Age of Exploration and Trade

Age of Exploration and Trade Chapter Summary

Europeans controlled the Americas and parts of Asia through sea exploration in the 1400s and 1500s.
Political shifts halted overland trade via the Silk Road, prompting the search for new routes to Asia.
Advances in technology enhanced maritime exploration capabilities.

Portugal: First to explore Africa and seek routes to Asia.
Christopher Columbus: Sought a transatlantic route to Asia, accidentally discovered the Americas.
Spanish Conquistadors: Conquered parts of the Americas; Hernán Cortés defeated the Aztec Empire; Francisco Pizarro defeated the Inca Empire.
Ferdinand Magellan: Circumnavigated the globe, leading to the Treaty of Tordesillas, which divided unclaimed lands between Spain and Portugal.

Diseases brought by Europeans decimated Native American populations, facilitating easier conquests.
Viceroys governed Spanish colonies, focusing on wealth for Spain and converting Native Americans to Christianity.
Enslaved Africans were brought to plantations due to declining Native populations.

Pedro Cabral: Claimed Brazil for Portugal, introducing cash crops like sugarcane and tobacco.
French explorers established a fur trade and cash crop plantations in North America and the Caribbean.
England established colonies through exploration and migration for religious and economic freedom.
Dutch traders created a trading empire with colonies in North America and Asia.

Mercantilism spurred European countries to establish colonies, funded by businessmen and investors.
The Columbian Exchange: Describes the trade of products, diseases, and information between Europe, Asia, and the Americas.