AP Euro: Unit 4 - Europe and New World Encounters

Marco Polo, Portuguese Voyages of Exploration, and Spanish Conquests

journey of Marco Polo:
- traveled the entirety of the Silk Road (Venice to China/Mongol capital) with his father and uncle
  - took 3 years to get there
  - didn't return to Europe for 17 years
- his father offered him as a servant to Khan to continue trade on the Silk Road once they arrived because the Christian priests that were promised to Khan didn't make it
- he became the most trusted advisor and regent of Khan
- he couldn't leave the Mongol capital until later when Khan released him
- he returned to Europe via sea travel and wrote a book about his discoveries when in prison in Genoa
Muslim empire:
- trade was super important
- Dar al Islam (House of Islam)
- empire stretched from India to the Atlantic
- middle of the Silk Road between Europe and Asia
  - they taxed goods going either direction
    - became very wealthy because of their taxation
    - because of their location, they had access to the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean (Columbus sails west because taxes are expensive)
    - had access to tech in China and Europe
- agriculture was a key feature because most of the area was desert/semi-arid
  - farmed in places they could and traded with places that needed more food (camels helped)
European motives for expansion:
- romantic (sense of adventure):
  - Marco Polo's books told of extraordinary lands and riches to the east
  - literature infused with Renaissance spirit made people want to live
- religious:
  - Muslims stopped the spread of Christianity to the east after the fall of the Byzantine empire
  - Europeans desired new converts and new lands for the church
- economic:
  - goods from the east passing the Ottoman empire were expensive
  - wanted to find new routes to spices in India/China via sea
new tech aiding Europeans:
- retranslated Ptolemy map (fairly accurate)
- axial rudders
- lateen, triangular, and rotating sails
- compass
- astrolabe
Portuguese explorers:
- Prince Henry founded a navigation school in Portugal
- Portuguese explorers probed south along the African coast for gold, new markets, Christian allies, and to spread Christianity
- found gold (Gold Coast), ivory, and slaves (slave trade in Ghana/Mali/Songhai empires since the 9th century)
- heard rumors of a southern route around Africa
- notable explorers:
  - Bartolomeu Dias (1487-88)
    - first to round the southern tip of Africa
  - Vasco de Gama (1497-99)
    - first to set up trade ports to and in India
  - Ferdinand Magellan (1518-22)
    - his expedition circumnavigated the globe
Portuguese dominance in Indian Ocean (1509-14):
- when Da Gama's fleet returned and made several thousand percent profit, Portugal took steps to control trade
  - Admiral Alfonso de Albuquerque:
    - declared de facto war against Arabs
    - blockaded Red Sea and cut off the Ottomans/Egyptians
    - set up a base at Goa
    - seized control of Malacca in Indonesia to fully control trade to the 'spice islands'
    - traded with China and Japan
    - set up trade ports but never fully colonized
Christopher Columbus:
- Italian
- voyages funded by Queen Isabella who he told he would find gold and convert natives to Christianity
- first voyage:
  - in 1492, he landed in Cuba, Bahamas, and Dominican Republic
  - was convinced he found Asia
- traded with natives but killed and enslaved many
- made 3 more voyages (convinced he reached the Asia mainland)
- Magellan proved him wrong but his voyages opened the gates for explorers
Mayans:
- 1200 BC to 300 AD
- the Mayan empire spanned from Mexico to Guatemala
- had an advanced trade network (cotton, cacao, jade, obsidian, feathers, honey, etc.)
- created the calendar
- greatly advanced math (the number 0 came from them) and astronomy
- had no metal tools, wheeled vehicles, or pack animals
- empire was made up of city-states with five thousand to fifty thousand people
- had stone pyramids for astronomical studies
- Mayan ball game
- religion was polytheistic and centered around blood sacrifice to the gods for rain
Aztecs:
- migrated between 1100 and 1300 AD
- settled on marshy islands middle of lake Texcoco
- complex social hierarchy
- vibrant culture
- expert farmers
- capital city:
  - engineering marvel:
    - irrigation canals
    - chinampas
    - causeways
    - dikes
    - aqueducts
    - stable pyramids on marsh
- dominated trade in the region
- forced smaller tribes to pay tribute with citizens for human sacrifices
- forced many of these smaller tribes to be part of their empire (one of the causes of their downfall)
- religion centered on bloodletting for rain from gods (human sacrifices, piercing, etc.)
- believed gods would return to settlement in central Mexico
- gods were pale and looked like Europeans exploring the area
the Spanish and the Aztecs:
- the Spanish conquistadors were led by Hernan Cortes
- Cortes met many natives before arriving at the Aztec capital who told them how evil the Aztecs were
  - sensing opportunity, the Spanish collected allies (disgruntled cities paying tribute to the Aztecs) and interpreters (la malinche)
- the Spanish were welcomed with great respect by the Aztecs in Tenochtitlan
- relations were peaceful at first
- the Spanish were horrified of their religion but saw the vibrancy of their culture
- the Spanish captured Montezuma and made him a mouthpiece for their orders
  - the Aztecs first worried but murdered him for eventually surrendering
- Aztecs tried to drive Cortes from the city and the Spanish tried to leave with valuables which slowed them down and made them easy to slaughter
the Battle of Ottumwa (16th century):
- outside the city, the Spanish regrouped and mounted their horses
- the Aztecs had no idea how to fight cavalry because they never even seen a horse before
- the Spanish slaughtered the Aztecs due to the flat plains and horses so the Aztecs retreated into their city
- with their native allies, the Spanish blockaded the city entrances and aqueducts to starve the Aztecs out
Spanish biological warfare:
- during the siege, an outbreak happened (started in Tenochtitlan in October 1520 and ended December)
- natives had no resistance to European diseases and a lethal version of smallpox was unleashed on the Aztecs
- killed 60% of population, +20% due to thirst and starvation
- siege lasted for months until the Aztecs surrendered
Tenochtitlan under the Spanish:
- the Aztec city was destroyed and the stones were used to build a Spanish styled city
- natives were enslaved
- disease killed many native allies which made them easy to conquer
- 1531-1550, the Spanish conquered all of Northern Mexico
South American Native Tribes:
- the Chauvin (200 BC to 600 AD):
  - coastline of Peru
  - vibrant culture
  - exquisite pottery
  - Nazca Lines
- the Inca (1200-1535):
  - coastline of most of South America
  - unique food preservation techniques (freeze dried potatoes)
  - road system with storehouses with gold
Inca Empire:
- began small and eventually dominated the coastal region of South America
- 12 million people
- social hierarchy:
  - kings
  - priests
  - warriors
  - farmers
- mita - paying taxes in labor (making ropes for bridges, road maintenance)
- road system:
  - 28000 miles
  - quick and efficient way to travel
  - through different climates
  - included bridges (made of dry grass, rolled to create ropes, extremely sturdy)
- domesticated llamas and alpacas (fur used for clothes)
- terraced farming (easy irrigation)
- amazing stonemasons (no metal tools)
- sun worshippers
- stations and storehouses along roads
fall of the Inca:
- plague reached Incans before Spanish arrival
- plague killed Incan emperor so when the Spanish arrive (roadways with horses made their travel quick, raided storehouses along the way), the emperor's two sons were fighting over the lead position of the empire
- Spanish had armor, metal weapons, and guns, and had used an adopted policy of killing natives (Aztecs)
new conquistador, similar results:
- Francisco Pizarro had similar strategy to Cortes (kill leader and civilization will crumble)
- friendly with Incans at first but became violent when their demand for gold rose
- Incans brought an army with no weapons to intimidate the Spanish who had been driven out of Cuzco
- 200 highly trained and armed conquistadors killed everyone and captured Atahualpa

Overseas Empires and the Columbian Exchange

Spanish rule in the Americas:
- to cultivate overseas empires, Isabella and Ferdinand instituted encomienda
  - according to encomienda, Spanish settlers were supposed to protect, care for, and Christianize natives, and natives would work a portion of their time for the Spanish
    - instead, settlers forced long, unpaid labor, didn't protect the natives, stole native land, gave them harsh living and working conditions, and the natives died from disease
- Isabella and Ferdinand created 2 units of governments for South and Central American territories:
  - each headed by a viceroy (like a governor and military commander) aided by audiencias (advisory groups/judicial bodies)
effects of Spanish rule:
- natives population went from 11 million in 1519 to 2.5 million in 1600
- Jesuits and missionaries converted natives to Catholicism and created new diocese (religious district(?)), cathedrals, schools, hospitals, government buildings, and Inquisition in the New World
triangular trade develops:
- finished goods from Europe --> purchased by African rulers, traded slaves to send to New World --> raw materials from New World sent to Europe to make finished goods --> back to beginning
  - the raw materials (coffee, sugar, tobacco, etc.) from the New World were produced with slave labor in plantations established by the Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch
- middle passage:
  - middle part of triangular trade - Africa to New World
  - Africans were stacked together - no room to move
  - disease and death ran rampant
English colonies:
- 13 colonies (east coast)
- the Spanish laid claim to North American continent but the English ignored them
- people came for religious freedom, to farm tobacco, and/or leave overcrowded England
- peaceful/violent relations with natives (didn't respect their rights)
French colonies:
- Canada
- not many settlers
- hunters and trappers engaged in fur trade
- friendly with natives (respected territory, no enslavement, rarely fought, even intermarried)
the Columbian Exchange:
- Europeans had colonies everywhere because trade pushed towards expansion
- riches of the New World were plants and animals
- Europeans exported plants and animals from and to New and Old World
- new ideas and diseases also spread
- diets changed and expanded
- more food --> population growth --> more people moved to the New World
effects of the Columbian Exchange and Triangular Trade:
- inflation (money became worth less) --> Price Revolution in the late 1400s to 1500s (price on everything, especially food, rose)
- wages of most people weren't enough
- inflation was beneficial for nobles/landowners
joint stock companies:
- emerging middle class tried to find opportunities for additional income
- people could invest different sums of money (depends on income) in a joint stock company, which would share a percentage of profits, depending on how much you invested
mercantilism:
- idea that trade should drive a nation's actions
- nations competed against each other in attained material wealth (gold and silver stores, currency)
- great wealth will lead to other nations' jealousy so an active and preventative military was needed to enforce a nation's right and ability to trade
- government needed to play an active role in a nation's trade with colonies and other nations