Chapter 10: Transoceanic Encounters and Global Connections

AP World History: Modern

The European reconnaissance of the world's oceans

The exploration and mapping of the world's oceans by Europeans

Motives for exploration

Europeans sought new resources

Resource-poor Portugal searched for fresh resources

Portugal ventured into the Atlantic from the 13th to 15th centuries in search of new opportunities.

Established sugar plantations in the Atlantic islands

Portuguese colonization supported sugar production and trade in the Atlantic islands.

The lure of direct trade without Muslim intermediaries

European powers sought to bypass Muslim traders to directly access Asian and African goods.

Asian spice trade

A major motivation for European exploration to access valuable spices from Asia.

African gold

ivory

Missionary efforts of European Christians

Europeans sought to spread Christianity globally

New Testament urged Christians to spread the faith throughout the world

The Bible inspired European missionary work as part of their exploration efforts.

Crusades and holy wars against Muslims in early centuries

European history of religious conflict motivated further expansions into Muslim territories.

Reconquista of Spain inspired Iberian crusaders

The successful reclaiming of Spain from Muslim rule fueled further exploration and conquests.

Various motives combined and reinforced each other

Religious

The technology of exploration

Innovations like the sternpost rudder and advanced sails enabled long-distance maritime travel.

Sternpost rudder and two types of sails

These technological advances allowed ships to sail more effectively against the wind.

Navigational instruments

Tools like the magnetic compass and astrolabe improved maritime navigation.

Magnetic compass

A navigational tool that indicated direction and greatly improved sea travel.

Astrolabe (and cross and back staffs)

Instruments used to determine latitude during sea voyages.

Knowledge of winds and currents

European mariners learned to use trade winds

Trade winds north and south of the equator

Predictable wind patterns that facilitated transoceanic voyages.

Regular monsoons in Indian Ocean basin

Seasonal winds that shaped trade and travel routes in the Indian Ocean.

The volta do mar

A navigational strategy using prevailing winds and currents to travel efficiently across the Atlantic.

Dom Henrique

king of Portugal

Portuguese conquered Ceuta in north Africa in 1415

Marked the beginning of Portuguese expansion into Africa.

Trading posts at Sao Jorge da Mina

Portuguese-established posts in West Africa for gold trade.

Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope

Bartolomeu Dias reached the Indian Ocean by rounding Africa's southern tip in 1488.

Vasco da Gama of Portugal

Navigator who crossed the Indian Ocean and reached India in 1497

Portuguese trading post at Calicut

Established in 1500

Christopher Columbus

Genoese mariner who proposed sailing west to reach Asia and discovered the Americas in 1492.

Columbus's voyage

Linked the eastern and western hemispheres

Ferdinand Magellan

Portuguese navigator who led the first circumnavigation of the globe (1519–1522).

Exploration of the Pacific

Took centuries to complete

Trade route between the Philippines and Mexico

Spanish merchants facilitated global trade with Manila galleons.

English mariners searched for a northwest passage

Attempted to find a direct route from Europe to Asia via the Arctic.

Captain James Cook

British explorer who led three major expeditions and expanded European geographical knowledge.

Portuguese trading-post empire

Over 50 posts established between West Africa and East Asia to control trade routes.

Alfonso d'Alboquerque

Portuguese commander who captured key trade cities in the Indian Ocean in the 1500s.

Joint-stock companies

English and Dutch enterprises that financed and organized global trade efficiently.

The English East India Company

A powerful trading company founded in 1600 to manage British trade in Asia.

The United East India Company (VOC)

Dutch trading company founded in 1602 that dominated spice trade.

Spanish conquest of the Philippines

Led by Miguel López de Legazpi

Dutch conquest of Java

VOC established a monopoly over spice trade

The Seven Years' War

Global conflict (1756–1763) resulting in British dominance in India and North America.

The Columbian Exchange

Global diffusion of plants

Epidemic diseases

Smallpox and other diseases devastated indigenous populations in the Americas and Pacific.

New foods and animals

Crops like maize and potatoes spread globally

Growth of world population

Increased due to improved diets and global agricultural exchanges.

Enslaved Africans

The largest group of migrants to the Americas from 1500 to 1800

The Manila galleons

Spanish ships that connected Asia and the Americas