Chapter 14

New Encounters: The Creation of a World Market

The Big Picture - Exploration

Western expansion and eventual colonization had a profound impact on the West and the world. One result was a gradual shift in the global balance of

power from Asia to Europe. A second result was the creation of a global system of

exchange as the Americas were brought into the world system for the first time.

The creation of a global system of exchange will be a primary focus of this unit.

Motives for European Exploration Desire to gain direct access to Asian luxuries

Collapse of Mongols increased price of goods Avoid dealing with Muslim merchants

Gain lands suitable for growing cash crops Portugal had poor quality soil Started by colonizing the Azores, the Madeiras, &

the Canaries Spread Christianity

Technology of Exploration From China

Stern Rudder (better navigation) Magnetic Compass

From Islam Lateen Sail (sail in any direction,

regardless of the wind) the Astrolabe (portable navigation

device - measures the distance of the sun and stars above the horizon)

Caravels (larger ships with larger sails; could hold provisions for longer trips)

Notable Explorers Portugal

Prince Henry the Navigator Bartolomeu Dias Vasco da Gama

Spain Christopher Columbus Ferdinand Magellan

England Captain James Cook

Major Expeditions

Spanish Empire

Conquest of New Spain Hernan Cortes conquered

Aztecs in 1521 600 Spanish soldiers

Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca in 1533 Fewer than 200 Spanish

soldiers Why?

God, gold, and glory How?

Guns, germs, and steel

Economy of New Spain

Agriculture Haciendas Plantations

Mining Silver the “Heart of

the Empire” Gold Used coercive labor

Indian slaves, encomiendas, mita

• Less than 50% of silver remained in Spain• At no point did American treasure imports make

up more than 25% of Spain’s national revenue• Spanish government occasionally went bankrupt

Government of New Spain

New Spain controlled by bureaucracy Two Viceroys (Mexico City & Lima)

Appointed governors Ten Audiencias

Make and enforce Spanish law Local magistrates applied the law, collected taxes,

and assigned work required of Indian communities

Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) Divided the world between Spain & Portugal

Treaty of Tordesillas

Sociedad de Castas (Caste System)

Peninsulares Creoles

Mestizos

Mulattos

Native Indians

Black Slaves

Men born in Spain who hold high office in the government

Spaniards born in LatinAmerica who rise in army ranks

Those with European andNative American ancestry

Those with Europeanand African ancestry

Portuguese Empire

Portuguese Colonization in Asia Portuguese use force to enter Asian trade

markets Forced East Africa and Asia to pay tribute

Conquered “choke points” Ormuz, Goa, Malacca, & other areas

Control did not last long Overextended and Indian Ocean was too large Not enough people Dutch and English rivals

Portuguese Brazil Minor Portuguese nobles given strips of land

to colonize and develop Feudalism meets commercial agriculture

Sugar plantations using Indian, then African slaves Portugal’s most important colony by 1700 Government established a bureaucratic

structure with a royal governor Bureaucrats were born and educated in Portugal Brazil never had university or printing presses

Jesuits converted most natives to Christianity

Brazil’s Age of Gold Gold discovered inland in 1695

Started a massive gold rush Mined gold using slaves

150,000 slaves by 1775 Exported 3 tons of gold a year from 1735-1760

Impact of gold Ranching and farming were expanded Rio de Janeiro became the capital of the colony No native industries were developed in Portugal

Dutch Empire

Dutch Colonization

Dutch Colonies in Africa & SE Asia Take Portuguese strongholds in 17th century

Cape of Good Hope, Malacca, etc. Monopolize certain spices

Cloves, nutmeg, mace, etc. Shipping proved most profitable

Shipped products between China, Japan, Indonesia, India, etc.

Competition England and France set up trading post in India

Commercialization: The New Economy Trading, empire building, and conquest of the

Age of Exploration was made possible by new financing schemes that now form the basis of our modern economies.

A substantial middle class of merchants continued to develop, which in turn attracted more investors, and the modern day concept of the stock market was well under way.

Joint-Stock Companies An organization created to pool the resources of

merchants This distributed the costs and risks of colonization This also reduced the danger for individual investors

For example: Dutch East India Company Investors

Bought shares, or stocks, in the company If the company made money, each investor would

receive a profit proportional to his or her investment

Mercantilism Increased trade led to an early theory of

macroeconomics for the nation of Europe. The Basics:

Trade, but export more than you import Why? Deficits force dependence on others = weakness!

One country’s surplus demands another’s deficit So? European countries were feverish to colonize.

African Slave Trade

and the Columbian Exchange

African Slavery

Slavery was common in African society Where?

The Kongo, Ghana, Benin, etc. All land was owned by the state

Owning slaves was a way to gain wealth Slaves were used for servants, concubines, and

field workers Arrival of Europeans provided new

opportunities for expansion of slavery

African Slave Trade

Causes Plantations of the New World demanded more labor The money hungry empires knew they could get

free labor from Africa. So began a forced migration of people that would

forever change the fate of millions of lives and the history of the New World.

Timeline of the Slave Trade

15th c. – very minimal 16th c. – small 17th c. - increase to 16,000 per year 18th c. - most of trade, 7 million slaves, 80% of

all trade over all years 19th c. - slows down, under attack, still exports

to Cuba & Brazil (1.7 million)

African Slave Trade

African Slave Trade

African Slave Trade

Reactions and Results Some African cooperated with the slave trade,

while many protested. The European traders were determined, and the

slave trade increased and expanded. Africans were rounded up, forced on to ships,

chained together, taken below deck, and forced to deal with the passage to the Americas

African Slave Trade

This trip has been named the “Middle Passage.” Along the way, some

suffocated from the hot, unventilated conditions below the deck

Others starved, and still others were killed when they attempted to revolts

African Slave Trade

Life After the Passage Those who survived the journey

were taken to the auction blocks They were sold into slavery and

forced to work the sugar or coffee plantations or the mines until their deaths

This tradition continued with their children, as well as their children’s children

What is the Columbian Exchange? Defined as:

“the contact between any two people geographically separated from one another results in an ‘exchange’ of physical elements.”

In this case, the places were Europe, Africa, and the Americas

The main elements were animals, plants, and microbes (bacteria/disease)

Domesticated Animals The only one in Latin America was the llama. Turkeys were the only one in North America.

Europeans brought: Cattle, chickens, donkeys, goats, horses, pigs, rabbits,

and sheep. Not all animals that Europeans brought came

directly from Europe. Some animals came from Africa and Asia, with the

Europeans

Animals

Animals

European livestock multiplied quickly. Destroyed land with their hooves.

Introduction of cattle and horses Provided new forms of transportation and mobility in

warfare. Also provided hides and meat

Animal fertilizer became an important part of agricultural system.

Plants

Europeans brought cash crops to the Americas and took new cash crops back.

To Europe: Avocados, beans, cashews, chili peppers, cacao, corn,

cotton, papayas, peanuts, pecans, pineapples, potatoes, rubber, squash, sweat potatoes, tobacco, and vanilla.

To the Americas: Bananas, black pepper, citrus fruits, coffee, grapes, oats,

onions, lettuce, pears, sugar, rice, rye, and wheat.

Plants

Like the animals, some came from Africa and Asia. Old world crops (European) were stronger.

Had a more competitive original environment. They took over and crowded out new world crops.

Other results/effects Economy shifts to large scale agricultural production,

which was very labor intensive. Foods like bananas and wheat diversified American diets. American crops like maize and potatoes had a big impact

on European agriculture.

Old World Microbes European diseases were especially harsh. The most common diseases exchanged were:

Smallpox, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, chicken pox, bubonic plague, scarlet fever, and influenza.

Pathway for Diseases Invisible to both Native Americans and Europeans. Nearly all spread by air and touch; they infected quickly. Trade goods were often the vehicle for the spread. There is no creditable evidence that Europeans

intentionally infected trade items in order to infect Native Americans.

Impact of Smallpox on the New World

Why were Europeans Immune?

Has everything to do with their original environment. Most pathogens originate with animals or insects. Domesticated animals and plants were more

numerous in Europe. Greater diversity meant more ecological protection. However, Europeans did bring home some

American diseases such as syphilis.

Focus Questions

Why did Europeans begin to embark on voyages of discovery and expansion at the end of the 15th century?

How did Portugal and Spain acquire their overseas empires, and how did their empires differ?

How and why did the Europeans expand into Africa, and what were the main consequences of their presence there?

What were the main features of the African slave trade, and what effects did it have on Africa?

What were the main characteristics of Southwest Asian civilization, and how was it affected by the coming of Islam and the Europeans?