European Exploration
and Colonization
Unit 2 Notes
What factors encouraged the European Age of Exploration?
Explain how religion, natural resources, and a
market for goods contributed to European
exploration and colonization.
Explain how Prince Henry the navigator
impacted European exploration.
It is a gray and windy morning in 1430. You are standing on a dock in the European country of Portugal staring out at the dark and mysterious Atlantic Ocean. You, like most people at the time, have no idea what lies beyond the horizon. Now you may find out. You have been asked to go on a voyage of exploration…
You’ve heard all the terrifying stories of sea monsters and shipwrecks. You’ve heard the warnings that the currents along parts of western Africa are “so terrible that no ship having once passed… will ever be able to return.” You also have heard that riches await those who help explore and claim new lands. Now, as the captain calls for you to come aboard, you must decide.
Would you go? …
…The large hold of your ship could carry back gold, jewels, and other valuable items found in distant
lands…
…Raging waves could destroy your ship and leave you at the mercy of the sea…
According to legend, beyond this point in an area known as the
"Green Sea of Darkness," the sun was so close to the Earth that a
person’s skin would burn black, the sea boiled, ships caught on fire,
and monsters hid waiting to smash the ships and eat the sailors. It
took fourteen voyages over a period of 12 years until a ship finally
reached the equator.
The CrusadesThe crusades were a series of holy wars called
by popes
Military expeditions sent by the
Catholic Church to capture the Holy
Land from the Muslim Turks
Not successful, but had a few positive
results:
-Europeans learned to draw better maps
and build better ships
-Exposed Europeans to spices & goods
from the East
Motivations for
Exploration
THREE G’S
GOD
GOLD
GLORY
Why did the Europeans Go Exploring?
What’s my motivation?
The 3 G’s…
GOLD
New trade routes opened up opportunities
for wealth
GOD
Missionaries spread Christianity
GLORY
Explorers were considered heroes;
countries competed for colonies
Many sought to convert other populations to Christianity
GOD (Spread of Christianity)
• The Crusades pushed Christians to feel it was their duty to
spread their religion and convert people to Christianity
(and not to be Muslim)
• **How did “religion” contribute to European exploration
and colonization?
GOLD! (WEALTH!)
Italians
sell it
to Europe
for
MORE $$$
Europe buys
it for a
higher price
Muslims sold
Spices to Italians
for lots of $
New spices in Europe (introduced during the Crusades) = demand for the spices
Europeans wanted to cut out the middle man! (Italy and the powerful Ottoman Empire controlled trade between Europe and the east)
Europeans try to find new trade routes because they want new sources of wealth
**How did the market for
goods contribute to European
exploration?
GLORY !
BEING “The FIRST!”
COMPETITION FOR NATURAL RESOURCES
First to: Find a spice?
Find an area!
Create a trading port!
Control a COUNTRY!
**How did natural resources contribute to
European exploration?
But First TECHNOLOGY HELPS!
They needed better transportation.
Caravel: stronger, sturdier ship with triangular sails
(adopted from Arabs) made travel easier
65 feet long = more space for food/people
Able to explore close to shore
Larger sails for easier
movement and power
(made it possible to sail
against the wind)
New Maritime Technologies
Hartman Astrolabe (1532) –Developed by the Greeks and
perfected by the Arabs; used to determine latitude (sail by stars)
Better/More Accurate Maps [Portulan]
Sextant
Mariner’s Compass – Chinese invention; magnetically tracked direction
And They’re off…
Trade Routes
1400s—major trade routes from the
East to Europe went through 2 Italian
cities (Venice & Genoa)
-Italian merchants marked up the prices
on the goods & sold them throughout
Europe
Other European countries resented the
huge profits made by Italians & began
to look for other routes to the East…
And They’re off…
Trade Routes
Europeans created new trade routes to
bring products from Europe to India,
China, & the Spice Islands
Contributed to the expansion of the
empires of Portugal, Spain, England,
and France…
STOP HERE!
Portugal’s Empire
15th century: led the world in sea
exploration and explored the western
coast of Africa
Portuguese wanted to find a trade route
around Africa to Asia
Believed they could make a lot of money as
traders if they could get Asian goods for a
cheaper price
Also wanted to spread Christianity along
Africa’s west coast
Portugal’s Empire
For the next 300 years, Portuguese sailors
continued to explore East Africa where they
established forts & trading posts
By 1571, a string of outposts connected Portugal to
Africa, India, South Pacific Islands, & Japan
Portugal grew wealthy from these trade routes,
but…
Its most profitable colony was Brazil
Prince Henry the Navigator
EARLY LEADER OF THE AGE OF
EXPLORATION Portuguese Prince -Son of the Portuguese king
Sent more than 50 expeditions down the west coast
of Africa
-Wanted to establish Portuguese colonies & break
the Muslim hold on trade routes
Created a naval school that taught students
navigation, astronomy, & cartography (map making
Institute of Sagres
Prince Henry the Navigator
Unable to make money trading gold, so
he tried creating sugar cane plantations
--Sugar cane was a very profitable crop,
but required lots of labor
Henry imported slaves from Africa to
work the sugar plantation --This was successful & was later copied in the New
World – The 1st to bring African slaves to the the
Americas
--Encouraged a slave trade that lasted another
400 years…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsyEGQmcmzE&feature=player_embedded
Spain’s Empire
Spanish explorers were searching for a
trade route through or around North
& South America to Asia
Wanted to find a quicker route to the gold
& spices in Asia
Christopher Columbus
1490s—CC, an Italian, was given ships
& sailors by the Spanish monarchy
--They wanted him to try to find a quick
route through the Atlantic Ocean to Asia
He discovered the Bahamas, but
thought he was in Asia… “East Indies”
--Later, it was realized that he discovered 2
new continents!
Exploration of these areas brought great
wealth to Spain
Christopher Columbus
Spain’s Empire
Huge empire that spanned the globe
Spanish conquistadors conquered the
Inca and Aztec civilizations in the 1500s
(South America)
--Looking for gold & spices
--Used missionaries to convert natives to
Christianity
Claimed huge areas of North & South
America & ruled over them for 300 years
France’s Empire
French possessed colonies around the
world from 1600 to 1900
Also dominated much of the European
continent
--By 1812, France controlled much of
Germany, Italy, & France
France’s Empire
Established other colonies in the 16th-17th centuries:
--Islands in the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, the South
Pacific, the North Pacific, & the North Atlantic
France also maintained influence in Canada, North
America, South America, Southeast Asia, & Northwest
Africa
The famous French explorers included Jacques Cartier,
Jacques Marquette and Samuel de Champlain
The French explorer Samuel de Champlain searched Canada for a northwest passage to Asia
The French would soon carve out a large colony along the Mississippi River from Canada to New Orleans
England’s Empire
England used to be one of three
countries (England, Scotland, & Wales)
1700s, the three united and became
Great Britain
British empire was the largest in history
--At its peak, Great Britain controlled:
Atlantic coast of North America (13
colonies), Canada, Australia, India, much
of Africa, and numerous islands
England’s Empire
North America came under British control in the 1700s
--Lost American colonies in 1776
--Maintained control over Canada until 20th century
Great Britain colonized Australia in 1788
--Used it as a penal (prison) colony to relieve
overcrowded jails in England
The English explorer James Cook was the first
European to make contact with Australia
Unlike other European nations whose kings paid for colonies, the English colonies
were paid for by citizens who
formed joint-stock companies
English colonies formed along the Atlantic Coast of North America by
colonists motivated either by religion
or wealth
Effects of European Exploration &
Colonization
New colonies were founded along the coasts
of Africa and North and South Americas
New trade routes
They converted conquered peoples to
Christianity
Europeans carried diseases with them that
killed native people
Africans and conquered peoples became
slaves to Europeans
Columbian Exchange
Effects of the Age of Exploration Pt. 2More Information Section…
God: Europeans spread Christianity
Gold: Europeans got money from their colonies
Glory: Europeans got land, natural resources, & power
The Columbian Exchange - widespread exchange of crops,
animals, diseases, culture, and ideas between the Eastern
(Old World) and Western (New World) hemispheres
Which do
you think
had the
most
significant
impact?
The Effects of the European
Age of Exploration on the
Americas1) Which 2
countries had
the largest
empire in North
America?
2) Which country
had the largest
empire in
Central and
South America?
3) Which country
had it’s empire
in Brazil?
The Effects of the European Age
of Exploration on Africa
1) Which 2
European
empires had
the most
colonies in
Africa?
2) Which 2
empire had
the fewest?
Empires of Portugal, Spain,
England, & France
Click here for the Empires video clip.