"Age of Exploration" Study Notes
Impact on European Commerce & Economy as a result of European Exploration
1) More goods, raw materials, and metals came into Europe. 2) New centers of commerce popped up in port cities in the Netherlands and England.
Straight of Magellan
A straight/channel at the southern tip of South America, used for access to the Indies during the Age of Exploration.
Colony
A territory, often very large, under the political and economic control of another country.
Capitalism
An economic system based on investment of money for profit. 1) Merchants got wealth from trade around the world. They used most of the $ they earned to sponsor more voyages and to start trading companies. People invested money in the companies, which allowed for more profit. 2) There was a change in the way people exchanged goods. There was a new system his system based on supply and demand called a market economy.
John Cabot
An Italian sailor who made the first discovery on an English voyage. He thought he could reach the Indies by sailing northwest across the Atlantic. In 1497, he landed in modern-day Canada.
Giovanni da Verrazano
An Italian sailor who sailed on behalf of France. He went on journeys to the Atlantic coast from from present-day North Carolina to Canada in 1524. It was the first French voyage to earn France land in the Americas.
Mercantilism
An economic policy by which nations try to gather wealth by establishing colonies and controlling trade. 1) Rulers in Europe thought that the best way to get power was to get wealth first. Because of this, they tried to stop buying so many goods but focused on selling a lot of goods. 2) Establishing colonies was very important to mercantilism. Many places relied on their colonies to give them raw materials for their industries. The industries made goods that could be sold back to the colonies or to other countries for money.
Christopher Columbus (Key Explorer for Spain)
His voyages were sponsored by Ferdinand and Isabella. He was Italian, and he thought that the Indies were on the other side of the Atlantic ocean. He couldn't get Portuguese support so he got Spain's support instead. He found land on an island in the Caribbean Sea and claimed it for Spain. Many Europeans thought Columbus found a landmass that was between Europe and Asia.
Bartolomeu Dias (Key Portuguese Explorer)
His explorations went farther south. He was the first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa in 1488.
Ferdinand Magellan (Key Explorer for Spain)
Magellan was Portuguese. He thought that if he found a strait/channel through South America, he could sail west to the Indies. He got Spain's support and found a channel at the southern tip of South America which today is called the Strait of Magellan.
Vasco de Gama (Key Portuguese Explorer)
Went on an expedition with four other ships in July of 1497 to find a sea route to India. He got many spices from India.
New World
What Columbus and the Europeans called the Americas, which they thought were the Indies.
Interest in spices
Europeans were very interested in Asian spices. They had to learn to use spices to make food taste better when it wasn't fresh, and used it to preserve food during winter.
New opportunities for knowledge and wealth
Many explorers thought/knew that if they went on voyages, they could earn wealth, fame, glory, and happiness from all of the wealth and glory. They wanted to claim all of the riches from new discovered lands.
Cartography
Mapmaking.
To spread Christianity
Protestants and Catholics wanted to find new converts to their denominations.
Wanting to break the Muslim/Italian control of trade routes
The Muslims and Italians controlled most of the trade routes, and the Europeans wanted to gain more power from trade routes. They knew they could control many trade routes if they found a sea route to Asia.
Prince Henry (Key Portuguese Explorer)
The son of King John I of Portugal. He was nicknamed "the Navigator." He didn't go on explorations but he directed and encouraged explorations. He sent many explorers on early expeditions to the west coast of Africa, hoping to obtain gold and Asian trade routes.
Market Economy
There was a change in the way people exchanged goods. Instead of goods having a set price, prices were determined by the open market. This meant that the price of an item was determined by who wanted to buy it and how many were available, or SUPPLY and DEMAND. If it was in high demand and there weren't very many, people charged a lot. If there were many of them, they charged less. This system based on supply and demand is called a market economy.
In the late 1400s, what were King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain determined to do?
To make their country a powerful force in Europe.
4 factors that contributed to the defeat of the Aztec empire
1) Aztec legend had predicted the arrival of a white-skinned god. When Cortés appeared, the Aztecs thought he might be this god, Quetzalcoatl. 2) Cortés was made allies with the Aztecs' enemies. 3) The Spanish had better horses, armor, and superior weapons which gave them battle advantages. 4) The Spanish carried diseases that caused deadly epidemics among the Aztecs.
Positive Impacts of European Exploration of North America
1) Canada's shores offered rich resources, such as fish (cod, etc.) 2) Europeans traded with Native Americans for whale oil and otter, beaver, and fox furs 3) Europeans set up many trading posts in North America by the 1600s 4) The defeat of the Spanish Armada caused a power shift in in Europe. By 1630, Spain was no longer the dominant and all-powerful country on the continent. Other countries (England & the Netherlands) could take a bigger part in trade and colonization.
Negative Impacts of European Exploration of North America
1) Europeans did not find gold and treasure in North America, so there was less interest in the area and starting colonies at first. 2) Contributed to a war between England and Spain 3) Contributed to the growing tension between England and Spain (King Philip II of Spain sent an armada, or fleet of ships, to invade England in 1588. The English fleet won.)
Positive Impact of Later Spanish Exploration
1) Expanded foreign trade and overseas colonization 2) Wealth from the Americas made Spain one of the world's richest and most powerful countries 3) Spain got gold, silver, corn, and potatoes, from the Americas 4) Introduced new animals to the Americas, such as horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs
Negative Impact of Later Spanish Exploration
1) Gold and silver from the Americas hurt Spain's economy. Inflation, or an increase in the supply of money, led to a loss of its value. 2) The Spanish conquests destroyed the amazing Aztec and Incan empire. They lost culture and wealth, and many people died from diseases spread by the Spanish.
Impact of Portuguese Exploration
1) Obtained slaves and goods from Africa 2) Found a sea route to India, where they got spices and goods 3) Took control of eastern sea routes to Asia because of Cabral's voyage 4) Gained control of the Indian Ocean, which broke the Muslim/Indian control of Asian trade 5) Started to establish colonies in Brazil
Impact of Early Spanish Exploration
1) Revealed the existence of the Americas 2) Opened up a westward route to the Indies 3) Showed that it was possible to sail completely around the world 4) Proved that Columbus had indeed found a "New World" 5) Marked the beginning of Spanish settlement in the West Indies (gave Spain wealth)
Causes of European Exploration
1) The European desire to find ocean routes to East Asia/the Indies 2) Interest in spices 3) New advances in knowledge and technology 4) Europeans wanted to break the control that Muslims and Italians had on trade routes. 5) New opportunities for knowledge and wealth 6) To spread Christianity
Increase in importance of money
1) market economy supported the use of money 2) Labor was given a money value. There was a growing cottage industry.
Age of Exploration
A series of voyages during the 1400s, 1500s, and early 1600s when European explorers explored the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Conquistador
A Spanish conqueror used to explore and conquer "New Spain" during the Age of Exploration.
Caravel
A new kind of ship made by Portuguese and Spanish shipbuilders by the 1400s. It was small, fast, and easy to drive. It had a special bottom that could prevent it from being destroyed in shallow water. Used lateen sails, used by Muslims, so it could sail in any kind of wind.
the Modern Age
A period during the Modern Age from the 1400s to the 1700s when major changes that originated in Europe were taking place in the world.
the Enlightenment
A period during the Modern Age that started in the late 1600s. During this time, thinkers used observation and reason to try to solve problems in society.
What was one negative impact that the colonization of Brazil had on Africa?
As the native population of Brazil decreased, the Portuguese needed more workers. They looked to Africa for more slaves. Starting in the mid-1500s, they brought millions of enslaved West Africans to Brazil.
Indies
East Asia, according to Europeans.
What were conquistadors allowed to do?
Establish settlements, seize wealth of natives.
Henry Hudson
He sailed on behalf of the Netherlands. He went on an expedition to North America in 1609. His goal was to find a northwest passage through North America to the Pacific Ocean. He did not find a northwest passage, but he DID explore the Hudson River in present-day New York state. He also sailed into the Hudson Bay in Canada.
Hernán Cortés
In 1519, with and a band of fellow conquistadors, set out to explore present-day Mexico. Cortés and his men reached the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán. The Aztec ruler, Moctezuma II, welcomed the Spanish. Determined to break the power of the Aztecs, Cortés captured Moctezuma. The Aztecs and Conquistadors fought while Cortes was gone and the next year, he attacked Tenochtitlan. Soon after, the Spanish had defeated/ruined the Aztec Empire.
Francisco Pizarro
In the 1520s, Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire in South America. In April 1532, the Incan emperor, Atahualpa welcomed the Spanish into their empire. Like Cortes, Pizarro kidnapped the emperor. They killed the emperor, and the Incan Empire fell apart.
Cottage Industry
Labor was given a money value. People were hired. This was a growing cottage industry, or "small-scale business in which people produce goods at home." The cottage industry was very important to the manufacturing of textiles.
Where did explorers travel to on their journeys?
North America, South America (where the Incas lived), Africa, etc.
New advances in knowledge and technology
Many advances were made during the Renaissance, a time of learning, that made it easier/safer for explorers to make long, hard, and unknown journeys. ADVANCES: - Cartography: Ptolemy's book inspired interest in cartography. More accurate maps. - Ship design: Ship designs were being improved. A new kind of type called a caravel was small, fast, and easy to control. They helped with safer trip. - Navigational tools: Helped for safer voyages. The compass and astrolabe were improved. - Weapons: Weapons were being improved. This helped so the Europeans could fight against people they met in their explorations.
Desire to find ocean routes to the Indies
New goods were coming into Europe from foreign places, which increased the interest in trade. However, trade with the East was very expensive.
Where did the Age of Exploration begin in?
Portugal, located on the Iberian Peninsula.
Pedro Cabral (Key Portuguese Explorer)
Sailed to India with a fleet of 13 ships in 1500. He sailed too far west and landed in present-day Brazil.
Why was Spanish settlement harmful for the native people of the West Indies?
Spanish settlement was harmful because the Spanish forced native people to work as slaves in the mines and on the plantations. Priests forced many of them to become Christians. When they ran out of native slaves, they got them from West Africa, like Portugal.
Scientific Revolution
When scientists used observation and experiments to make dramatic discoveries between 1500 and 1700. New tools were invented.
