1.3 European Exploration in the Americas

gunpowder, sailing compass, printing press, Isabella and Ferdinand, Christopher Colombus, Protestant Reformation, Henry the Navigator, nation-states, Treaty of Torsedillas, Roanoke Island

the Renaissance

rebirth of classical learning prompted artistic and scientific activity in the 15th and 16th century

• Europeans began to use gunpowder and sailing compasses

• invention of the printing press → spread of knowledge across Europe

Isabella and Ferdinand

queen of Castile and king of Aragon, united Spain and empowered Roman Catholicism, funded Christopher Colombus’s first voyage

Protestant Reformation

Christians in northern European countries revolted against the authority of the pope in Rome, leading to religious conflicts in the 16th and 17th centuries between Catholics and Protestants

Henry the Navigator

Portuguese prince, sponsored voyages of exploration leading to a sea route to Asian trade

nation-states

countries in which the majority of people shared both a common culture and common loyalty toward a central government

• ex. Spain, Portugal, France, England, Netherlands

• depended on the church and revenues from trade to justify their right to rule

line of demarcation

vertical line drawn on the world map by the pope to settle Spanish and Portuguese land disputes - Spain was granted all lands to the west of the line, Portugal was granted all lands to the east of the line

Treaty of Torsedillas

Spain and Portugal moved the line of demarcation a few degrees to the west and signed an agreement, establishing Portugal’s claim to Brazil, while Spain claimed the rest of the Americas

English claims

• preoccupied with other issues (i.e. Henry VIII’s break with the Roman Catholic Church)

• attacked Spanish ships and settlements

• Roanoke Island - failed attempt at colonial settlement

French claims

voyages by Giovanni da Verrazzano and Jacques Cartier, slow to develop colonies