BRIEF TIMELINE

• Ottoman Empire defeats Constantinople (1453)

• Marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain (1469)

• Bartholomeu Dias around Africa (1488)

• Christopher Columbus to New World (1492)

• Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

• Vasco da Gama to India (1498)

• Pedro Cabral lands in Brazil (1500)

• Cortes conquers Aztecs (1519)

• Magellan lands in Philippines (1521)

• Pizarro conquers Incas (1532)

• British colonize Virginia (1607)

• French establish Quebec City (1608)

BACKGROUND TO EXPLORATION

CHINA

• Marco Polo inspired Europeans with his tales about China under the Mongols (Yuan Dynasty)

• After the Mongols were defeated, the Chinese Ming rulers sent Zheng He on a long journey (1405-1433) to demonstrate the Ming dominance.

• The voyages were swiftly discontinued when Emperor Yongle died.

• Europeans continued to be interested in Chinese products: porcelain, silk, tea etc.

SPICES

• Europeans were very interested in spices found in Southeast Asia (pepper, ginger, cloves, nutmeg etc.)

OTTOMAN EMPIRE

• Conquest of Constantinople from Byzantines in 1453 set off desire to find alternative routes to Asia

TECHNOLOGY

• Acquisition of technology from China and the Muslim world helped Europeans expand seagoing capabilities

• Sternpost rudder, triangular lateen sails, magnetic compass, astrolabe etc.

PORTUGAL

PORTUGUESE IN ATLANTIC

• Portuguese had colonies and sugar plantations on islands in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa

PRINCE HENRY THE NAVIGATOR

• Responsible for the early days of Portuguese Empire and age of Discoveries

• Third son of King John I of Portugal, founder of the Aviz dynasty

• Encouraged father to conquer Ceuta (Muslim port o N. African coast)

• Intrigued by Christian legend of Prester John

• Considered a descendant of Three Magi

• Legendary Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst Muslims and pagans in the Orient.

• Prince Henry employed cartographers to chart the coast of Mauritania after the voyages he sent there

• And sponsored voyages down coast of Africa (as far as Guinea)

BATHOLOMEU DIAS

• Appointed by King John to find route to India and lands by mythical Christian king, Prester John.

• First to navigate around Cape of Good Hope in South Africa in 1488

• He wanted to call it "Cape of Storms"

• His men mutinied forcing him to return back to Portugal

• Proved that there was ocean below Africa, therefore, a sea route to Asia that avoided the Ottomans

VASCO DA GAMA

• Sailed from Portugal to India

• Landed in Calicut in 1497

GOAL OF PORTUGUESE EXPLORATION

• Goal was not to conquer but to control trade

• Wanted to force merchant ships to trade in fortified trading sites and pay duties for the privilege

• By 1500s, Portuguese had 50 trading posts (then power decined)

SPAIN

BACKGROUND

• Marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella ("Catholic Monarchs") 1469

• Reconquista

COLUMBUS

• Landed in Caribbean

• Built fort of Santo Domingo (became capital of Spanish Caribbean)

• Natives: Taino

• Taino were conscripted to work in goldmines

COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE

From the New World to the Old World

• Maize (Corn)

• Potato

• Tobacco

From the Old World to the New World

• Diseases

• Sugar

OTHER SPANISH/PORTUGUESE EXPLORERS

BRIEF

Balboa - Discovered Pacific Ocean (1513)

Ponce de Leon - Fountain of Youth, Florida (1513)

Vespucci -- Name "America" on map (1517)

Magellan -- Circumnavigated globe, Philippines (1521)

De Soto -- Mississippi River (1529)

Coronado -- Grand Canyon (1540)

James Cook -- Australia (1770)

• VASCO NUNEZ DE BALBOA (1475-1519) (Spanish)

• First European to see the Pacific Ocean (via Panama) (1513)

• Claimed Pacific Ocean and all its shores for Spain

• JUAN PONCE DE LEON (Spanish)

• While searching for gold, he founded a settlement in Puerto Rico (1508)

• Searched for "fountain of youth" on island of Bimini in Caribbean.

• Landed in North America - which he called "Florida" ("flowery) (1513)

• AMERIGO VESPUCCI (1451-1512) (Italian sailing for Portuguese)

• Met Columbus - sparked interest in finding passage to Indies

• 1501 explored coast of Brazil and

• Italian - first to realize that territory was a "new world"

• 1517 - German cartographer Waldseemuller

• Believed Vespucci was the first to make landfall in the new world

• Created a map labeling New World "America" - the feminine version of name Amerigo.

• FERDINAND MAGELLAN (1480-1521) (Portuguese sailing for Spanish)

• Saied around Strait of Magellan (named after him) to the "peaceful sea" (Pacific Ocean)

• Reached Spice Islands in East Indies in 1521

• Claimed Philippines for the Spanish

• Magellan died in Philippines but his crew continued back to Europe

• First to circumnavigate around the globe.

• HERNANDO DE SOTO (1500-1542) (Spanish)

• In 1532 he joined Pizarro in conquest of Peru

• Discovered road leading to Cuzco

• Landed in Florida

• And discovered and explored the Mississippi River in 1539

• FRANCISCO VAZQUEZ DE CORONADO (1510-1554) (Spanish)

• Hoped to discover the Cities of Cibola (mythical Seven Cities of Gold)

• Rumors that people used gold and silver dishes and decorated houses with pearls, emeralds, turquoise and other gems.

• To Arizona, met and attacked Zuni people

• First to explore North American Southwest

• Discovered Colorado River and Grand Canyon (1540)

SPANISH CONQUISTADORS

CONQUEST OF AZTECS IN CENTRAL AMERICA

• Aztecs

• Native culture

• Wealthier and more complex than Taino and other Caribbean societies

• Hernan Cortes

• With 450 men he conquered the Aztec Empire (1519-1521)

• Helped by other tribes in the region who resented the Mexica (Aztecs)

• Epidemics (esp. smallpox) wiped out natives who had never been exposed to the diseases

CONQUEST OF INCAS IN SOUTH AMERICA

• Incas (Andes mountains, present-day Peru)

• Language: Quechua

• Capital: Cuzco

• Ruler: Atahuallpa

• Known for: roads

• Francisco Pizarro

• Led a small band of men and toppled Inca Empire (1532-1533)

• Like Aztecs, locals were weakened by internal problems and epidemics (smallpox)

• By 1540,the Spanish controlled the entire Inca empire.

TREATY OF TORDESILLAS 1494

• Divided colonial world between Spanish and Portuguese

• Portuguese given Brazil

• Spanish given rest of the New World

COLONIAL GOVERNMENT

(SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE)

PORTUGUESE GOVERNMENT IN BRAZIL

• Portuguese king granted Brazil to nobles

• A governor oversaw the grants

• By mid 16th century, Brazil sugar plantations were main source of wealth for Portuguese

SPANISH GOVERNMENT IN THE NEW WORLD

• Spanish colonial administration was formalized by 1570

• Viceroys

• Administration centers in Mexico and Peru were governed by viceroys

• Viceroys were reviewed by audencias (courts appointed by the Spanish king)

• Viceroys had sweeping powers within their jurisdictions.

SOCIAL

(SPANISH/PORTUGUESE COLONIES)

RACIAL HIERARCHY IN THE NEW WORLD

• Peninsulares

• Spanish/Portuguese born in Spain/Portugal and living in New World

• Peninsulares and Creoles (below) owned the land

• Creolles (or Criollos)

• Spanish/Portugese born in New World from European parents

• Mestizos

• Mix of Spanish/Portuguese and Indians

• Mulattoes

• Mix of Africans and Europeans

• Zambos

• Mixed African and Indian

ECONOMY

(SPANISH/PORTUGUESE COLONIES)

SPANISH AGRICULTURE IN THE NEW WORLD

• Large private estates or haciendas produced food

• Encomiendas

• Grants by the Spanish Crown to colonists in America

• Conferring rights to demand tribute (metals, wheat, pork etc.) and forced labor from local inhabitants

• The grant holder was called the encomendero.

• In exchange for labor, the encomenderos were supposed to protect the Indians and instruct them in the Christian faith and Spanish language

• In truth, the natives were subject to hard labor and extreme punishments or death if they esisted

• Indian slavery, though was forbidden , local Indians as "free vassals of the crown" were permitted to appeal to the Real Audiencias ("royal audiences" - Spanish courts)

• Because of appeals from people like Bartholomew de las Casas, the abusive encomienda system was replaced by the Repartimientos

• Repartimientos

• Replaced the abusive encomienda system according to the New Laws of 1542

• Natives forced to do unpaid or low-paid labor on Spanish farms or mines for a certain number of weeks or months each year.

SILVER AND GOLD

• Silver (which was more plentiful than gold) became the basis of Spanish New World wealth

• Paid for Spanish bureaucracy and military

• Slowed Spanish develoopment industry since manufactured goods could be bought

• Conquistadors melted Aztec and Inca gold artifacts into ingots (gold bars)

• Major silver mining sites: Zacatecas (Mexico) and Potosi (Peru)

• 1/5th of silver mined went to the Spanish treasury (called the quinto)

• Silver circulated around Europe and then to Asia

• Increased trade in luxury goods

• Spanish galleons sailed from South America to Philipines (capital was Manila)

• Philippines became a Spanish territory after Magellan landed on the island in 1521

• Where they traded with the Chinese

• Chinese demanded silver rather than other goods to exchange for Chinese products

SUGAR IN BRAZIL

• Portuguese empire in Brazil was dependent on sugar production

• Engenho = sugar mill (combined agriculture and industry)

• Sugar plantations were very labor intensive

• Sugar planters became landed nobility

• Slavery

• Sugar caused growth of slavery in Brazil

• Natives were not natural cultivators and resisted forced labor

• Portuguese had to import slaves from Africa to do the work after 1530

• Because of high death rates and low birth ates, more slaves had to be bought in

• One ton of sugar = one lost life

RELIGION

SPANISH COLONIES

• One of the primary goals for Spanish colonization was the spread of Catholicism

• Ferdinand and Isabella (the "Catholic Monarchs") engaged in the Spanish Inquisition

• To rid Spain of Muslims and Jews

• In the colonies

• Missions were erected throughout New Spain to convert and teach the local populations about Christianity.

• In 1531,

• The Virgin of Guadalupe became a national symbol

• COMPARISON

• Conversion was more successful in Spanish territories than it was in

• French colonies

• Where local practices were more tolerated

• And British colonies

• Where there was little interest in converting indigenous groups.

RESISTANCE

RESISTANCE TO COLONIZATION and SUBJUGATION

• Poma de Ayala

• Quechua nobleman who denounced the treatment of natives in the Andes (Peru) by Spanish.

• Wrote Nueva Coronica y Buen Gobierno (New Chronicle and Good Government) (1600-1615)

• Bartolomew de las Casas

• Spanish missionary

• Wrote about bad treatment of natives

• Result: Ending of encomienda system

FRANCE

EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS

• Giovanni de Verrazano

• Italian sent by Francis I to explore region between Florida and Newfoundland (1524)

• To find alternative route to Pacific Ocean

• Jacques Cartier

• Sent to explore coast of Newfoundland and St. Lawrence River

• Founded New France

• Samuel de Champlain

• Founded Port Royal (1605)

• Founded Quebec (1608)

• Explored the Great Lakes

• Jean Nicolet

• Founded Green Bay (one of oldes permanent settlements in America)

• Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle

• Established network of forts form Gulf of Mexico to Great Lakes and St. Lawrence R.

• Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac

• Founded Detroit (1701)

• Jean-Baptiste Le Moye, Sieur de Bienville

• Founded New Orleans (1718)

• Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville

• Founded Baton Rouge (1719)

ECONOMY

• French colonists came mostly for fur

• Native people trapped the furs then traded them to Europeans

• Caused competition among natives and near extinction of furred animals

SOCIAL

• Mostly young men (coureurs de bois)

• Who often married Indian women

• Children from these unions were called metis.

RELIGION

• Religious minorities (Protestant Huguenots) were not allowed to settle in New World

• Catholic Jesuits came to convert natives

BRITAIN

SETTLEMENT

• VIRGINIA (1607)

• First settlers in Virginia came to find gold and treasures

• Mostly men

• When gold wasn't found, Virginians began growing tobacco

• Tobacco required land and labor

• New tobacco plantations affected area environmentally

• Settlers encroaching on Indian land - caused conflict (ex. Powhatan wars)

• Labor

• Indentured servants were used for labor

• Europeans who agreed to work the land for a number of years (usually seven) in exchange for the price of passage to the New World.

• After the term was completed they were released with "freedom dues" (land, equipment etc.)

• Many died before they could become free

• Eventually (late 17th c.) slaves began to replace indentured servants (more cost effective)

• NEW ENGLAND (PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS) (1620, 1630)

• Came for religious reasons

• Puritans wanted to create religious communities ("City Upon a Hill") that would serve as models for other Christians

• Mostly came as families (greater gender balance)

• Didn't intermarry with Indians

• Economy not well suited for large plantations

• New Englanders worked on subsistence farms (growing crops only for themselves or local trade)

• Or engaged in merchant activity

• In Rhode Island, merchants became rich from the slave trade

SOUTHERN STATES (CAROLINAS, GEORGIA)

• Settlers in Southern states grew cash crops like rice and indigo (later cotton) which required slave labor

GOVERNMENT

• Unlike Iberian (Spanish/Portuguese) and French colonies, the British government didn't control the colonies until the mid 18th century (end of French and Indian War 1763)

JAMES COOK (1728-1779) (British)

• Explored east Australia in 1770

• In 1788 England established the first settlement in Australia (a penal colonies, that is, a place to send British prisoners)