphere for Asian goods like silk and porcelain.

Northwest Passage

An all-water route around or through North America to East Asia sought by other European states.

Jacques Cartier

Key explorer for France who explored the St. Lawrence River.

Samuel de Champlain

Founded Quebec and was a key explorer for France.

New France

Colonies established by France, including Quebec and Louisiana, primarily focused on the fur trade.

John Cabot

Key explorer for England who sailed in 1497.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement established in Virginia in 1607.

Spanish Armada

Defeated by England in 1588, leading to England becoming a major naval power.

Henry Hudson

Key explorer for the Dutch who explored in 1609.

New Amsterdam

Colonies established by the Dutch, located in Manhattan.

Columbian Exchange

The dramatic linkage established by Christopher Columbus between Indigenous American, European, African traditions, and the environment.

Silver

Spain's successful mining of silver in the Americas contributed to inflation and the decline of the Spanish Empire.

No Immunity

Indigenous populations in the Americas had no immunity to Eastern Hemisphere diseases.

Smallpox

A disease carried by Spanish conquistadores responsible for many indigenous deaths.

Horses

Transformed Native American Plains culture as part of the Columbian Exchange.

Maize

Also known as corn, it was one of the crops exchanged from the Americas to the Eastern Hemisphere.

Cash Crops

Crops like sugar, tobacco, and cotton that led to high demand for forced labor.

Transatlantic Slave Trade

Marked the coerced arrival of Africans, leading to the African Diaspora.

Gumbo

A food tradition brought by enslaved Africans as part of their cultural contributions.

Creole Languages

New languages developed in the Caribbean from the blend of European, Indigenous, and African populations.

New Society

The blend of European, Indigenous, and African populations created new racial hierarchies and ethnic diversity, particularly evident in the development of creole languages in the Caribbean.

Conquest

Spanish conquistadores overthrew major Indigenous empires: Hernán Cortés defeated the Aztec Empire (establishing New Spain by 1521); Francisco Pizarro captured Atahualpa and destroyed the Inca Empire by 1572.

Disease Factor

The rapid spread of European diseases like smallpox severely weakened the Aztec and Inca populations before conquest.

Division

The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) established a dividing line, ensuring Portugal reserved its claim to Brazil, while Spain controlled the majority of the Americas.

Wealth

The discovery and mining of silver (e.g., at Potosi) was essential for Spanish wealth. Spain adopted mercantilism to ensure colonies supplied silver and raw materials.

Encomienda

Established in the early 1500s, this system granted Spanish encomenderos access to gold and forced Indigenous labor in exchange for protection and conversion. It was notoriously brutal.

Hacienda System

Replaced encomienda; Spanish landowners were granted large estates (haciendas) to cultivate cash crops.

Mita System

The Spanish coerced Indigenous young men to work for paltry wages in dangerous silver mines (particularly in Peru), adapting the traditional Inca public labor system.

Forced Migration

This involved the coerced arrival of enslaved Africans, creating the African Diaspora.

Middle Passage

The grueling journey across the Atlantic.

African Role

African states (like the Asante Empire and the Kingdom of the Kongo) participated, exchanging enslaved people for European gunpowder and firearms.

Distribution

By the mid-1800s, the majority of enslaved Africans went to Spanish and Portuguese colonies in the Caribbean and Brazil.

Manila Galleons

Spain's annexation of the Philippines (1521) made Manila a major commercial center. Spanish galleons carried silver across the Pacific, exchanging it for Asian luxury goods (silk, porcelain).

European Rivalries (Asia/Africa)

European powers established trade posts in Africa and Asia. Portugal's control of trade routes (via its trading post empire) was challenged by the Dutch and English.

British Network

The British established the British East India Company (EIC), originally operating small forts, later expanding its political influence in India. The British Global Network set up trading posts in Africa, India, and Indonesia.

Commercial Revolution

The shift from local barter to large-scale international trade based on gold and silver. This led to the Price Revolution (high inflation).

Financing

Voyages were funded by joint-stock companies (e.g., Dutch/British East India Companies).

Limited Liability

A system reducing risk for investors.

Triangular Trade

A three-segment route linking Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Sugar

A highly profitable raw material sent from the Americas to Europe.

Kingdom of the Kongo

A West African state weakened by the slave trade, leading to internal warfare.

Dahomey

A West African state affected by the slave trade, contributing to internal conflict.

Polygyny

A social structure where one man has multiple wives, often increased due to demographic imbalances from the slave trade.

Colonial Administration

The replacement of Indigenous political structures by European empires.

Viceroys

Royal officials appointed by Spain to govern colonies.

Audiencias

Royal courts established to oversee viceroys and prevent independent operation.

Cultural Syncretism

The blending of European, Indigenous, and African cultures resulting in new belief systems.

Santería

A syncretic belief system that originated in Cuba.

Voudun

A syncretic belief system that originated in Haiti.

Candomblé

A syncretic belief system that originated in Brazil.

Peninsulares

Individuals of European ancestry born in Spain, at the top of the new social hierarchy.

Criollos

Those of European ancestry born in the Americas, below Peninsulares in the social hierarchy.

Ana Nzinga

Ruler of Ndongo who allied with the Dutch against Portuguese slave raids.

Pueblo Revolt

A 1680 uprising where Pueblo and Apache groups temporarily drove Spanish colonizers out of New Mexico.

Metacom's War

A conflict between English colonists and Indigenous groups over land from 1675 to 1678.

Maroon Wars

Conflicts fought by escaped enslaved Africans in the Caribbean, led by figures like Queen Nanny.

Gloucester County Rebellion

An unsuccessful conspiracy by enslaved and indentured servants in Virginia in 1663.

Fronde

Civil disturbances in France during the mid-17th century aimed at curbing royal power.

Pugachev Rebellion

A massive peasant rebellion led by Yemelyan Pugachev against Catherine the Great in 1774.

Glorious Revolution

The 1688 political shift in England that strengthened Parliament and established a Protestant monarchy.

Maratha Empire

A Hindu warrior group that successfully challenged and ended Mughal rule by the 18th century.