Age of Exploration, Discovery, and Expansion

Age of Exploration, Discovery, and Expansion

WH Standard 10- Analyze the impact of the age of discovery & expansion

in the Americas, Africa, and Asia

Motives and Means Motives and Means

• The dynamic energy of Western civilization between 1500 and 1800 was most apparent when Europeans began to expand into the rest of the world

• Economic motives loom large in European expansion.

• Europeans hoped for spices & precious metals.

Means and Motives Continued…Means and Motives Continued…

• Another reason for the overseas voyages: religious zeal. Many shared the belief of Hernan Cortes that the natives are introduced into the Catholic faith.

• They wanted to convert the natives to Christianity, but grandeur, glory, and a spirit of adventure also played a major role.

• God, Glory, and Gold were the chief motives for exploration.

Portuguese Trading Empire Portuguese Trading Empire

• The Portuguese took the lead in European expansion.

• Beginning in 1420, Portuguese fleets began probing southward along the western coast of Africa.

• There they discovered gold.

Vasco da Gama (1460 – 1524)Vasco da Gama (1460 – 1524)

• In 1497, Vasco da Gama went around the Cape of Good Hope and cut across the Indian Ocean to the coast of India.

• He took on a cargo of spices which he sold in Portugal for a profit of several thousand percent.

• His arrival spelled the end of independence for the Swahili cities and led to the cities’ economic decline.

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama

Voyages to the Americas Voyages to the Americas • The Portuguese sailed eastward through

the Indian Ocean to reach the spice trade, while the Spanish sailed westward through the Atlantic Ocean.

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus

• Map maker• Very knowledgeable

of the sea• Deeply religious• Believed he had

found small islands off the coast of Asia

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus • (1451 – 1506)• Italian, but sailed for King Ferdinand &

Queen Isabella of Spain• October 1492 he reached the Americas

where he explored the coastline of Cuba and the island of Hispaniola.

• Throughout his life, He believed he had reached Asia when he actually reached all the major islands of the Caribbean and Honduras in Central America- all of which he called the Indies.

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan

• 1480 – 1521• Portuguese Explorer• Set sail September 20, 1519 with a crew

of 250 Spanish men• November 1520, Magellan passed through

a narrow waterway, later named the Strait of Magellan, and emerged in the Pacific Ocean which he called the Pacific Sea.

• Killed in the Philippines by the native peoples.

Ferdinand MagellanFerdinand Magellan

• Remembered as the first person to sail around the world.

• Although he did not make the full trip, one of his ships did.

• The Philippines would become a major base for trade across Asia.

James Cook (1728 – 1779)James Cook (1728 – 1779)• English explorer, navigator, and captain of

the HMS Endeavour. • April 1770 dropped anchor ten miles south

of Sydney, Australia. • August 21 formally claimed the entire land

for King George III. • Cook called the land New South Wales.• In accepting possession, the British

completely ignored the native peoples. • The British established a penal colony in

1788 in Australia.

James Cook James Cook

Samuel de Champlain (1567 – 1635)Samuel de Champlain (1567 – 1635)• Sailed down the St.

Lawrence River • In 1608, he founded

Quebec, the first permanent French settlement in the Americas.

• Meanwhile, the British were founding Virginia.

Zheng He (1371 – 1433) Zheng He (1371 – 1433) • A Court official sent

on a series of naval voyages into the Indian Ocean that sailed as far as the eastern coast of Africa.

• 7 voyages between 1405 and 1433.

• The largest ship was over 440 ft. long; Columbus’ Santa Maria was only 75 feet long!

• Visited the Western Coast of India and the city states of East Africa.

• Returned with items unknown to China such as giraffes which were placed in the Imperial Zoo.

• Voyages led to enormous profit but were halted after Emperor Yong Le’s death, never to be revived.

Zheng He Zheng He

A statue honoring Zheng He in Malaysia .

Role of Conquistadors &

Explorers

Role of Conquistadors &

Explorers • Conquistadors – Spanish conquerors• Establish trading posts• Establish colonies• Bring back items their country does not have • Spread their religion to the natives • Discover new lands/ trade routes

The Columbian Exchange The Columbian Exchange • The Age of Discovery led to the migration of

peoples, which in turn led to the exchange of fauna and flora – of animals, plants, and diseases, a complex process known as the Columbian Exchange.

• Europeans brought wheat, grapes, olives, sugar plants, rice, bananas, horses, sheep, cattle, dogs, pigs, chicken, and goats.

• Spanish & Portuguese returned to Europe with maize, white potatoes, beans, squash, pumpkins, avocados, and tomatoes.

Unintended Consequences Unintended Consequences

• Many things came unintentionally:• Native grasses• Diseases such as :

– Small pox – Typhus– Influenza– Syphilis

Columbian Exchange Led To… Columbian Exchange Led To…

•Cash Crops grown in Americas

•Racial Slavery

•Oh, cash crops

•Plantation System

•Slaves from Africa

Global & Cultural Impact of the Columbian Exchange

Global & Cultural Impact of the Columbian Exchange

• Transformed economic activity

• Spread of religion• Spread of Languages• Destruction of native

civilizations• Spread of plants &

animals • Improved diets of

Asian, African, & European peoples

• Spread of Smallpox and other diseases long with new weapons of war and economic exploitation, causing a massive population decline among Native Peoples.

Role of Improved TechnologyRole of Improved Technology

• In the 15th century, Portuguese invented the caravel, a small light, 3 masted sailing ship more that was more maneuverable, could carry heavy cannons, and more goods.

• Magnetic compass allowed sailors to determine their position.

• Gunpowder, compass, and rudder all Chinese inventions!

• Lateen (triangular) sail, developed by the Arabs, allowed Europeans to tack against the wind.

• Astrolabe – perfected by the Arabs, used the Sun or a star to ascertain a ship’s latitude

• By 1500, cartography, the art and science of map making was fairly accurate.

Improved TechnologyImproved Technology

Important Dates Important Dates • 1450 – 1650 Age of Discovery• 1492 – Columbus lands on San Salvador• 1518 – Atlantic Slave Trade Begins• 1520 – Spaniards defeat the Aztec Empire• 1532 – Pizarro defeats the Inca Empire• 1550 –1700 Disease leads to 80%

population decline in American Southeast• 1602 – Dutch East India Company

established • 1635 – Tokugawa Shogunate closes

Japan to trade