Today we will begin to learn about European exploration. We will focus on the Portuguese colonial empire in the east and the Spanish empire in the west. We will pay special attention to the trade that developed in the Atlantic between the Americas, Africa, and Europe. The cultural, biological, and commercial exchanges that took place as part of this trade are known today as the Columbian Exchange.
Question of the Day
What were the causes and effects of European exploration?
Focus Questions
Why did the Portuguese and Spanish embark on exploration?
What kinds of institutions did the Portuguese and Spanish establish in their colonial empires?
What were the effects of these empires on American, Asian, African, and European societies?
What was the Columbian exchange and how did it affect these societies?
The vocabulary below is related to the work you are doing today and would be worth using in your paragraph. In a few classes you will have write an assessment in which you have to identify three of these that I will choose. Here is an example of an ID:
Alps: The Alps are a mountain range in southern Europe (France, Italy, Austria, and Switzerland). They were significant to European society between 1300 and 1750 because they were one of the physical landforms that made it difficult for Europe to be politically centralized under one government. Europe’s decentralization was a key to its economic development.
Historical Connection: Physical geography is important to the development of civilizations. Just as the Alps influenced the development of Europe, we have studied that the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers had an impact on the development of settlements and life in Mesopotamia.
Prince Henry the Navigator
Vasco de Gama
Bartolomeu Dias
Christopher Columbus
Zheng He
Ferdinand Magellan
Aztecs
Fernando Cortes
Montezuma II
Incas
Francisco Pizzarro
Atahualpa
The Columbian Exchange
The Atlantic Slave Trade
Sugar plantations
Plantation agriculture
Treaty of Tordesillas
Extractive political and economic institutions
Mercantilism
Silver
Inflation
There is nothing to turn into me today. Read the following from the Flow of History website. There are guiding questions for the reading. I'll ask you to respond to a few of these at the beginning of class next time.
Early Voyages of Exploration (1400-1550)
What were some of the misconceptions that Europeans had about the world beyond Europe before 1400?
"There were three main factors that led to Europeans opening up a whole new world at this time." List and explain each of the three factors.
List and explain the ways that ships and navigation technology had changed before 1400.
Why did Spain and Portugal lead the way in early exploration?
Why did the Portuguese establish a route to Asia and how did they do it?
Where in Asia did the Portuguese set up trade and what goods were involved in Portuguese-Asian trade?
Why did the Spanish establish a route to the Americas and how did they do it?
What did Ferdinand Magellan achieve?
We will have a lecture on this topic.
No homework today. Enjoy your days off.
Related Readings
1491: The Western Hemisphere Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann
"The Pristine Myth": Charles C. Mann talks about the thriving and sophisticated Indian landscape of the pre-Columbus Americas.
Crash Course Videos