Exploration and Empires Ch 6

Motives and Means for European Expansion ► “God, Glory, and Gold”  Wanted to spread Catholicism  Wanted adventure and glory  Wanted sea route to Asia  Wanted wealth (precious metals, expand trade) ► Technology available to support long voyages  Cartography  Compass and astrolobe (showed latitude)  Could sail against the wind

Portugal takes the lead ► Where?  Africa (especially the west coast which became known as the Gold Coast)  Then on to India ► Who?  Vasco da Gama made trip to Calcutta, India (1498) returned with spices, made a huge profit, route became well traveled

Portugal and the Spice Trade ► Set up trade ports in Spice Islands and India ► Gained control of the spice trade without establishing colonies  Didn’t want to and didn’t have the people or the power to colonize the area

Voyages to the Americas ► Where did the Spanish go?  Sailed west to reach Asia ► Why?  Wanted a different route than the Portuguese to Asia for spice trade ► Who?  Christopher Columbus (1492) reached and explored the coastline of Cuba ► Made 4 trips to Caribbean Islands and Honduras ► Died believing he’d discovered a Western passage to Asia

Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) ► Line which divided Spanish and Portuguese domains ► Portuguese claimed unexplored territories to the east of the line ► Spanish claimed unexplored territories to the west of the line

Other Countries that joined in the land race in the Americas ► England: New England coastline ► Italy: Florentine Amerigo Vespucci (how America got its name) ► France ► The Netherlands (Dutch) ► They all called it the New World but there were already civilizations there and had been for centuries (Native Americans)

Ferdinand Magellan ► Credited as 1 st to sail around the world ► Died along the way but his men completed the journey ► Brought lots of fame (glory) to Spain

Spanish Empire ► Conquistadors: Spanish conquerors of the Americas  Francisco Pizarro: took control of the Incan Empire and within 30 years the western part of Latin America was under Spanish control

Religion Under Spanish Rule ► Catholic missionaries converted and baptized thousands ► Brought parishes, schools, and hospitals to the natives ► European religion, culture, language, and government replaced the native structures

Economic Impact and Competition ► What were the Europeans looking for in the Americas?  Silver and gold ► What did they find?  Silver, gold, sugar, cotton, dyes, vanilla, and hides from livestock  Native American agricultural products like potatoes, coffee, corn, and tobacco

► Colony  Settlement of people living in a new territory linked with a parent country by trade and government control ► International trade increased because of the many colonies ► Mercantilism: set of principles that dominated 17 th century economic thought  Nation’s prosperity depended on large supply of bullion (gold and silver) because it gave a country a favorable balance of trade ► Balance of Trade: a country wants more exports than imports

Slave Trade and Africa ► What brought them to the Americas?  Demand for laborers on plantations in Brazil and the Caribbean islands (sugar cane)  Small native population couldn’t be used because there were not enough of them

Triangle Trade

► Europe, Africa, and the Americas connected ► European merchants carried goods to Africa, traded for slaves ► African slaves shipped and sold in the Americas ► Bought tobacco, molasses, sugar, and cotton in the Americas, sold them in Europe and the triangle continued Triangle Trade Explained

Middle Passage ► Journey to the Americas ► Many Africans died on the voyage ► Very difficult conditions for the voyage

King Afonso of Congo’s concerns ► Greatest king of the Congo ► Concerned about the effects of the slave trade on his society  Depopulated areas  Many African societies lost their youngest/strongest men and women  Local warfare increased

Rivals in Southeast Asia ► Spanish ► English ► Dutch ► All of the above created colonies ► Portuguese  Only created trading posts