WHP - Transoceanic Connections ⛵🫰

How did sea-based empires gain power in the period 1450-1750?

through maritime technology + shipbuilding innovations!!

What maritime tech helped grow their power? (and from where did each come from?)

• magnetic compass (CN)

• astrolabe (Greeks/Arabs, we don’t know, actually)

• lateen sail - (Arabs)

• improved astronomical charts (Muslims)

How was the magnetic compass helpful to sailors?

Helped them “reckon direction”

How did the astrolabe help sailors?

Helped sailors know their longitude and latitude by measuring stars

How did the lateen sail help European sailors?

triangle-shaped sail took wind on either side → more precise sailing

How did the development of of improved astronomical charts help European sailors?

Helped them determine location

What is an important feature of all the maritime technology that the Europeans utilized?

They were all adopted/not invented by Euros

BIG BRAIN CONNECTION: how did the Europeans come to adopt all of these technologies?

Through interactions with merchants on trade routes, which was facilitated by the Pax Mongolica

CCOT: describe a CCOT in the global balance of power in the period 1450-1750

In the period 1450-1750, the global balance of power shifts from Middle Eastern/Asian land-based empires to European sea-based empires

What was an example of Europe developing technology?

European innovations in shipbuilding

Give three examples of European innovations in shipbuilding.

• Portuguese caravel

• Portuguese carrack

• Dutch Fluyt

Who designed the caravel? Why was it so innovative?

• Portuguese

• It went AGAINST the typical build of ships: it was smaller

  • more nimble no water + more navigable (tight/small spaces)

• equipped with cannons = solid fighting ships

Who designed the carrack? Why was it created?

• Portuguese realized that their empire would be based on trade, so carracks were much bigger to carry more cargo + weapons

Who designed the fluyt? Why was it so innovative?

• Dutch designed it to be used for trade

  • required less people to use + held more stuff

• invented tools that decreased production costs →super cheap

What was significant about the Dutch fluyt?

It allowed the Dutch to eventually take over Portuguese control of Indian Ocean trade

What were the two main motives for European exploration?

• shift + centralization of power towards monarchs who embraced mercantilism

• European desire of Asian spices

Who are the two big countries whose explorations you really should know about?

• the Portuguese trading post empire

• the Spanish colonization of the Americas

Why did the Portuguese establish a trading post empire?

colonies were expensive to run

Who led Portuguese exploration?

Vasco De Gama

What was the Portuguese’s original plan for empire-building? Why did they change?

establishing trading ports around the African continent, but upon arriving in Calicut (trading port in India), they realized that Indian Ocean trade was much more profitable

How did the Portuguese establish control of the Indian Ocean marketplace? (three things to know)

• established cartaz: a purchased naval trade license

• use of weaponry carried w/ carracks + caravel cannons

What geographical area is Spain known for “discovering”?

The New World/The Americas

Who led Spanish exploration? What was this person’s goal?

Christopher Columbus; he sought a faster way of getting to Asia by sailing across the Atlantic Ocean

To whom did Columbus ask for funding initially? Who gave it to him?

The Portuguese; the Spanish

Why did the Spanish agree to fund Columbus’s naval exploration?

The Spanish also wanted access to the Asian spice network

Why did the Europeans want to get to Asia, anyway?

To purchase spices directly from the source; when it was traded over land, it was outrageously expensive by the time it got to Europe

Where did Columbus ACTUALLY land?

The Americas

What did the Spanish “discovery” of the Americas lead to?

the rise of the Trans-Atlantic Ocean Trade Network

Give three reasons as to why the Portuguese opted for a sea-based empire rather than a land-based empire

• Portuguese couldn’t expand inward; territory was taken by other countries

• victory of Reconquista → a new desire to spread Christrianity

• wanted Asian spices + African gold

BIG BRAIN MOMENT: Give an example of religion leading to European imperialism in the period 1450-1750.

The victory of the Reconquista led to a new desire among the Portuguese to spread Christianity.

There were three other countries of note in this wave of European imperialism, who were they?

• the French

• the English

• the Dutch

What was the goal of French exploration? Did they succeed?

Find a Western route to Asia; no, they didn’t because it doesn’t exist 💀

What was the outcome of French exploration?

The French established the colony + trading port of Quebec after gaining access to the fur trade in those regions

How did the French people treat Quebec?

Didn’t settle there; didn’t want to spread diseases to the native population

Why was the British so late to exploration?

No economic motive — had a solid economy from the textile industry

What caused the English to begin exploration?

Queen Elizabeth II coming to power + defeating the Spanish invasion of England → funded exploration to Americas

What was the outcome of English exploration?

The establishment of Virginia as a colony

Why was the Dutch especially in a position to begin exploration?

They gained independence from Spain and emerged very wealthy

What was the outcome of Dutch exploration?

• Dutch ports around Africa

• eventually dethroned Portuguese dominance in Indian Ocean trade

• later, founded colony of New Amsterdam in the New World

What is a cause of the Columbian Exchange?

Christopher Columbus’s arrival in America beginning contact

What were three major (categorical) effects of the Columbian Exchange?

disease, spread of food, animals

Why didn’t the Great Dying happen after European contact w/ Asians/Africans?

Europe, Africa, and Asia had similar disease environments and developed the same immunity to those diseases

The indigenous Americans did not

What are some examples of disease vectors?

rats, mosquitoes

How did the Europeans bring disease to the Americas?

They brought disease vectors with them

What was an effect of the Europeans bringing disease to the Americas?

Major decreased of the indigenous American population (Great Dying)

What was an effect of the Great Dying?

weakened the indigenous peoples → facilitated the European takeover of the Americas

What food items did the Europeans bring to the Americas?

olives, wheat, bananas, sugar, grapes

What kinds of food items did the Europeans bring from the Americas?

Maize, potatoes, cassava

What was a benefit of the exchange of food from the Columbian Exchange?

in both places: increased variety of diets in both places = healthier ppl + longer lifespans

What was a negative effect of the exchange of food between Europe and the Americas?

led to cash cropping in the Americas which utilized coerced labor

What was an example of the cash cropping system in the Americas?

The rise of large-scale sugarcane operations in Caribbean colonies

What kinds of animals did the Europeans bring to the Americas?

pigs, sheep, horses 🫰

What was a negative effect of the exchange of animals between Europe and the Americas?

no natural predators = population of animals rapidly increased

lots of animals = overgrazing and soil erosion

overgrazing + erosion = strain on indigenous farmers

What was a positive effect of the exchange of animals during the Columbian Exchange?

created the foundation of future ranching economies in the Americas 🤑

After exploration, the Europeans now want to have a stake in Indian Ocean trade. Why? (3 reasons)

• gold — to enrich themselves

• god — to spread Christianity

• glory — to be the greatest state

How did the Portuguese make money from their expansion into the Indian Ocean?

the cartaz system — merchants had to purchase a cartaz/license that allowed merchants to participate in trade in the Indian Ocean

essentially, they taxed ships to make money

How was Spanish imperialism different from that of the Portuguese?

they established colonies, not trading ports/took control of trade

Who did the Spanish colonize in the period 1450-1750?

The Philippines 🙁

How did the Spanish make money from its colonization of the Philippines?

established an economy ran on forced labor, created a tribute system, and taxed them 🙁

How did the British expand in the period 1450-1750?

established British trading ports in India

Why did the British only establish trading ports in India?

they lacked sufficient military power to take control of India from the Mughals

Later, NOT in 1450-1750, what did the British Indian trading ports become?

Full-on imperial rule

What did the Dutch do to expand their rule in the period 1450-1750?

• Took over the Portuguese control over the Indian Ocean trade network + used many of the same tactics

• also, created Dutch ports in Indonesia

Later, NOT in 1450-1750, what did the Dutch trading ports in Indonesia become?

full-on imperial rule

Similarity of Dutch and British expansion?

established ports in Indian Ocean that would later become full-on imperial rule

Give two examples of countries who resisted European imperialism

• Tokugawa Japan

• Ming Dynasty China

Why was Tokugawa Japan opposed to European presence?

The Tokugawa had JUST united Japan

The Europeans introduced Christianity into Japan, which made the shogun worried that Christianity would fragment Japan again

What was Tokugawa Japan’s response to European contact?

shogun expelled all Christian missionaries + suppressed Christianity within Japan using violence

context to know: After the failure of Zheng He’s maritime voyages, what happened to Ming China?

they adopted isolationist policies

Because of Ming China’s isolationist policies, how did the Portuguese trade with China?

only using bribery + other underhanded tactics

What was the effect of Portuguese contact with Ming China?

when the Ming gov’t found out about Portuguese bribery, this increased Chinese isolationism

What was the effect of European contact with African societies? Give two examples of African states affected.

they were NOT colonized!! (generally)… they grew from European contact + trade

• Asante Empire

• Kingdom of the Kongo

Who did the Asante Empire trade with? What did the Asante give them?

the portuguese; gold, ivory, and enslaved laborers

What was the effect of Portuguese trade relations on the Asante Empire?

• made them very wealthy → expansion of Asante military

• made their region powerful enough to repel British colonialism later on

Who did the Kingdom of the Kongo trade with? What did the Kongo give them?

The portuguese; gave them gold, copper, enslaved laborers

BIG MOG THOUGHTS: How did rulers use religion to facilitate trade? Who is an example of this?

Rulers adopted religions to facilitate trade, for example, the king of the Kingdom of the Kongo adopted Christianity to reinforce good trade relations with the Portuguese

CCOT: Explain a CCOT about Indian Ocean trade after European dominance

Merchants who had been using the Indian Ocean trade network continued to use it

Actually, merchants got more prosperous from the European entrance b/c it created a new market of goods: the Europeans