Europe Pre-Exploration
The Middle Ages |
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Marco!... Polo!: The Age of Exploration arguably begins with "The Travel's of Marco Polo", or simply "The Travels", a manuscript about Marco Polo's journeys to the far east. In the manuscript, Marco Polo reverently described Khubilai Khan [koo-blahy kahn] and his palaces, precious metals and fine silks. Marco Polo described paper money, coal, postal service, eyeglasses and other innovations that had not yet appeared in Europe. These tales sparked a curiosity in Europeans, leading to a newfound desire to connect the east (Asia) with the west (Europe). Over the course of the fifteenth (1400s), sixteenth (1500s), and seventeenth (1600s) centuries, Europeans would set sail to find new routes to Asia for two main reasons.
Gold and God: The first reason was to meet the needs of people living in Europe at that time. During this time, metals, spices, and silk were important to Europeans. They needed the metals for making coins because their existing gold supplies were running low. Coins allowed for trade and other transactions that increased their wealth. Spices were used to flavor foods, but more importantly to preserve food. This was important because there was no such thing as refrigeration during this time. Finally, royalty and members of the merchant class needed silks for clothing and other goods. All of these goods could be found in Asia, so finding a better route there became a priority for Europeans. The second reason was to spread their faith. Christian Europeans believed that it would please God if they caused "infidels" (non-Christians) to convert to Christianity. Besides the Church most European governments also had this same desire to spread Christianity. Many explorers used the promise to spread Christianity as a way to get governments to support their expedition.
Gold and God: The first reason was to meet the needs of people living in Europe at that time. During this time, metals, spices, and silk were important to Europeans. They needed the metals for making coins because their existing gold supplies were running low. Coins allowed for trade and other transactions that increased their wealth. Spices were used to flavor foods, but more importantly to preserve food. This was important because there was no such thing as refrigeration during this time. Finally, royalty and members of the merchant class needed silks for clothing and other goods. All of these goods could be found in Asia, so finding a better route there became a priority for Europeans. The second reason was to spread their faith. Christian Europeans believed that it would please God if they caused "infidels" (non-Christians) to convert to Christianity. Besides the Church most European governments also had this same desire to spread Christianity. Many explorers used the promise to spread Christianity as a way to get governments to support their expedition.
Interrupted Trade Routes: Getting to Asia was a bit of a problem, though. Land routes to Asia had always been dangerous, but trade routes became even more treacherous as Holy Wars (the Crusades) raged between Muslims and Christians. Traders and merchants could no longer use the trade routes across Asia to China. With the land routes closed, Western European countries needed to find new water routes to the Far East. Sailing East or West?: At this point in time, most people understood that the Earth was round. However, what lied west was still a mystery. How big was the ocean, and what was out there? Only a few proposed going west. Most instead, chose to go around the southern tip of Africa. The Glory and Crimes of Columbus: Christopher Columbus was one of the few who proposed sailing west to reach the Indies (the Indies is what Europeans called the islands in southeastern Asia). Columbus was from Italy, but with promises of gold he managed to convince the King and Queen of Spain to fund his expedition. Hoping to be the first European to reach Asia by sailing across the Atlantic, Columbus set sail with three ships in 1492. More than a month later, the crew spotted land, but it was not the Indies, as they believed. It was new land, unknown to Europeans. Task: Click on the word expedition above and read through the Adventure Tales section on Columbus. On the graphic organizer below, identify examples of each type of motivation. |
Who Discovered it? Video
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motivations_for_exploration_graphic_organizer.docx | |
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When the boats landed, the indigenous people came out onto the beach to get a closer look. Columbus, believing he had landed in the Indies, called these people Indians. In reality, the islanders were native people who spoke a language called Taino (TIE-no). The Taino lived in a peaceful fishing community. Never had they seen people like the ones who had suddenly appeared on their shores. Yet they were friendly and welcoming. Columbus wrote:
“They are so unsuspicious and so generous with what they possess, that no one who had not seen it would believe it... They willingly traded everything they owned.… They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features.… They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They had no iron. Their spears are made of cane.… They would make fine servants.… With fifty men we could subjugate [overpower] them and make them do whatever we want.”
Had the natives known what Columbus and his men had in store for them, perhaps they would not have been so generous. Columbus and his men immediately went to work, to find the gold they assumed was there. They seized many of the natives and forced them to bring them gold, only there was a problem: there wasn't much gold to be found. This did not matter to Columbus. He was certain that there was gold and he was determined to get it, even if it meant enslaving and killing thousands of Indians.
“They are so unsuspicious and so generous with what they possess, that no one who had not seen it would believe it... They willingly traded everything they owned.… They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features.… They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They had no iron. Their spears are made of cane.… They would make fine servants.… With fifty men we could subjugate [overpower] them and make them do whatever we want.”
Had the natives known what Columbus and his men had in store for them, perhaps they would not have been so generous. Columbus and his men immediately went to work, to find the gold they assumed was there. They seized many of the natives and forced them to bring them gold, only there was a problem: there wasn't much gold to be found. This did not matter to Columbus. He was certain that there was gold and he was determined to get it, even if it meant enslaving and killing thousands of Indians.
Did Columbus Discover America?: The short answer to that is a resounding "NO!" There is a good amount of evidence suggesting that Christopher Columbus was not the first person to stumble upon the Americas. Clearly, Native Americans were there long before Christopher Columbus even had a thought of sailing west (or was even born, for that matter). However, it may come as a surprise to learn that Christopher Columbus wasn't even the first European to reach the "New World". So the question then becomes, why do we study him? If Columbus didn't "discover" America, why do we spend so much time learning about him?
Chris' Legacy - The Columbian Exchange: Columbus died believing he had actually made it to Asia, but the explorers that followed soon realized they had reached a world largely unknown to Europe. Europeans came in droves, searching for gold, God, and glory; hoping for a better life. As more and more people traveled between the "Old World" and the "New World", the exchange of goods and people increased between the two hemispheres. This is why Columbus' accidental "discovery" is such an important event in the history of America: The exchange of goods that followed Columbus' voyages connected the two worlds. This exchange is known as the Columbian Exchange. |
Task: Watch the Columbian Exchange Crash Course video below and answer the viewing guide questions
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Reconsider Columbus Day
Directions: While it's difficult to know the exact numbers, most scholars estimate that when Columbus arrived in Hispaniola, there were somewhere between one and three million natives living there. By 1550, there were only around five-hundred natives left on the island. Yet, Columbus Day is a national holiday in the United States. Why? That's exactly the question asked by a group of people looking to end Columbus Day. Watch the video Reconsider Columbus Day. Then, write one paragraph outlining your position on the following question:
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Other Explorers and the "New World" Land Grab
Christopher Columbus wasn't the only Spanish explorer seeking gold and glory. After his success, Spain began sending soldiers called Conquistadors (kahn-KEES-tah-dors), across the Atlantic. Their mission was to conquer a vast empire for Spain, and get rich along the way. They also continued to look for a westward water route to Asia. This undiscovered, fabled water route became known as The Northwest Passage. New Spain, New France, New England and New Netherlands: Spain and the Conquistadors were first to establish a "New World" colony, and they naturally called it New Spain. However, they weren't the only ones with this idea. Word of the "New World" spread throughout Europe fast, and soon enough, other countries, like France, England and the Netherlands were sending their own explorers to the Americas, on missions to establish colonies and seek out The Northwest Passage. One hundred years later, each of these countries had established their "New World" colonies, appropriately named New France, New England and New Netherlands. |
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Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly from Africa to the Americas, and then their sale there. The slave trade used mainly the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage, and existed from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The vast majority of those who were enslaved and transported in the transatlantic slave trade were Africans from central and western Africa, who had been sold by other West Africans to Western European slave traders (with a small number being captured directly by the slave traders in coastal raids), who brought them to the Americas. The South Atlantic and Caribbean economies especially were dependent on the supply of secure labor for the production of commodity crops, making goods and clothing to sell in Europe. This was crucial to those western European countries which, in the late 17th and 18th centuries, were vying with each other to create overseas empires.
The Portuguese were the first to engage in the Atlantic slave trade in the 16th century. In 1526, they completed the first transatlantic slave voyage to Brazil, and other European countries soon followed. Shipowners regarded the slaves as cargo to be transported to the Americas as quickly and cheaply as possible, there to be sold to work on coffee, tobacco, cocoa, sugar and cotton plantations, gold and silver mines, rice fields, construction industry, cutting timber for ships, in skilled labour, and as domestic servants. The first Africans imported to the English colonies were classified as "indentured servants", like workers coming from England, and also as "apprentices for life". By the middle of the 17th century, slavery had hardened as a racial caste, with the slaves and their offspring being legally the property of their owners, and children born to slave mothers were also slaves. As property, the people were considered merchandise or units of labour, and were sold at markets with other goods and services. The major Atlantic slave trading nations, ordered by trade volume, were: the Portuguese, the British, the French, the Spanish, and the Dutch Empires. Several had established outposts on the African coast where they purchased slaves from local African leaders. These slaves were managed by a factor who was established on or near the coast to expedite the shipping of slaves to the New World. Slaves were kept in a factory while awaiting shipment. Current estimates are that about 12 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic, although the number purchased by the traders was considerably higher, as the passage had a high death rate. Near the beginning of the 19th century, various governments acted to ban the trade, although illegal smuggling still occurred. In the early 21st century, several governments issued apologies for the transatlantic slave trade. |
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Unit Assessment
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