1. An Age of Explorations and
Isolation (1400-1800)
By holy_rat (who ain’t religious)

2. Imperialism =
• When a stronger country takes over a weaker
country
• > colonies
• Killing Aztecs > genocide (cultural)

3. Commonwealth

4. Background
• By 1400, Europeans were ready to venture
beyond their borders
• Renaissance encouraged a new spirit of
adventure and curiosity
• Printing press (Guttenberg- approx. 1450)
spread ideas and new maps and charts

5. Causes of European Exploration
• #1 New Trade Routes
– People want wealth; achieve that through trade
• Traded spices (nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, pepper)
• Introduced during Crusades; people still demanded
goods once wars ended
• Demand greater than supply > high prices

6. (cont’d)
• Trade routes controlled by Italians and
Muslims:
– Muslims sold Asian goods to Italians
– Italian merchants resold items at increased prices
to merchants throughout Europe
– Other traders did not like this and wanted new
routes that bypassed Italian merchants
– Italy had great location

7. (cont’d)
• #2 Spread Christianity
– Crusades left hostility between Christians and
Muslims
– Europeans believed they had a sacred duty to
continue fighting Muslims and convert non-
Christians

8. (cont’d)
• Example– Bartolomeu Dias: early portuguese
explorer
– “For God, glory, and gold”
• “To serve God and His majesty, to give light to
those who were in darkness and to grow rich
as all men desire”

9. (cont’d)
• #3 New Exploration Technologies
– Caravel: stronger, sturdier ship with triangular sails
(adopted from Arabs); made it possible to sail
against the wind
– Astrolabe: brass circle with carefully adjusted rings
marked off in degrees; used to calculate latitude
(perfected by Muslims)
– Compass: magnetically tracked direction (Chinese
invention)

10. (cont’d)
• #4 New land/power and wealth=
• Imperialism- a smaller country dominates a
smaller one for the following reasons:
– Wealth
– Power
– Resources
– Nationalism

11. Major Players in Europe before 16th
Century
• Portugal
• Spain
• France
• Dutch
• England? > did not really start until 17th
century > Queen Elizabeth I
• Others join later

12. Portugal leads the way
• Portugal was first to establish trading outposts
along the west coast of Africa
• Prince Henry (Henry the Navigator): son of
Portugal’s king
– Nations most enthusiastic supporter of
exploration
– Conquered Muslim city in North Africa where he
discovered exotic wealth never found in Europe
(cinnamon, cloves, pepper, silver, gold, jewels) >
Middle Passage; resources

13. (cont’d)
• Henry determined to find the source of that
wealth > mainly the Muslims who were so
wealthy
• 1419 he founded a navigation school in
Portugal
(mapmakers, shipbuilders, scientists, and sea
captains, gathered there to perfect their
trade)

14. (cont’d)
• By Henry’s death, Portugal held a series of
trading posts along western African shores
– Traded for gold and ivory
– Eventually, they traded for African captives
(slaves)
– Next, Portugal search for a trade route to Asia

15. Cycle of Conquest and Colonization

16. The Slave Trade
1. Existed in Africa before the coming of the
Europeans.
2. Portuguese replaced European slaves with
Africans.
– Sugar cane and sugar plantations
– First boatload of African slaves brought by the
Spanish in 1518
– 275,000 enslaved Africans were exported to other
countries
3. Between 16th century and 19th century, approx.
10 million Africans shipped to the Americas

17. Hernan Cortes
• Went into Mexico in 1518
• Encountered the Aztecs
• Brutally conquered and took power – became
governor
• Destroyed Tenochtitlan
• Seen as a hero to some and as a villain to
others

18. Francisco Pizarro
• Went into Panama with Balboa in 1513
• Took an interest in conquests and riches
• Went into South America around 1522 – went
into Colombia and Ecuador
• Best known for his brutal conquests in Peru in
1532
• Natives were already there, (the Inca)
• Destroyed Inca culture and society
• Was killed by angry natives in 1541

19. Amerigo Vespucci
• Went into the Americas
• Chronicled his voyages with letters
• Named America (after ‘Amerigo’)

20. Spain vs. Portugal
• Spain vs. Portugal
– Portugal believed that Spain reached Asia and that
Columbus claimed lands that the Portuguese might
have reached first
– Pope Alexander VI divided the land between the two
nations
– He drew the Line of Demarcation: imaginary
North/South line that gave lands on the east to
Portugal and the lands on the west to Spain
• In 1494 Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of
Tordesillas: they agreed to honor the line

21. Trading Empires in the Indian Ocean
• Portugal
– Built huge trading empire by capturing many
Muslim owned lands (with help from cannons
mounted on their ships)
• (Straits of Hormuz, Goa, Strait of Malacca, Spice
Islands)
• By capturing these Muslim-owned lands, the
Portuguese broke the Italian-Muslim domination of
trade and sold goods at 1/5 the cost

22. (cont’d)
• English and Dutch
– 1600 they began to challenge Portugal
– Dutch owned the largest fleet of ships with 20,000
vessels
– Both formed East India Company to establish and
direct trade throughout Asia. Also could mint
money, make treaties, and raise armies.

23. (cont’d)
• Dutch East India Company eventually drove
out the English and established dominance
over the region
• By 1700, Dutch ruled much of Indonesia, the
Spice Islands, and the Cape of Good Hope

24. (cont’d)
• French
– Established its own East India Company
– It struggled at first, faced attacks from the Dutch,
eventually establish output in India
– **Although Europeans took control of many port
cities their influence rarely spread beyond the
ports