From the 15th century through the 17th centuries, Europeans used their mastery of the seas to extend their power in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. In the 15th century, the Portuguese sought direct access by sea to the sources of African gold, ivory, and slaves. At the same time, the rise of Ottoman power in the eastern Mediterranean led to Ottoman control of the Mediterranean trade routes and increased the motivation of Iberian's and then northern Europeans to explore possible sea routes to the east. The success and consequences of these explorations, and the maritime expansion that followed them, rested on European adaptation of Muslim and Chinese navigational technology as well as advances in military technology and cartography. Political, economic, and religious rivalries among Europeans also stimulated maritime expansion. By the 17th century, Europeans had forged a global trade network that gradually edged out earlier Muslim and Chinese dominion in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific.
In Europe, these successes shifted economic power within Europe from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic states. In Asia, the Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch competed for control of trade routes and trading stations. In the Americas, The Spanish and Portuguese led in the establishment of colonies, followed by the Dutch, French , and English. The pursuit of colonies was sustained by mercantilist economic theory, which promoted government management of economic imperatives and policies. The creation of maritime empires was also animated by the religious fervor sweeping Europe during the Catholic and Protestant Reformations. Global European expansion led to the conversion of indigenous populations in South and Central America, to an exchange of commodities and crops that enriched European and other civilizations that became part of the global trading network, and eventually to encounters and relationships that would have profound effects on Europe. The Columbian Exchange also unleashed several ecological disasters - notably the death of vast numbers of the Americas' population in epidemics of European diseases, such as small pox and measles, against which the native populations had no defenses. The new Atlantic trading system led to the establishment of the plantations system in the American colonies and the vast expansion of the African slave trade.
In Europe, these successes shifted economic power within Europe from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic states. In Asia, the Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch competed for control of trade routes and trading stations. In the Americas, The Spanish and Portuguese led in the establishment of colonies, followed by the Dutch, French , and English. The pursuit of colonies was sustained by mercantilist economic theory, which promoted government management of economic imperatives and policies. The creation of maritime empires was also animated by the religious fervor sweeping Europe during the Catholic and Protestant Reformations. Global European expansion led to the conversion of indigenous populations in South and Central America, to an exchange of commodities and crops that enriched European and other civilizations that became part of the global trading network, and eventually to encounters and relationships that would have profound effects on Europe. The Columbian Exchange also unleashed several ecological disasters - notably the death of vast numbers of the Americas' population in epidemics of European diseases, such as small pox and measles, against which the native populations had no defenses. The new Atlantic trading system led to the establishment of the plantations system in the American colonies and the vast expansion of the African slave trade.
Key Concept 1.3:
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Reading Schedule:
World Contacts before Columbus (Pgs. 428 - 432) The European Voyages of Discovery (Pgs. 432 - 440) Conquest and Settlement (Pgs. 440 - 446) The Era of Global Contact ( Pgs. 446 - 456) Changing Attitudes and Beliefs (Pgs. 456 - 461) |
Assignments
What motivated Europeans to explore the world with dangerous overseas voyages? In this case study you will analyze the external and internal motives that drove Europeans in the Age of Exploration.
Discovery?
American history textbooks often begin in the Age of Discovery and Exploration as a preliminary to the study of United States history. As a result, we are much more aware of the effect of the Discovery of the New World, as the Europeans conceived it, upon the Americas, than the effect that the opening up of new lands had upon Europe
What was the impact of the Columbian Exchange on our world? How should we view Columbus?
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Can history be shaped by trends, or fashions or tastes? In this reading you will analyze the impact of spices on European history.
In 1550, Charles V (H.R.E.) and King of Spain called a junta, a group of jurists and theologians, to hear the arguments in favor and against the use of force to incorporate the Indians into Spanish America.
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