THE AGE OF EXPLORATION

15TH & 16TH CENTURY

World History
Section 1
BACKGROUND
15th Century Achievements
-Century Rise of Nation-ism among the New Nations
-States of Europe emergence of powerful new nation
-States with assertive Monarchs
-Invention of the Printing Press
-Expansion of Trade & Business Activity
-Renaissance quest for knowledge
-Reconquista completed in Spain- 1492
MOTIVATING FACTORS FOR EUROPEAN
EXPANSION
• Desire to enhance National Prestige (Nationalism)
• Nation Wealth & Territory Prestige for Monarchs.
• Possibility of Personal Wealth, Fame, & Social Prestige.
• Quest for New Geographical knowledge.
• Desire to spread Christianity.
• Intensifying International competition among the powerful Nations.
• States of Europe desire to find new Trade Routes to the East.
• Increase Profits.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT IMPACTED
EXPLORATION
• Better & faster Ship design
• Printing Press
• More reliable Magnetic Compass
• The invention of the Clock (allowed for new navigational methods- Eventually
Longitude)
• Astrolabe- Latitude Navigation
• More accurate Maps
• Gun Powder & New Weapons
-Cannons and Muskets
SHIPS
ARMED VESSEL
PRINTING PRESS
ASTROLABE
NEW WEAPONS 15TH-16TH CENTURY
IMPROVED COMPASS
MAJOR NATION- STATES INVOLVED IN
EXPLORATION
Section 2
PORTUGAL
• Claimed parts of:
-West Africa
-Parts of Asia
-Large Portion of South America (Brazil)
“Treaty of Tordesillas”
Major Emphasis
-Trade & Gold
Slave Trade= West Africa
This created New Products & Spices
PRINCE HENRY THE
NAVIGATOR OF PORTUGAL
• National Policies strongly supported
exploration and trade.
• Portugal had a long tradition of
navigation and trade.
SLAVE TRADE
(WEST AFRICA)
• African slaves were brought to the
New World to primarily work in
agriculture.
• Portugal was the major slave trading
European nation.
 SPAIN

Claimed=
 (Caribbean Islands)
 (Central America) – Except *Brazil
 (Mexico)
 (South West North America)
 (Philippines)
FERDINAND & ISABELLA OF SPAIN
SUPPORTED, “EXPLORATION” & “EXPANSION”
KING FERDINAND & QUEEN ISABELLA OF
SPAIN
MAJOR EMPHASIS
• Accumulation of Gold & Silver
• Expansion of Trade
• Farming- Sugar Plantations
• Some Slave Trade- “Limited” -Spain outlawed the slave trade in the
1700’s
• Active in the Spread of Christianity
-(Jesuits Missionaries)
• Enhance personal Prestige & Social Standing
-Strict Social Hierarchy in Spain
-(Feudal in many respects)
LINE OF DEMARCATION 1493
• Official agreement that divided the territories claimed by Spain & Portugal in
the New World.
• Imaginary line drawn by Pope Alexander VI
• Lands East of the Line (Portugal)
• Lands West of the line (Spain)
LINE OF DEMARCATION
LINE OF DEMARCATION
ENGLAND
• East Coast of North America
• Canada
• India
MAJOR EMPHASIS
• Expansion of Territory
• Trade
• New Opportunities for Middle Class
• Fleeing Religious persecution
MAJOR EUROPEAN EXPLORERS
• Vasco De Gama- first to sail around the Cape of
Good Hope.
• Magellan- first voyage to circumnavigate the globe .
• Columbus- first European voyage to arrive in the
New World.
• Cortez- conquest of the Aztec Empire in Mexico.
• Pizarro- conquest of the Incan Empire in Peru.
• Balboa- first to see the Pacific Ocean- Crossed
Panama (isthmus)
• Ponce De Leon- explored Florida.
• Coronado- first European to see the Grand Canyon
and explore the southern U.S.
VASCO DE- GAMA (PORTUGUESE)
MAGELLAN (PORTUGUESE)

• Magellan did not survive the voyage.

• Of the 270 men who began the voyage
around the Globe, only 18 finished and
returned to Europe.

• Magellan died April 27 th,

1521
MAGELLAN TIME LINE
MAP OF MAGELLAN’S VOYAGE
ANOTHER LOOK AT MAGELLAN’S TRIP
COLUMBUS- (ITALIAN)
LED 3 VOYAGES TO THE NEW WORLD
NINA, PINTA, SANTA MARIA
CORTEZ (SPANISH) DEFEATED
“AZTEC EMPIRE”
AZTEC EMPIRE DEFEATED
PIZARRO (SPANISH)
PIZARRO- CONQUEST OF THE INCAN
EMPIRE (PERU)
INCAN EMPIRE IN PERU
(THE ANCIENT INCAN CITY OF “MACHU PICCHU”)
 BALBOA
• Crossing the Oceans.
Isthmus of
Panama
(Pacific
Ocean)
• First European
to cross from
the Atlantic to
the Pacific
CORONADO EXPLORED THE SOUTHWEST U.S.
(GRAND CANYON)
LABOR & INDUSTRY IN THE
NEW WORLD
Section 3
“ENCOMIENDA”
• Tribute Labor System= native peoples were required to give labor to the
European settlers.
 MINING
• Silver Mines @
POTOSI.
• Vast amounts of
(Gold) & (Silver)
were sent to Spain
from the New World.
• Primary Labor Force
was “Indigenous
Population”
PLANTATIONS- SUGAR BECAME A MAJOR
EXPORT CROP.
NATIVE PEOPLE & AFRICAN SLAVES
WORKED THE FARM AND PLANTATIONS.
15TH & 16TH CENTURY ECONOMIC MODEL
“MERCANTILISM”
• Based on the accumulation of Gold & Silver (precious metals)
• Gold and Silver were the measure of Wealth (not Business of Production)
• The PURPOSE of the economy was “Serve the State”
• Trade was focused on primarily on Exporting and selling goods in the new
colonies.
• Little Capital investment in business.
• Colonial holdings were seen as:
-A source of Raw Materials
-Markets for European Goods
 THE IMPACT OF EUROPEAN
EXPANSION- AGE OF EXPLORATION
Section 4
TRIANGLE OF TRADE
ECONOMIC
• Rapid economic growth and increase in business activity.
• Vast amounts of Gold & Silver flooded into Europe.
• Prices of Good rose due to INFLATION and MERCANTILIST economic
policies.
• Expanded opportunities for the rising middle class.
• Majority of Europeans saw little improvement in their “Standard of Living.”
• CAPITALISM began to emerge –(exception was in Spain)
POLITICAL
• Western Europe began to Dominate the Globe
-(New land were claimed and colonized)
-(Western political models were installed)
• The “Rivalry” between the Nation-States of Europe intensified.
• International tension grew.
SOCIETAL
• Social values began to be more focused on MATERIAL WEALTH and SOCIAL
STANDING.
• Growing SECULAR trends.
• Rising MIDDLE CLASS benefitted from New economic & social opportunities.
• POWER & WEALTH in the colonies came to be concentrated in the hands of
few.
-(Social & Economic issues have continued to PLAGUE these regions as a result of
this trend.)
 RELIGIOUS
• Christianity spread across the Globe
-(The Americas)
-(Parts of Asia)
• Christian Missionaries worked to Convert Native populations
-(The Jesuits were very active)
-(Started Missions)
-(Established Schools)
• Very often Conversations were forced and or coerced; however, many truly converted
to Christianity.
• Christianity of blended with traditional religious beliefs and practices
-(Know as Syncretism)
GLOBAL
• Millions of Africans were imported to the New World as Slaves.
• Animals were brought to the Americas
-(Horses & Cattle)
• New Plants and Crops were Exchanged
-Tomatoes
-Potatoes
-Corn
-Early forms of pain killers (developed by Natives)
INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS
• Native populations in the New World were “Decimated.”
-Estimated that from (1500)-(1600) the populations shrank from 20 million to 2
million.
Causes:
~Disease & Malnutrition
~War & Conflict
~Harsh Labor
INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS MIXED WITH
EUROPEANS & AFRICANS
~New Cultural and Racial Groups
~Blending of Cultures
 Language
 Religion
 Customs
 Music
 Art
THE AGE OF EXPLORATION WAS IN
MANY WAYS A REFLECTION OF THE
IDEALS AND VALUES OF THE
RENAISSANCE.
The End.