WAS THE AGE OF EXPLORATION A BLESSING OR  A CURSE TO THE WORLD?

Age of Exploration and Colonization

(1450-1750)

I. Two forces encouraged Europeans to undertake voyages of exploration in the 15th. Century

      A. find a new route to the riches of Asia

      B. a curiosity about the world

           1) inspired by the Crusades

           2) the Renaissance

           3) Marco Polo

II. Exploration was made possible by technological advances

      A. compass (magnetic)

      B. charts – maps showing coastlines, water depths

      C. astrolabe – used to determine the altitude of the sun   or other celestial bodies

      D. gunpowder

           1) made Europeans more confident to venture  outside

            established borders and trade routes

III. Search for all-water Route

      A. Portugal

           1) Prince Henry the Navigator

               a) set-up a school for sailors

               b) financing expeditions

      B. Spain

          1) Queens Isabella

              a) motivated by goals of power

              b) wealth

              c) spread of Christianity

             d) sponsored the voyages of Christopher        Columbus

New Technology @ 1500’s	Age of Exploration
Compass – invented in China, this navigational device always points north.   Improved Maps - as explorers travel the world, new information is added to maps, making travel easier in the future     Astrolabe - this navigational device used the stars to pinpoint a ship’s location on the Earth.	(1480-1700) Europe begins to send explorers (Columbus, Magellan, Da Gama) on sailing ships throughout the world to locate new lands and bodies of water in the world.

A. Advantages for the Aztecs

and Incas

1)Familiarity with the geography and terrain of the battlegrounds

2) Greater supply of food available

3) Greater number of soldiers. Spain could only send a few hundred on each ship.

4) More people to rely on to produce food make weapons, train as soldiers, etc.

 

B. Spain’s Advantage #1

 

1) Superior military technology and equipment- Spain’s use of the horse allowed them to attack quickly and with fewer casualties. Spanish soldiers also possessed guns, which were deadly at close range. Spanish soldiers also had body armor which protected them from enemy arrows and spears.

 

Spain’s Advantage #2

1) Skillful diplomacy- Spanish conquistadors made allies with native peoples that had been conquered by the Aztecs and the Incas. Those conquered people then helped the Spanish fight against their common enemy, the Aztecs and the Incas.

What the Spaniards Brought  

New plants included wheat and other Eurasian grains; pear, peach, orange, lemon tress; chick peas, grape vines, melons, onions, radishes and many plants that became weeds. They brought horses, pigs, sheep, goats, burros, and cattle. The complete list of infectious diseases present in the Eastern Hemisphere but not in the Americas in 1492 may never be known.

BOARD NOTES:

I. Impact of Spanish Rule on South America

        A. Religious Conversions

           1. Catholic missionaries (Jesuits) followed the conquistadors and converted native people to Roman Catholicism. These conversions were sometimes forced. Native customs and culture are slowly lost.

         B. Genocide by Disease

             1. Spaniards unknowingly brought infectious diseases (influenza, smallpox) to native populations. Since the natives had never been exposed to these diseases before, their lack of immunity leads to the deaths of millions of people between 1520-1600

         C. Slave Trade

               1. After diseases wipe out native people, Spaniards begin to import African slaves to work on large plantations that they had established. Trans-Atlantic slave trade starts to import millions of African slaves.

          D. Cultural Diffusion

                1. Native goods such as corn, potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate, peanuts, sugar, and massive amounts of gold and silver are introduced to Spain and to the rest of Europe.

Slavery’s Impact on Africa

effects

Captured African slaves were treated as

property instead of as human beings by slave owners. The children of slaves

were also considered slaves without any hope of becoming free.

 

 

Millions of Africans were taken to South

America and North America. As a result, many African societies starved as the most physically capable farmers and hunters were enslaved

 

Civil wars erupt in Africa as tribes fight each other in order to capture more slaves. Slaves were often traded for European manufactured goods such as guns and tools that were in great demand.

 

I. Middle Passage

A. The Terrible Journey

1. From 1500-1800, millions of African slaves were forced onto ships and crossed the Atlantic

Ocean. The waters between Africa and the Americas were known as the Middle Passage.

B. Conditions Aboard Slave Ships

1. Hundreds of slaves were packed into slave ships with little or no room to move.

2. Slaves were terrified that they were going to be eaten by slave-buying cannibals.

Many refused to eat and were force-fed.

3. The officers of slave ships sexually abused female slaves.

4. Lack of hygiene and disease caused by overcrowding on slave ships caused more than 15% of all slaves to die while crossing the Middle Passage.