Transoceanic Encounters and Global Connections The Columbian Exchange

Why Not China? In 1405 the Chinese Admiral Zheng He led the first of seven voyages to the Indian Ocean and the east coast of Africa Largest ships in the world (400 feet) carrying 28,000 sailors and soldiers Collect tribute from and trade with all societies encountered on the voyages. After last expedition in 1431, the Ming Emperor forbids any further voyages and scraps the entire fleet. Why?????

Motives for European Exploration Why have the motivations for European exploration and colonization been summarized as “Gold, God and Glory”? Gold: (economic motive).Desire for material wealth; precious metals, raw materials (timber) spices, slaves, and land to grow valuable crops (sugar, coffee, tobacco). God: Christian crusading and missionary tradition. Spain and Portugal recently completed the “reconquista”. Fall of Grenada in 1492. Anti-Muslim. Search for “Prestor John” Glory: Competition for power between European nations Another factor was the desire to understand the world a product of the European Renaissance and Scientific Revolution.

What Spurred European Exploration? Riches to be had in Asia! After the collapse of the Mongol Empire, the trade routes to Asia were blocked or hampered by Ottoman Turks and monopolized by Venice. Collusion between Venice and Ottomans Ottomans brought goods to Mediterranean. Venice brought it to the rest of Europe. Middle men jacked up the prices. Istanbul

The Lure of Spices Europeans went looking for another way to get to Indian Ocean to avoid dealing with middlemen Spices were in great demand to “spice up” the boring and bland European diet Indian pepper, Chinese Ginger and cloves and Nutmeg and Mace from the Spice Islands (the Maluku Islands or Moluccas in what is now Indonesia.)

1st Country Involved: Portugal Prince Henry “the Navigator” got things started. NOT a sailor, but the son of King John I of Portugal. But he set up a school for navigators in Sagres, Portugal—the first in Europe. Also sponsored voyages into the Atlantic and down the west coast of Africa.

Portuguese Explorations Portuguese explorers discovered Azores (1427) uninhabited; settled in 1439) Madeira Island Cape Verde Islands Italian investors help Portuguese establish sugar plantations using African slave labor At trading posts in West Africa, European horses are traded for gold and slaves. Other nations soon joined in the African slave trade. Between 1500 and 1800, African slaves were the largest source of the population of the New World.

Portuguese Naval Innovations Mapmaking (cartography) Before, maps described coastlines not shipping routes. Now they showed charts of the open sea. Use of magnetic compass for determining direction. Use of astrolabe (Arab invention) and cross staff for figuring out latitude at sea by measuring the angle of the sun or pole star above the horizon. Fast ships—caravel—for sailing across or against wind, using a combination of triangular lateen sails and square sails.

Portuguese Explorers 1488 Bartholomeu Dias discovered southern tip of Africa (Cape of Good Hope) Proved you could get to East Asia by sailing around tip of Africa. 1497 Vasco Da Gama rounds Cape of Good hope and sails to India, making it possible to trade directly with Indian merchants In Calcutta he purchased pepper and cinnamon. He couldn’t get Indian merchants to trade with him for Portuguese goods, which were regarded as worthless. They would only accept gold or silver. 1519 -1522 Ferdinand Magellan, circumnavigation of the world. Magellan killed in the Philippine Islands. The survivors complete the journey.

The Portuguese Trading Post Empire The Portuguese build forts to protect their trading posts in the Indian ocean Mozambique in East Africa Harmuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf Goa on the west coast of India Malacca in Malaya in Southeast Asia They also received permission from the Chinese Emperor in 1557 to establish a trading post at Macao, a port on the Pacific ocean in southern China. But Portugal was a small nation with a small population, and it could not maintain its dominance of trade against larger nations such as Spain and France.

2nd Country Involved: Spain Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon united two major kingdoms of Spain. In 1492 they completed the Reconquista with the capture of Grenada, ending Muslim presence in Spain since the 7th century. After political unity, Isabella tried to achieve religious unity. Even before Inquisition (started by Philip II later on) she forced conversions on Muslims and Jews (Moriscos and Maranos) Some killed; many went into exile (150,000)

Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) Columbus, a navigator from Genoa in Italy believed that, by sailing west across the Atlantic for 2,500 miles, he could reach Japan. The distance was actually 13,000 miles and included the width of the North and South American continents. Columbus, sponsored by Fernando and Isabella 0f Spain, led four expeditions from 1492-1502. First meets the Taino (Arawak) in the Bahamas in October, 1492; also visits Cuba and Hispaniola. From his contact on, an exchange between the Old and New Worlds of plants, animals, pathogens, and culture: “the Columbian Exchange”

The Columbian Exchange

Impact of Diseases By 1650, Native American population in Latin America was 1/10th of what it was in 1500. That is, if there were 30 million people in Latin America (Meso- and South America together), then fifty years later there were just 3 million.

Benefits to Europe El Escorial Gold and silver from America brought tremendous wealth to Europe (Spain, in particular) Spain’s wealth got pumped into fighting Reformation forces, among other things. (Philip II) Trade expanded in Europe; cities grew wealthy. Increasingly powerful “bourgeoisie”; an expanding capitalist economy Diet improved among Europeans and Africans, thanks to introduction of corn, beans, and potatoes, stimulating population growth. Poor Europeans sought immigration to New World to improve their lives. El Escorial

The Spanish Trading Post Empire In 1565, Spanish forces arrived in the Philippines. The Philippines had no central government and the Spanish were able to control the coastal regions of the main islands by 1575. Spanish rulers pressured the Filipinos to convert to Roman Catholicism. The city of Manila became the hub of Spanish trade in Asia. The Manila Galleons carried goods from the Philippines to Mexico.

Competition between Spain and Portugal Spain and Portugal were major competitors in expedition and conquest. To settle differences, they asked Pope Alexander VI (Spanish by birth) to settle claims. Alexander VI drew a “line of demarcation” down the middle of the Atlantic from North pole to South pole. Spain was to get the west; Portugal the east. Line was renegotiated in 1494 in Treaty of Tordesillas. In Latin America, it roughly corresponds to the border dividing Brazil and the rest of Spanish-speaking South America.

Explorers: England In search of the Northwest Passage: explorers imagined way to get to Asia by sailing north. 1497-98 under Henry VII, John Cabot—an Italian—explored parts of Canada. Claimed Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Not much happening for about 70 years, then Martin Frobisher explored Labrador. First attempt at settlement in Roanoke, VA in 1588; first permanent in Jamestown, VA in 1607.

Exploration of the Pacific Captain James Cook leads three expeditions to the Pacific. Adds Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands to European Maps. Killed in Hawai’i in 1779

Explorers: the Netherlands 1609 Henry Hudson—Englishman—explored North America for the Netherlands. Again, looking for Northwest Passage. First, he went through Arctic Ocean. Next, he explored eastern part of US: sailed up the river (later named for him) and claimed it for Netherlands.

The Trading Companies To engage in overseas exploration, colonization and trade, English and Dutch merchants created joint stock companies, the predecessors of the modern corporations. These were private companies, concerned only with profit. Queen Elizabeth I chartered the East India Company in 1600. It later took control of most of the Indian subcontinent. The Dutch United East India Company (VOC) was chartered in 1602 and established control of what later became the Dutch colony of Indonesia. New Netherlands, with its center in New Amsterdam (New York) was also a colony established by the VOC.

Explorers: France Looking for gold and markets for French goods. 1524 Giovanni da Verrazano explored coast from Maine to North Carolina. Sailed into New York harbor. 1530s Jacques Cartier explored St. Lawrence River and eastern Canada. 60 years goes by then Samuel de Champlain explored St. Lawrence region in 1603 First permanent French settlement in North America in 1608 in Quebec.

Colonial Empires After exploration, the 5 European nations set up colonies: Spain Portugal France Great Britain (England) Netherlands

Spanish Colonial Empire Mid-16th century New Spain included: Mexico Central America Most of South America Western part of North America Florida Several Caribbean islands In the Pacific: the Philippine Islands

Portuguese Empire Portugal: Brazil Trading posts on coasts of Africa India China (Macao)

French Empire New France: Eastern Canada Mississippi Valley Trading colonies in Caribbean and India.

Netherlands New Netherland Hudson River Valley Caribbean islands (St. Martin, Curacao) Parts of South America South Africa Present-day Indonesia (Java) Sri Lanka

Great Britain After several wars with Netherlands, Spain and France, Great Britain won: Canada India New Netherland (renamed New York) Several Caribbean islands (Jamaica, Bahamas, Barbados, and more…) By mid 18th century, Great Britain had: 13 colonies on Atlantic coast of North America.