Overseas Empires Chapter 6, Section 2

Portugal Portugal’s main interest was trade over colonization. After de Gama’s return, 13 ships were sent to India under the supervision of Pedro Alvares Cabral. The Portuguese defeated the Muslim merchants in a series of bloody battles. The Portuguese now ruled over the Indian Ocean. They also established trading ports in China and Japan.

Portugal cont. Portugal went on to colonize present-day Brazil. Cabral claimed the territory. Settlers in Brazil grew sugarcane, tobacco, coffee, and cotton. Slave labor was used to cultivate the crops.

Spain Spanish conquistadors, or conquerors, came to America “to serve God and his majesty, to give light to those in darkness and to grow rich as all men desire to do.” Religious zeal – Explorers such as Hernán Cortés were interested in sharing the Catholic faith with native peoples.

Spain cont. In 1519 Hernán Cortés and his Spanish allies were welcomed into Tenochtitlán by the Aztec monarch Montezuma. The Spanish were expelled from the city one year later. When the Spaniards left, smallpox devastated the Aztec capital. The Spanish returned and captured the city, and the Aztec Empire was destroyed.

Spain cont. In 1532, Francisco Pizzaro invaded the Inca Empire in present day Peru. There was a conflict in which the Incan ruler Atahualpa was taken hostage and eventually killed. Thousands of Inca were massacred and the Spanish went on to conquer vast stretches of land.

Spain cont. Through the Spanish encomienda system, the use of Native American labor was permitted. Many Native Americans were mistreated. Some religious officials such as Bartolome de Las Casas tried to stop this treatment. Eventually the decline in the Native American population caused the use of more African slaves.

Netherlands Dutch ships were highly efficient. The Dutch East India Company was created to expand trade and ensure close relations between the government and enterprises in Asia. The Dutch were able to rule much of the trade in Asia.

An English navigator, Henry Hudson, claimed land for the Dutch along the Atlantic coast. The company founded New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River. Eventually the Dutch would lose power to the English.

France A few French explorers headed south to seek more lands to claim. 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded city of Quebec. Jacques Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence River and claimed much of eastern Canada for France. French also explored Mississippi River Valley. There they set up Jesuit missionaries and benefited from trade with Native Americans.

Artifacts from L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, a site the Norse called Straumond. These inconspicuous items reveal a great deal to archaeologists investigating the Norse settlements in North America. The small circular object, a spindle whorl for use in spinning yarn, discloses women’s presence at Straumond; the nut comes from a tree that grows only south of the St. Lawrence River, thus indicating the extent of Norse travel along the coast. p. 22

Artifacts from L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, a site the Norse called Straumond. These inconspicuous items reveal a great deal to archaeologists investigating the Norse settlements in North America. The small circular object, a spindle whorl for use in spinning yarn, discloses women’s presence at Straumond; the nut comes from a tree that grows only south of the St. Lawrence River, thus indicating the extent of Norse travel along the coast. p. 22

England John Cabot founded present day Newfoundland. Much of the success of the English came with the English East India Company in 1600. Jamestown becomes the earliest English establishment and was founded in 1607.