Until about 1500, the Atlantic Ocean was seen as a barrier

Breaking of this was good for Europe, but bad for native populations

Portuguese1450, settle in AzoresThey wanted to find a route to Asia, where

they could find silk, cotton, rugs, sugar, spices

1498 Navigator Vasco Da Gama found himself in a new world of Arabic Commerce

Southwest coast of IndiaNext trip he brought 21 other ships with him

In the following years, Portugal built stations in the area

1509 reached Singapore and went into ChinaPortugal owned a commercial monopoly in

spices for a short while

Discovery of AmericaThe same quest for a route to the East led to

the discovery of AmericaThought he was in IndiaColumbus was backed by Queen Isabella of

Spain, Magellan: 1520 found southwest passages

into pacific, discovered Phillipine islands

Motivations for European Contact1. Wealth – explorers were motivated by

personal wealth and increased wealth for their nation. They had to be ruthless because they had to repay any debt

2. Salvation – The Papal Bull declared that all people had to be ruled by a Christian King, and all natives must be Christain. Those who resisted should be killed.

Spanish Conquistadors fell upon new landsCortez conquered the Aztecs in MexicoPizarro conquered the Incas in PeruNatives were put to forced labour in MinesMany diedChurch was converting themAll this led to the eventual use of African

slaves

Effects of Euro ContactMost interactions were friendly at first, Euro

influence on natives was disasterousEntire nations of people destroyedMost of the damage unintentional – new

diseases

BrutalityColumbus – created plantations based on

slave labour, hunted natives for sportPizzaro – his conquistadors attacked with 100

soldiers an Incan army that offered no resistance. 70 000 Incans were killed in one day. Took Incan king hostage and killed him anyway

Cortez – tried to take Tenochititlan, but failed. Surrounded the city, starved natives

Consequences of exploration1. obviously, the native issue2. 1545 – Silver discovered in Bolivia by

SpanishAt the same time, better methods of silver

extraction developedSpanish develop a trade route between

Mexico and PhillipinesCarried silver to Asia for luxury goodsHuge network develops – Europe becomes a

trade center

The Atlantic Slave TradeEstimated that 15 million Africans were

forced to leave Africa to cross the Atlantic to be sold into Slavery

Millions were killed during slave raids and many more died while they were being forced to coastal towns

Why were Slaves needed?Large agricultural plantations developed in

the AmericasVast majority went to Brazil, the Caribbean,

and Spanish speaking regions of South America

Plantations demanded a large amount of labour because of the crops – sugar cane, coffee, cocoa and rice

Labour on plantations was excessively strenuous

Plantation owners used them inhumanelyPortuguese started in Americas growing

those cropsEventually spread to America were cotton

and tobacco was grown

Why Africans?Africans – excellent workers, had experience

in agriculture, used to tropical climates, and could be worked very hard on the plantations

‘New Slavery’ – race became an explicit basis of the new slavery. Africans’ blackness and alien religion dehumanized them in European eyes

How did it work?Slaves were obtained from along the west

coast of Africa with full and active cooperation of African Kings and merchants

In return, African Kings and merchants recieved various trade goods ie textiles, brandy, horses and guns

These guns were used to acquire more land, more slaves and to expand empires

Triangular Trade1. Trade Goods to Africa From Europe2. Transport of slaves from Africa to

American – Middle passage3. Return to Europe of the plantation goods

Conditions on the ShipTerrible – middle passage – estimated

mortality rate of 15%