amanda0195
Exploration and Conquest of Americas
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)