16th century was an age of exploration

• Knowledge from the past caused curiosity about the present

Technological advancements allowed for long sea voyages

Demands of commerce provided incentives

The expansion of the Ottoman threatened to cut the access Europe had to Eastern goods

• At all levels of society eastern goods and spices were in high demand

Financial crisis in Western Europe emerged

Initial Portuguese expansion into Africa brought forth conflict and Muslim enemies

Portuguese were in control of trade along both coasts of India, Africa, and the Spice Islands by the 16th century

Portuguese began to struggle when it came to funding and supporting their outposts

Spain gained the power to rival the Portuguese in terms of exploration

• Marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand gave them the power to unify Spain and expel the Muslims

• Isabella was responsible for sponsoring Christopher Columbus to find a short route for trade

• Columbus’ travels caused the Spanish and Portuguese to be in direct competition with each other

Spain explored for three primary reasons

• God

• Glory

• Gold

The Conquistadores were characterized by their greed and ruthlessness

The Americas were discovered due to Columbus’s expedition

Native populations were destroyed

• There were wars over conquest of land

• Diseases such as smallpox, typhoid, and measles spread

• Native population diminished in numbers (25 million to 2 million)

• A need for African slaves became prominent

Spanish immigration rates rose

The new world and Europe were intermixed together in one singular marketplace

• Focus of European finance moved from the Italians to the Dutch

Africa supplied slaves and gold

South America supplied silver

Europe had over 500 independent principalities in 1500

Eastern Europe

• Mongols conquered central and southern Russia

  • Created political unites (Khanates)

• Ottoman Empire was in control of all of Byzantine, Greece and the Balkan Peninsula

Northern Europe

• Scandinavian countries ruled by a single king in the 15th century

• Denmark was the wealth center of trade

• Land was less fertile than the west, climate was more severe

• Low population

Central Europe

• Holy Roman Empire (largest population in all of Europe)

• Independent principalities (church lands & free towns)

• Church held the Holy Roman Empire together

Italy

• Good mineral deposits

• Large forests

• Good land for agriculture

• Largest market in Europe

• Important to early European industrial production

Western Europe

• Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain)

• France (second largest population in Europe)

• Richest agricultural lands in Europe

• Good climate

The unification of the independent principalities faced many challenges

• Transportation

• Slow communication

• Various languages

• Popular Assemblies resisting monarchical power

Ivan IV “The Terrible” allowed Crimean Tatars to sack and burn Moscow

• All effective local government systems were destroyed

• Serfdom was implemented

There weren’t any threats of foreign invasion in the 16th century

House of Tudor won control of the crown at the Battle of Bosworth Field

Henry VII

• First Tudor King

• Wanted to control the nobility

• Needed enough money to rule

• Centralized the management of royal lands and custom taxes to increase the revenues

• Seized church lands and sold them

Many challenges occurring in France concerned the overly strong nobility with the reign of Louis XIV being culminated

Louis XI

• “Spider King”

• Gained control of New Orleans through the marriage of his son

• Began the process of centralization of government administration

Broad foundation of taxes on the common people removed King’s reliance on nobility

Spain

• Conquered by the Moors

• Had a large Moorish presence

• Ferdinand and Isabella got married in 16th century

  • Created political unity

  • Cultural divide remained

• Reconquista (expulsion of Moors from Iberian Peninsula)

  • Created sense of national unity

• Spanish Inquisition (drove Jews and non-Christians out of Spain)

  • Terror was used to coerce confessions, public humiliations, and burning at the stake

  • Crippled Spanish economy

  • Led to Golden Age of Spain

  • Failed to tie nation together completely

16th century was a time of constant warfare

• War made bloodier by technology

• War was connected to dynastic policies

• Monarchs wanted war and had the capability and money to make war

Italian Wars

• Holy Roman Empire allied with Henry VIII and crushed France

• Treaty of Madrid

• France established new allies

• France was unable to push Germans out of Italy

Some considered the dynastic wars at the beginning of the 16th century as the start of a balance of power international security concept

Resources of the New World were used by European monarchies to go to war against each other

• Became good at warfare

Battlefield technology developed

• Further helped in the conquest of the New World

• Increased the emphasis on national identity