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The Maritime Revolution

Circa 1450-1550 Chapter 15

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Global Maritime Expansion Before 1450

• The Pacific Ocean– Over a period of several thousand years, peoples originally from ____ crossed the water to

settle the islands of the East Indies, New ______, the Melanesian and __________ islands, the _________, New Zealand, and other Pacific islands out to Hawaii. Polynesian use of the sweet ______, domesticated in South America, suggests that they may have reached the ________.

– Polynesian _________ and establishment of colonies was aided by the development of large, double-hulled ______ that used both paddlers and _____. Polynesian mariners navigated by the _____ and by their observations of ocean ________ and evidence of land.

• The Indian Ocean– Malayo-Indonesians colonized the island of __________ in a series of voyages that

continued through the ___th century.– Arab seafarers used the regular pattern of the _______ winds to establish trade routes in

the ______ Ocean. These trade routes flourished when the rise of _____ created new markets and new networks of Muslim traders.

– The Chinese ____ dynasty sponsored a series of voyages to the Indian Ocean between 1405 and 1433. The Ming voyages were carried out on a grand scale, involving fleets of over _____ large treasure ships and hundreds of smaller support vessels.

– The treasure ships carried out trade in luxury goods including ____ and precious ______, as well as stimulating diplomatic relations with various _______ and Asian states. The voyages, which were not __________ and inspired opposition in court, were ended in 1433.

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Global Maritime Expansion Before 1450 • The Atlantic Ocean

– During the relatively warm centuries of the early Middle Ages, the _______, navigating by the _____ and the seas, explored and settled _______, Greenland, and Newfoundland (Vinland). When a colder climate returned after ____, the northern settlements in Greenland and the settlement in ____________ were _________.

– A few southern Europeans and Africans attempted to explore the Atlantic in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Voyagers from _____ in 1291 and from ____ in the 1300s set out into the Atlantic but did not return. Genoese and Portuguese explorers discovered and settled the Madeiras, the ______, and the Canaries in the fourteenth century.

– In the Americas, the ______ from South America had colonized the Lesser and Greater ________ by the year 1000. The _____ followed, first taking over Arawak settlements in the Lesser Antilles and then, in the late fifteenth century, raiding the Greater Antilles.

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European Expansion, 1400–1550 • Motives for Exploration

– The _______ kingdoms sponsored voyages of exploration for a number of reasons, including both the ___________ personalities of their leaders and long-term trends in European historical development: the revival of _____, the struggle with _____ for control of the _____________ Sea, curiosity about the outside world, and the alliances between ________ and ____________.

– The city-states of northern _____ had no incentive to explore ________ trade routes because they had established a system of alliances and trade with the _________ that gave them a monopoly on access to _____ goods. Also, Italian ships were designed for the calm waters of the _____________ and could not stand up to the violent weather of the Atlantic.

– The Iberian kingdoms had a history of centuries of warfare with _______. They had no significant share in the Mediterranean trade, but they had advanced ______________ and ________ technology. They were open to new geographical knowledge and had exceptional leaders.

• Portuguese Voyages– The Portuguese gained more knowledge of the sources of ____ and ______ south of the

Sahara when their forces, led by Prince Henry, captured the North African caravan city of _____. Prince Henry (“the _________”) then sponsored a research and navigation institute at ______ to collect information about and send expeditions to the African lands south of North Africa.

– The staff of Prince Henry’s research institute in Sagres studied and improved navigational instruments, including the _______ and the _________. They also designed a new vessel, the _______, whose small size, shallow draft, combination of square and lateen sails, and ______ made it well suited for the task of exploration.

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European Expansion, 1400–1550• Portuguese Voyages cont…

– Portuguese explorers eventually learned to pick up the prevailing westerly _____ that would blow them back to Portugal, contributing important knowledge about _______ wind patterns to the maritime community.

– The Portuguese voyages eventually produced a _________ return, first from trade in _______, and then from the ____ trade.

– Beginning in 1469, the process of exploration picked up speed as private commercial enterprises began to get involved. The ______ merchant Fernao Gomes sent expeditions that discovered and developed the island of ___ ____ and explored the ____ Coast. Bartolomeu ____ and Vasco __ ____ rounded the tip of ______ and established contact with _____, thus laying the basis for Portugal’s maritime trading empire.

• Spanish Voyages– When ___________ ________ approached the Spanish crown with his project of finding a

new route to ____, the Portuguese had already established their route to the Indian Ocean. The King and Queen of _____ agreed to fund a modest voyage of discovery, and Columbus set out in ____ with letters of introduction to _____ rulers and an ______ interpreter.

– After _____ voyages, Columbus was still certain that he had found ____, but other Europeans realized that he had discovered entirely new lands. These new discoveries led the Spanish and the Portuguese to sign the Treaty of ___________, in which they divided the world between them along a line drawn down the center of the North ________.

– Ferdinand _________’s voyage across the _______ confirmed Portugal’s claim to the _______ Islands and established the Spanish claim to the ___________.

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Encounters with Europe, 1450–1550

• Western Africa– During the ___th century, many Africans welcomed the __________ and profited from their

trade, in which they often held the upper hand. In return for their ____, Africans received from the Portuguese merchants a variety of Asian, African, and European goods, including ________. Interaction between the Portuguese and African rulers varied from place to place.

– The ___ (king) of the powerful kingdom of _____ sent an __________ to Portugal and established a royal ________ on trade with the Portuguese. Benin exported a number of goods, including some ______, and its rulers showed a mild interest in ____________. After 1538, Benin purposely limited its contact with the Portuguese, declining to receive ____________ and closing the market in male slaves.

– The kingdom of _____ had fewer goods to ______ and consequently relied more on the _____ trade. When the Christian King ______ __ lost his monopoly over the slave trade, his power was weakened and some of his subjects rose in ______.

• Eastern Africa– In Eastern Africa, some ______ states were suspicious of the __________, while others

welcomed the Portuguese as ______ in their struggles against their neighbors. On the _______ Coast, _______ befriended the Portuguese and was spared when the Portuguese attacked and looted many of the other Swahili city-states in 1505.

– Christian ________ sought and gained Portuguese support in its war against the Muslim forces of ____. The Muslims were defeated, but Ethiopia was unable to make a long-term alliance with the Portuguese because the Ethiopians refused to transfer their religious loyalty from the patriarch of ___________ to the Roman ____.

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Encounters with Europe, 1450–1550

• Indian Ocean States– When _____ __ ____ arrived in _______ in 1498, he made a very ______

impression with his simple gifts. Nonetheless, the Portuguese were determined to control the ______ Ocean trade, and their superior ______ and __________ gave them the ability to do so.

– To assert their control, the Portuguese bombarded the ______ city-states in 1505, captured the Indian port of ___ in 1510, and took ______ in 1515. Extending their reach eastward, Portuguese forces captured _______ in 1511 and set up a trading post at ______ in southern China in 1557.

– The Portuguese used their control over the major ports to require that all ______ be carried in Portuguese ships and that all other ships purchase Portuguese __________ and pay customs ______ to the Portuguese.

– Reactions to this Portuguese aggression varied. The ______ emperors took no action, while the _________ resisted and were able at least to maintain superiority in the ___ Sea and the _______ Gulf. Some smaller states cooperated with the Portuguese; others tried evasion and resistance.

– The Portuguese never gained complete control of the ______ Ocean trade, but they did dominate it enough to bring themselves considerable profit and to break the _______ city-states’ monopoly on _______.

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Encounters with Europe, 1450–1550

• The Americas– While the Portuguese built a maritime trading empire in ______ and ____, the

Spanish built a territorial empire in the Americas. The reasons for the difference are to be found in the _________ of Amerindian communities and their lack of resistance to Old World __________.

– The Arawak were an __________ people who mined and worked ____ but did not trade it over long distances and had no ____. Spanish wars killed tens of _________ of Arawak and undermined their economy; by 1502, the remaining Arawak of __________ were forced to serve as ________ for the Spanish.

– What the Spanish did in the ________ was an extension of Spanish actions against the _______ in the previous centuries: defeating non-__________ and putting them and their land under Christian control. The actions of _____________ in other parts of the Caribbean followed the same pattern.

– On the mainland, ______ _____ relied on native allies, _______ charges, _____ swords, and ______ to defeat the forces of the _____ Empire and capture the ____________. The conquest was also aided by the spread of ________ among the Aztecs. Similarly, _________ _______’s conquest of the ____ Empire was made possible by the dissatisfaction of the Inca Empire’s recently conquered peoples and by Spanish ______ and _____ swords.

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Conclusion• Imperial Comparisons

– Strong centralized governments like _____’s were not inclined to attempt ____-distance exploration.

– ______ rulers such as the Iberian monarchs left the details of exploration to ___________, such as ________, who proposed them.

– Dominance of the Americas by _____ and ________ was aided by the native populations’ vulnerability to European _______ and by the superior ________ of Europe.

– Natives of Asia and Africa had more ________ to European _________ from earlier contact and were more able to resist __________.

• Economic Comparisons– Europeans found sophisticated _______ and trade networks in Africa

and Asia.– In contrast, Europeans needed to introduce new __________ and

strong political control over American _______ to exploit their natural _________.