Chapter 15 - The Maritime Revolution, to 1550 - AP World Test

**Who was Christopher Columbus and what did he refuse to accept?

(1451-1506) a Genoese miner - 4 voyages established existence of a vast new world across the Atlantic - egomaniac - driven by selfish ambition - refused to accept that he had found unknown continents and peoples, insisting that he had succeeding in his goal of finding a shorter route to the Indian Ocean than the Portuguese had found

Who was Ferdinand Magellan?

(1480-1521) his expedition was designed to complete Columbus's interrupted westward voyage by sailing around the Americas & across the Pacific - explorer

How were the American Indians different from Africans and Asians in terms of how they dealt with European contacts during this era, 1450-1550?

- Africans & Asians had little difficulty in recognizing the benefits & dangers that Europeans contacts might bring - However, long isolation of Amerindians from the rest of the World added to the strangeness of their encounter with Spanish & made them more vulnerable to unfamiliar diseases

How was the relationship between the kingdom of Kongo, in Central Africa, and the Portuguese different than it was in Benin?

- Kongo established monopoly (trade) with Portuguese & expressed interest in missionary teachings - Kongo lacking ivory & pepper had less to trade than Benin; to acquire goods brought by Portugal & to pay costs of missionaries, it had to sell more slaves

Why did Vasco da Gama's arrival on the Malabar Coast of India in 1498 not make a great impression?

- after more than 10 months at sea, many members of the crew were ill - Da Gama's four small ships were far less imposing than the Chinese fleets of gigantic junks & no larger than dhows - Samorin (ruled of Calicut) & Muslim officials showed mild interest in the Portuguese as trading parteners - Vasco da Gama was asked if he came to discover people or stones, which in return was asked with why did you bring nothing

What were the internal affairs that had resulted in Spain not sponsoring overseas exploration until the end of the 1400s?

- completion of the reconquest of southern Iberia - amalgamation of the various dynasties - conversion or expulsion of religious minorities

Who was Henry the navigator and what were his "mixed" motives exploration?

- led the attack on Ceuta = Prince Henry (1394 - 1460) - 3rd son of King of Portugal - devoted rest of his life to promoting exploration Mixed Motives - converting Africans to Christianity - making contact with existing christian rulers in Africa - launching join crusade with them against Ottomans

What did Columbus carry with him on his voyage to the new world?

- letters of introduction from Spanish sovereigns - Jewish convert to Christianity - a letter to pope encouraging Christianity

How did the Portuguese capture of the Moroccan city of Ceuta in the early-1400s increase their desire to trade with Africa?

- splendid homes made Portugal look like pigsties, also made the Portuguese better informed about the caravans that brought gold slaves to Ceuta from African states south of Sahara - the Portuguese were unable to push inland & gain access to gold trade, so they sought more direct contact with gold producers by sailing down African coast

Although Columbus's failed to find a new route to the East, why were the consequences of his voyages momentous from a world history perspective?

- those who followed laid the basis for Spain's large colonial empires in the Americas & for the empires of other European nations - quickly led to major European presence & profit - both eastward & westward voyages of exploration marked a tremendous expansion of Europe's role in world history

While the city-states of northern Italy ha grown very wealthy economically and culturally, why did they not take the lead in overseas expansion in the 1400s?

1. The trading states of Venice & Genoa preferred to continued the system of alliances with the Muslims that had given their merchants privileged access to the lucrative trade from the East 2. The ships of Mediterranean were ill suited to the more violent weather of the Atlantic

**What are the 4 long-term trends in the Latin West that contributed to the Iberian kingdoms sponsoring voyages in the fifteenth century?

1. the revival of urban life and trade 2. a struggle with Islamic powers for dominance of the Mediterranean that mixed religious motives with the desire for trade with distant lands 3. growing intellectual curiosity about the outside world (sparked by Renaissance) 4. a peculiarly European alliance between merchants and rulers

**Why was the new continent named "America" rather than "Columbia" after Columbus?

Amerigo Vespuci's explorations, first on behalf of Spain and then for Portugal, led map makers to name the new continents "America" after him, rather Columbus - Columbus insisted that he found Asia - 1500s - he insisted that he found a new continent

**Describe the historical significance of each of the following Portuguese explorers.

Fernao Gomes - discovered uninhabited island Sao Tome on the equator; in next century it became a major source of sugar production *Portuguese claim to the coast of W. Africa - 1400s (looking for gold) Bartolomeu Dias - first P. explorer to round the southern tip of Africa & enter the Indian Ocean Vasco da Gama - led an expedition that included sailing around Africa & reaching India Pedro Alvares Cabral - led an expedition in 1500 with ships, while swinging wide to the W. in the S. Atlantic to catch the winds that would sweep them around S. Africa & on to India, came on the (lands in BRazil explored South America)

Why did a permanent alliance between Portugal and Ethiopia ultimately fail to develop?

Helen died in 1522 before an alliance could be made - renewed appeals for help were made by Ethiopia

Describe the religious and economic motives for Portugal and Spain to take risks in an attempt to find new routes across the Atlantic.

Christian militancy - with only a modest share of Mediterranean trade, Spain and Portugal were much more willing than the Italians to take risks to find new routes through Atlantic to the rich trade of Africa and Asia

Although the Portuguese never gained complete control of the Indian Ocean trade, how did the domination of key ports in the 1500s bring them considerable wealth?

Portuguese sold large quantities of pepper that they exported for less than the price changed by Venice & Genoa for pepper obtained through Egyptian middlemen, thus breaking the Italian cities' monopoly

What 2 countries began a maritime revolution in the 1400s that profoundly altered the course of world history?

Spain and Portugal

Henry the Navigator and his staff invested and improved on what specific navigational instruments?

accurate sea charts & maps of distant places

Why did Ethiopia, in East Africa, seek a trading alliance with the Portuguese?

alliance based mutual adherence to Christianity - alliance was created to fight the Turks, who launched a furious assault on Ethiopia & sadly won in 1529 reducing the Christian kingdom

How did the king of Benin (present-day Nigeria), known as the Oba, limit their contact with the Portuguese by 1538?

as the demand for slaves fro the Portuguese sugar plantations on nearby island of Sao Tome grew, the Oba first raised the price of slaves and then imposed restrictions that limited their sale

Why did Columbus insist on calling the inhabitants of the Caribbean "Indians"?

because he believed that the islands were part of the East Indies

According to the text, why did Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain agree to fund Christopher Columbus's voyages?

because they were in a good mood; happy - in good mood because they just expelled the last Muslim remenets

What was the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1492, and what did it establish?

drew a imaginary line down the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean - Portugal was given rights to Africa & India - Spain given rights to much of the New World - spilt between Spanish and Portuguese interests

How did Henry the Navigator derive funds fro the Portuguese explorations of the 1400s?

drew partly on the income of the order of Christ, a military religious order of which, Prince Henry, was governor - addition of small cannons made them crusades with them good fighting ships

After the Portuguese consolidated control of India and the western Indian Ocean, where did they next turn their attention?

explorers had been reconnoitering the Bay of Bengal and the water further east - independent city of Malacca on the straight between the Malay Peninsula & Sumatra became focus of attention

Why were many Africans along the West African coast eager to trade with the Portuguese?

gave them new markets for their exports & access to imports cheaper than those that reached them

What were the Portuguese intentions concerning the rich trade of the Indian Ocean?

had no intention of remaining poor competitors in the rich trade of Indian Ocean

What 2 factors resulted in Iberian overseas expansion?

individual ambitions and adventurous personalities of the states' leaders

What did the Africans of the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) trade with the Portuguese?

recognized that they might get more favorable terms from the new sea visitors, coastal Africans were ready to negotiate with the royal representative of Portugal

Describe how the Portuguese were able to assert control over the Indian Ocean.

stemmed from the superiority of its ships & weapons over the smaller & lightly armed merchant dhows

Why did Muslim rulers along the Swahili Coast of Africa suspicious of Vasco da Gama and the Portuguese?

suspicious of visitors who painted crusaders/crosses on their sails - suspicions confirmed when a Portuguese war fleet compared & looted most of the coastal cities of E. Africa in the name of Christ & commerce, though they spared Malindi

While the first financial return from the voyages came from the slave trade, this lucrative trade drove Portuguese exploration throughout the 1400 and 1500s?

the gold trade - Portuguese made contact with the trading networks that flourished in West Africa & reached across the Sahara

**What was the Portuguese caravel and what were its advantages?

were small, only 1/5 of size of the largest European ships of their day and of the large Chinese junks - size allowed them to enter shallow water & explore up river - strong enough to weather ocean storms - lateen sails gave good maneuverability sail deep - economy - speed - agility - power