Age of exploration

The Age of Exploration The Age of Exploration, also known as the Age of Discovery, was a period in history that took place from the 15th to the 17th century. It was a time when European explorers embarked on voyages to discover new lands, establish trade routes, and expand their empires. The main driving forces behind the Age of Exploration were economic, political, and religious motivations. Economic motivations included the desire to find new trade routes to Asia and the search for valuable resources such as gold, silver, and spices. Political motivations included the competition between European powers to establish colonies and gain political dominance. Religious motivations were also significant, as European explorers sought to spread Christianity to new lands and convert indigenous populations. The most famous explorers of this era include Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, and Henry Hudson. Columbus's voyage in 1492, which led to the discovery of the Americas, is often considered the starting point of the Age of Exploration. The Portuguese were pioneers in exploration, establishing trade routes around Africa to reach Asia. The Spanish, under the sponsorship of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, funded numerous expeditions that resulted in the colonization of the Americas. The Age of Exploration had a profound impact on world history, leading to the establishment of European colonies, the transatlantic slave trade, and the exchange of goods, ideas, and diseases between continents. it also sparked a period of scientific advancements, as explorers made significant discoveries in geography, astronomy, and cartography. The Age of Exploration marked the beginning of globalization and the integration of different cultures and societies around the world. Spain and PortugalSearching for a route to join the lucrative Indian Ocean trade Network, Europeans stumbled upon the Americas in late 1400 While the Spanish and Portuguese were the first to initiate large-scale exploration, all Europeans were inspired to explore by the three G’s The Portuguese focused more on setting up trade posts in Africa and South/East Asia The Spanish focused more on conquering the Americas, Caribbean & Pacific by forming colonies Spain and its cast silver mining would make it the most powerful European state up until the end of the Thirty Years’ War

The Treaty of Tordesillas

The pope came up with this treaty to prevent another European war between Spain and Portugal so that they could explore the lands they wanted to explore.

The line of demarcation gives specific writes to the countries about the land they can claim and explore

How?

Lateen sails, stern-post rudder, and the carafe understanding of wind patterns (trade winds and Westerlies) Compass, astrolabe, and portolan maps for navigation

Royal patronage and joint-stock investment funded Guns and cannons allowed for easy conquest

Columbian Exchange

To the New World: cattle, horses, pigs, smallpox, measles, rice, wheat

To the old world: Tomatoes, Potatoes, corn, tobacco, turkey, syphilis

impact on Old World:

Massive population growth due to calorie-dense foods

Vast amounts of wealth due to increased trade with foreign nation

The Atlantic states now had the economic power- not the Italian city-states

Impact on New World

Massive population loss due to the spreading of the Old World disease

Oppression due to plantations, mines, and slavery

Forced conversion to Christianity

England France and the Netherlands

Entering the exploration scene late, the other Atlantic states attempted to grab themselves some lucrative colonies as well

All three started colonies in North America, the Caribbean, and the Dutch established a colony in Indonesia, and the British in India

These Five dominated world trade for the next two centuries, fighting in Europe and competing for colonies and resources throughout the world

In fact, the Dutch and English particularly developed a whole new set of economic tactics with which to compete with other European mercantilism

The goal of mercantilism is to increase exports, decrease imports, as well disrupt the trade of other competing countries by privateering and pirating

Treatment of Natives

One of the primary motivations for the Catholic explorers was missionary work: to convert, in some cases by force, Native Americans to Catholicism

While some missionaries were kind, and converting people with their kind treatment, help, and attitudes, many were quite violent

Natives working for colonial rulers were often required to practice Christianity, and forced to hide their beliefs through syncretism

additionally, most Spanish and Portuguese rulers viewed the natives as barbaric and inferior and required civilizing and enlightenment from Christianity

Some Europeans, however, opposed the Native Treatment and the encomiendas system, such as Bartolome de las Casas, arguing such treatment is un-Christian

Consequences

Exploration not only harmed Native Americans forced to work under the encomiendas system on mines and plantations (haciendas) but Africans as well

In need of cheap and/or free labor, the Atlantic Slave Trade began, in which Europeans bought or captured West Africans for work

African slaves were forced to endure the grueling Middle Passage trip from Africa as a part of the Triangular Trade System

Under this system, goods from the New World Europe were either sold or used for light manufactured production

The profits or goods were then sold to West Africa and Asia allowing more slaves to be purchased for the haciendas

The price revolution

The influx of new world goods and silver had a dramatic impact on Europe: the Price Revolution- a drastic increase in goods, money, and prices

Essentially, the massive flow of Spanish silver and American goods into Europe provided Europeans with plenty of cash from silver and trade

This in return drove the prices of goods up very quickly including the demand and prices for food, which was in short supply due to inefficient farming methods

To accommodate this, lords and governments increasingly closed off their land to the peasants to harvest more efficiently

As a result, land owners now became substantially more rich especially the ones who fenced off and organized their land

The Enclosure Movement

During the Middle Ages, European economies were dominated by large landowners who used peasant labor to grow and harvest crops

Known as Peasant Agriculture, these peasants were bound to the land of their lord paying him taxes in grain, while being protected by the lord from hardship

The land they lived on was largely unorganized and called ‘common land’ that anyone could use for farming foraging, or hunting

However, beginning in England in the 16th century, due to the Price Rev, Lords began to close off their land from the peasants to farm for large profits

Fences were built, and the peasants who remained were used in a more organized manner to plant and harvest crops

Portugal: 1st country to explore

Prince Henry started the first school of navigation

Bartholomew Dias- sailed for Spain

Sailed to the tip of Africa- discovered cape of Good Hope

Vasco da Gama-Portuguese

First to find an all-water route to Asia

Columbus

first to sail west from Europe sailed for Spain also started the Columbian exchange he also made 4 voyages to the New World

Ferdinand Magellan

Sailed for Spain

His crew was the first to circumnavigate the globe He was killed in the Philippines

Sir Francis Drake

One of the most famous sea dogs

First Englishman to circumnavigate the globe