1. Europe controlled and unified socially and politically by the Roman Empire until A.D. 500 Western Europe no longer connected to the rest of the world so decline in trade No unifying political system in place, people lived in manors/villages ruled by local lords A.D. 500-1500 = the Middle Ages

2. Religious Factors Religiously unified under the Roman Catholic Church, led by the Pope in Rome, Italy The Church persecuted heretics, nonbelievers, and followers of older “pagan” religions 1095, Pope Urban II called for the freeing of Christian Holy sites in the Middle East from Muslim control = the Crusadesthe Crusades Crusades brought Europeans into contact with Arabs in the Middle East

3. Social Factors Most Europeans lived under harsh conditions Rural areas  limited diets Disease = problem Famines hit countryside Bubonic plague = The Black Death arrived from Asia 1347-1353 wiped out 1/3 of the Euro pop Disease  famine & violence

4. Economic Factors Labor costs, interest rates, government policy, taxes, and management Europeans began to trade with Middle Eastern Arabs for luxury goods Demand for East Asian goods The Italian city states of Venice, Pisa, and Genoa became wealthy moving goods from the Middle East  Western Europe

5. Creation of strong central govnts Middle 1400s; Portugal, Spain, England, and France = strong states The Arab traders had a monopoly on the spice trade with India Starting with Portugal in early 1400s, all four states financed exploration with goal to expand trade & find new route to Asia

6. Scientific Factors

7. The Renaissance 1350-1600 -Intellectual and technological movement -Renewed interest in the past  renewed commitment to reason  scientific revolution The astrolabe-used the position of the sun to determine direction, latitude, and local time The compass reliably shows the direction of magnetic north

8. Most important requirement = a ship able to travel long distances Late 1400s triangular-shaped lateen sails used to sail against winds 1400s, Portuguese ship, the caravel -Small ship able to carry 130 tons of cargo -Allowed exploration into shallow inlets and to beach the vessel to make repairs

9. Portuguese 1 st to explore sea route to Asia 1419- Prince Henry the Navigator est. a center for astronomical and geographical studies 1420, Portuguese mapped Africa’s west coast 1488, Bartholomeu Dias reached the southern tip of Africa 1498 Vasco da Gama established sea route to India established

11. Slaves and Sugar African slaves captured in war, ransomed back or absorbed into captors societies West African slavery changed with the arrival of Arab traders, exchanged horses, cotton, other goods for slaves 1400s Portuguese and Spanish sugar plantations needed labor source for production of sugarcane

12. EQ: Why did Europeans come to the Americas ? The mapped world in the 1400s = Europe, the Mediterranean, Middle East, and the north coast of Africa Claudius Ptolemy (Geography, A.D. 100s) influenced European geographers with system of latitude and longitude Arab geographer al-Idrisi, 1154 published a geographical survey of the world Both gave western Euro explorers an idea of the geography of eastern African coast and the Indian Ocean

13. Columbus Italian mariner, Christopher Columbus based his calculations of the circumference of the Earth on those of Ptolemy and felt Spain and India were not far apart Columbus needed financing for his expedition across the Atlantic to Asia 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain backed his venture

14. Left in August, 1492 Reached the Bahamas in Oct. Columbus encountered the Taino peoples & called them “Indians” Discovered the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola Returned to Spain March, 1493

15. Spain competiting with Portugal which had claimed control over the Atlantic route to Asia Both appealed to Pope Alexander VI 1493 the Pope devised a line of demarcation so S control west of the line & P control east of the line 1494 the Treaty of Tordesillas- Portugal controlled route around Africa to India- upheld Spain’s claim to most of the Americas