a changing world marco polo’s stories from 1296 inspired people 200 years later trade makes...
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Impact of Technology Technology: use of scientific knowledge for practical purposes More accurate maps Astrolabe measured the position of the stars Better ships Stern rudder, triangular sail from Arabs Caravel from Portugal: 3 masted ship, sailed faster, carried more cargo, could float in shallow waterTRANSCRIPT
Chapter Two: Exploring the Americas
A Changing WorldMarco Polo’s stories from 1296 inspired
people 200 years laterTrade makes countries wealthy, people
desired Asian spices, silk, teaFocus on classical works: Ancient Greek and
RomanRise in intellectual and artistic creativity:
Renaissance (French for “rebirth”)This encouraged people to pursue new ideas/
goals
Impact of TechnologyTechnology: use of scientific knowledge for
practical purposesMore accurate maps
Astrolabe measured the position of the starsBetter ships
Stern rudder, triangular sail from ArabsCaravel from Portugal: 3 masted ship, sailed
faster, carried more cargo, could float in shallow water
http://www.kuriositas.com/2011/04/astrolabe-magnificent-computer-of.html
Seeking New Trade RoutesFirst maps showed three continents: Europe,
Asia, Africa bordered by oceansThey also thought it was only one ocean called
the Ocean SeaPortugal takes the lead- they don’t have a
Mediterranean port to go between Asia and Europe
1420 Prince Henry “The Navigator” of Portugal set up a center for exploration on the southwest tip of Portugal
He brought astronomers, mathematicians, and geographers together
Began to trade down the west coast of Africa: Gold Coast : gold, ivory, slaves
Bartholomeu Dias1487 sent by king of Portugal to explore
southernmost tip of AfricaTerrible storm blew him off course and he
sailed around it by accidentDias called it “Cape of Storms,” but the king
renamed it “Cape of Good Hope”Vasco da Gama
1497 set off with four ships around Cape of Good Hope and visited east Africa
Met an Arab sailor who helped him navigate to India, and arrived in Calcutta 1498
Crossing the AtlanticVikings crossed the Atlantic in the 800s and
900sMade it to Iceland and Greenland and
established settlementsLeif Eriksson landed in what he called
“Vinland” in 1000, maybe it was North America?
Didn’t establish a permanent settlementhttp://www.history.com/topics/exploration/leif-
eriksson
Christopher Columbus born in Italy 1451Became a sailor for Portugal on a
merchant ship1470 French privateers attacked his
ship, he floated to shore on a scrap of wood
Studied math, astronomy, cartography in Lisbon
Thought he could sail around the world in 2 months, 2760 miles (more like 24,859)…but he couldn’t prove it because he couldn’t afford his own ship and crew
For most of 1400s Spain was consumed with getting rid of Muslims and Jews
Last Muslim kingdom in Spain fell in 1492King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
were already jealous of Portugal’s advances in sailing and trade
Meanwhile Columbus is looking for a sponsor to sail around the world
Spain promised to support him if heBrought Christianity (Catholicism) to
any foreign landsBring wealth to Spain if he found a
route to Asia (but they promised to give him a cut)
Set sail on August 3, 1492Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria, with a total of
90 menAfter a month the crew started to worry
and doubt his idea, even threatened mutiny
Spotted land on October 12, the Bahamas, went ashore and claimed it for Spain
he was convinced that he had reached the Indies, and even though he searched for pearls and gold for months in the islands he found nothing
But, he returned to Spain in triumph, leaving 40 men to make a settlement
September 1493, Columbus returned to the Americas
found the settlement destroyed (to this day, no one knows what happened there)
left his brothers Bartolomeo and Diego behind to rebuild
headed west, with native slaves, to continue his mostly fruitless search for gold and other goods.
Instead of riches he had promised Spain, he sent 500 slaves to Queen Isabella.
The queen was horrified–she believed that any people Columbus “discovered” were Spanish subjects who could not be enslaved–and returned the explorer’s gift.
Spain and Portugal were now in competition with each other
The Pope had to draw a line from the North Pole to the South Pole to divide the land they had exploredThe line of demarcation: Portugal
gets lands to the east and Spain gets lands to the west, and the two countries signed an agreement in 1494 to settle the matter
Amerigo Vespucci1499 Made maps of South America
coastlineBy early 1500s, Europeans were using
his maps and calling the land “America”Vasco Nunez de Balboa
Governor of a Spanish town in PanamaHad heard stories of “great waters” on
the other side of the mountains1513 Traveled over land for days, and
was the first European to see the Pacific (and claimed it for Spain)
Ferdinand Magellan1519 was hired by the Spanish to travel
around/ through South America to AsiaNovember 1520 found a passage
through the tip of South America
His voyage across the Pacific lasted four months
They ran out of food, ate sawdust, rats, and leather
Three years later, Magellan was killed in the Philippines
Only 1 crew member made it to India, and circumnavigated the world
Spain in AmericaStories of gold, silver, and wealthy kingdoms
sent the Spanish running to the AmericasConquistadors were explorers who received
grants from the government to explore and establish settlements in the Americas But…they had to give the crown 1/5 of what
they foundIf they failed they faced losing their own
fortune
Hernan CortesLanded in Mexico 1519 looking for gold and
gloryHe had 500 soldiers, horses, and cannonsMarched into Tenochtitlan (Aztec empire)
and they welcomed himBut Cortez took advantage of them and took
King Montezuma hostageSpring 1520 Aztecs revolted, Montezuma was
killed, Spanish eventually driven outBut Cortes waited for more troops to arrive,
and attacked and destroyed the Aztec for good in 1521
Francisco Pizarro1532 sailed down Pacific Coast with 180
Spanish soldiers looking for legendary wealthy Incas
Captured the ruler and destroyed the armyIn order to get rid of the king, Atahualpa,
the Spanish falsely accused him of crimes and executed him
How did Spain succeed?1) strange weapons and fearsome animals
Guns and cannonsHorses and dogs
2) many Native Americans hated their overlords and actually helped the Spanish
3) diseases that the Spanish unintentionally brought with them wiped out the Natives
Spain in North AmericaJuan Ponce de Leon landed in Florida 1513
Looking for gold and the legendary “fountain of youth”
His exploration led to the first Spanish settlement in 1565 at St. Augustine
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de VacaLanded in Florida 1528; had some trouble,
sailed to Mexico, but in November 5 boats were lost in a storm
2 survived and landed in Texas, but many men had died
De Vaca and an enslaved African became medicine men
1533 headed west 1000 miles searching for “seven cities with walls of emerald and streets of gold”
Hernando de SotoInspired by de Vaca to explore Florida and the
SWWandered around for 3 years looking for gold;
would enter a village, take the chief hostage, and demand supplies
Crossed the Mississippi River in 1541, made it as far west as OK, but dies of fever and men buried him in the river
Fransisco Vasquez de Coronado1540 traveled through Mexico, AZ, NM, and
met the Zuni peopleRealized there was no gold, kept going west to
CO, then east to KS, but found nothing but “windswept plains” and “shaggy cows” (buffalo)
Spanish RuleSpanish law established three types of
settlementsPueblos were towns established as centers for
tradeMissions were religious communities that
usually had a small town, farmland, and a church
Presidios were forts, usually built near a mission
Social ClassesUpper class was Spanish natives: they owned the
land and ran the local governmentCreoles were American born with Spanish parentsMestizos were Spanish/ Native mixedNative AmericansLastly the slaves (Africans)Spain gave the conquistadors the right to demand
taxes or labor from Native Americans, basically enslaving them
Bartolome de Las Casas, a priest, tried to protect them, and some basic laws were passed in 1542, but not always followed
Plantation system developedExported crops and raw materials back to
SpainTobacco and sugarcaneNative Americans worked the landLas Casas thought Africans were better suited
to the work and encouraged the Spanish to use them instead
Slave trade developedSpanish brought them from West Africa to
North AmericaPortuguese brought them to BrazilLas Casas would regret his suggestion