4. The Age of Exploration_Crash Course European History

Ottoman Catalyst

• Fall of Constantinople 1453 → Ottoman control of E. Mediterranean & S.E. Europe blocks traditional Afro-Eurasian trade for Western Europe.
• European states, especially on the Iberian Peninsula, seek sea routes to bypass Ottoman tolls.

Portuguese Exploration & Trading Empire

• Prince Henry "the Navigator" (early 15^{th} c.) funds navigation schools & tech.
• Gradual southward voyages along W. Africa; islands (e.g., Canaries) used for slave capture & sugar planting.
• Key milestones: Bartolomeu Dias rounds Cape of Good Hope 1488; Vasco da Gama reaches India 1498.
• Empire built on fortified coastal posts, caravels, & collection of port fees rather than large colonies.
• Imports into Europe (by 17^{th} c.): spices, tea, cottons, millions of porcelain pieces.

Spanish Colonization Model

• Columbus, backed by Ferdinand & Isabella, reaches Caribbean 1492: start of land-based empire aimed at extracting labor & converting souls ("God, Gold, Glory").
• Spain focuses on territorial control & forced labor (encomienda, later slavery).

Key Voyages & Treaties

• Ferdinand Magellan’s fleet circumnavigates globe 1519-1522 (only 1 ship, 18 men return from original 5 ships & 237 crew).
• Treaty of Tordesillas 1494: papal line 370 leagues W. of Cape Verde divides spheres; clarified again 1529 for Indian/Pacific regions.

Conquest of the Americas

• Hernán Cortés invades Aztec Empire 1519; with indigenous allies, captures Tenochtitlan.
• Francisco Pizarro topples Inca Empire early 1530s using similar alliances.
• Indigenous populations collapse (up to 90\% mortality) from smallpox, measles, warfare, and enslavement.
• Massive silver strike at Potosí 1545 funds Spanish global power.

Technology & Navigation

• Caravels combine square & lateen sails; mounted cannons.
• Instruments: compass, astrolabe, quadrant; detailed portolan charts.
• Accurate longitude awaits marine chronometer (late 18^{th} c.).

Go-Betweens & Alliances

• African female traders, Indian Ocean merchants, and translators (e.g., Malinche) supply local knowledge, market links, and political alliances.
• Rivalries among indigenous groups leveraged to aid European conquest.

Consequences

• Emergence of truly global exchange network: goods, people, microbes, ideas traverse Atlantic & Pacific regularly.
• Iberian kingdoms transform from poor to wealthy within <100 years; shift in European power balance.
• Expansion of global slavery, spread of Christianity, and long-term economic exploitation of colonies.