European Exploration and Expansion 1500-1800

European Exploration and Expansion

• Time Period: 1500-1800
• Motivations: "Gold, Glory, and God" (wealth, fame, religious conversion)
• Inspiration: Marco Polo's travels to Asia, creating fascination with the "exotic east"
• Trade Focus: Desire for Asian spices, which were expensive and transported by land via Arab traders
• Technological Advancements:
  • Caravel: Small, fast, maneuverable ships with large cargo holds and lateen sails
  • Cartography: Improved mapmaking
  • Magnetic Compass: Invented in China, aided ocean navigation
  • Understanding of Wind Patterns: Improved Atlantic crossings

Portuguese Expeditions

• Early Focus: Exploring the African coast (1420s)
• Gold Coast Discovery: Finding new gold sources on the southern coast of West Africa
• Bartolomeu Dias: Rounded the southern tip of Africa (Cape of Good Hope) in 1488
• Vasco da Gama: Sailed around Africa and reached India (1498), gaining control of the spice trade from the Muslims
• Afonso de Albuquerque: Established a port in Goa, India, and took control of the spice trade. Further established a stop on the route to the Spice Islands
• Spice Trade Control: Portugal gained major control of the spice trade in the region, particularly the Moluccas (Spice Islands)

Spanish Explorers

• Miscalculation: Estimated Earth's circumference incorrectly, leading to sailing west for a route to Asia
• Christopher Columbus: Financed by Queen Isabella, sailed west and reached the Americas in 1492, mistaking it for Asia; explored Caribbean islands.
• Ferdinand Magellan: Led expedition that circumnavigated the globe (1519-1522). His fleet passed through the Strait of Magellan and reached the Philippines, where he was killed.
• Exploring the Americas: Columbus and Magellan's voyages led Spanish exploration and conquest of much of the Americas

Treaty of Tordesillas

• Purpose: Settle disputes between Spain and Portugal over newly discovered lands
• Boundary Line: Established a meridian line dividing spheres of influence. East of the line was Portuguese, and West was Spanish's.

Other Expeditions and Explorers

• John Cabot: Explored New England coastline for England (1497)
• Pedro Cabral: Landed in South America (1500), claiming Brazil for Portugal
• Amerigo Vespucci: Florentinist who wrote letters about the lands he discovered, giving the continent its name.

The Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire

• Hernan Cortes: Led an expedition taking down the Aztec.
• Alliances: Successfully created alliances with city-states opposed to the Aztecs
• Tenochtitlan: Cortés arrived in the Aztec capital in 1519, was welcomed but there were tensions; the Spanish kidnapped and killed their king
• Destruction and Disease: Fall of 1520, Spanish were driven from Tenochtitlan; European diseases like smallpox decimated the native population. Reinforcements allowed Spanish to regain control and destroy Aztec cities and infrastructure.

The Spanish Conquest of the Inca Empire

• Francisco Pizarro: Led the Spanish conquest of the Inca in 1531.
• Strength, Weakness: Spanish soldiers used superior weapons, horses, and diseases (which hurt the Inca); however, the Inca fought amongst each other due to succession issues.
• Atahualpa: Inca Emperor captured and executed
• Cuzco: Incan capital sacked for new capital at Lima (1535)

European Rivals

• Dutch, French, and English: Challenged Spanish and Portuguese dominance by the late 16th century

• Dutch West India Company: Formed to challenge Portuguese and Spanish colonies and established some temporary settlements in Brazil and the Caribbean

• French: Colonized parts of Canada (New France) and Louisiana in the 17th century. Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec (1608).

• English: Established settlements in Virginia and Massachusetts Bay and controlled much of the eastern North American coast.

Vocabulary

• Caravel: A small, fast, maneuverable ship
• Colony: A settlement in a new territory linked with the parent country
• Conquistador: A leader in the Spanish conquest of the Americas