The Age of Discovery
- 1. THE AGE OF DISCOVERY
- 2. AGE OF DISCOVERY The knowledge the Europeans had about the world in the 15th century was very limited: -They knew very well the lands around the Mediterranean and Black Sea -They knew a lot about Asia, as a consequence of the merchants’ trips through the Silk Road -They didn’t know much about the interior of Africa -They didn’t know about the existence of America and Oceania The Europeans (mainly Portugal and Castile) launched several expeditions to find new trade routes to Asia and this led to the “discovery” of a big amount of unknown territories. Genoese map made in 1457
- 3. REASONS FOR THE DISCOVERIES THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (1453) In 1453 the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople and closed the terrestrial route to Asia TECHNICAL IMPROVEMENTS - Portulan charts: maps of the coasts, which included indications to use the compass and the estimated distances between different places -Inventions that improved navigation, such as the compass, the quadrant and the astrolabe - Use of caravels: They existed before the 15th century and had some advantages: more spacious (because they didn´t need oarsmen. This left more space for cargo and allowed longer voyages), faster (they moved with wind) and could carry cannons to defend the crew from pirates Portulan chartFall of Costantinople, conquered by the Ottoman Turks Compass Quadrant Astrolabe Caravels
- 4. Prince Henry the Navigator (1394- 1460), patron of Portuguese exploration The Portuguese were the first to try to find a new route to Asia. Prince Henry the Navigator sponsored voyages to explore the coast of Africa and financed navigators and cartographers (map-makers ). As a result of this, the Portuguese discovered several archipelagoes in the Atlantic Ocean and territories on the African coast: -1420: Madeira Islands -1427: Azores Islands -1434: they reached Cape Bojador -1455-56: Cape Verde Islands -1462: exploration of the Gulf of Guinea PORTUGUESE DISCOVERIES They mapped the coast of Africa and created trading posts along the African coasts to develop trade there. 1479: Treaty of ALCAÇOVAS: Castile and Portugal signed an agreement that recognized the Castilian sovereignty over the Canary Islands, but gave the exclusive exploration of the African coasts to Portugal. 1488: Bartolomeu Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope 1498: Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in India. CAPE BOJADOR MADEIRA AZORES GULF OF GUINEA CAPE VERDE
- 6. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS´S PROJECT Christopher Columbus notes on his copy of The travels of Marco Polo Columbus’ s mistakes: -he miscalculated the diameter of the Earth -he thought that the Earth was smaller than it is. This is why he had a lot of problems to find the money he needed for his voyage to the Indies. His project was rejected in Portugal, in Castile, France and England. Finally, he used his friendship with a monk of la Rábida Monastery to get the help of the Catholic Monarchs CASTILIAN DISCOVERIES Unknown origin: he may have been a Genoese, Portuguese, Catalan, Jewish sailor or a pirate. We don’t know much about him, because he hid his past Reading books, he prepared a navigation project to the Indies following a route to the West, which meant crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
- 7. COLUMBUS´S IDEA OF THE WORLD, INSPIRED ON TOSCANELLI´S MAP
- 9. COLUMBUS´S MAP, DRAWN IN 1490
- 10. Finally, the Catholic Monarchs agreed on financing Christopher Columbus´ voyage and they signed a contract with him, the Capitulations of Santa Fe: if Columbus reached the Indies, he would receive some rewards: - Viceroy and governor of the discovered lands -10% of the wealth discovered -Admiral of the Ocean Sea Finally, Columbus started his voyage in August 1492 and found land on the 12th October: they reached Guanahaní, in the Bahama Islands and called it San Salvador. THE CATHOLIC MONARCHS CAPITULATIONS OF SANTA FE
- 12. FOURTH VOYAGE (May 1502- November 1504) THIRD VOYAGE (May 1498- November 1500) SECOND VOYAGE (September 1493-June 1496) FIRST VOYAGE (August- October 1492)
- 13. Signed between the Catholic Monarchs and the king of Portugal under the arbitration of Pope Alexander VI. It drew an imaginary line 370 leagues to the West of Cape Verde Islands that divided the world into two parts: the lands to the East would belong to Portugal and the lands to the West would belong to Castile. That’s why part of South America (Brazil) belonged to Portugal. TREATY OF TORDESILLAS (1494)
- 14. JUAN DE LA COSA’S MAP, 1500 It included Columbus´s and Vasco da Gama´s discoveries. It´s the oldest representation of America
- 15. JUAN DE LA COSA’S MAP, 1500
- 16. THE FIRST CIRCUMNAVIGATION VOYAGE MAGELLAN-ELCANO EXPEDITION
- 17. CONSEQUENCES OF THE DISCOVERIES - Beginning of globalization process - Extraordinary progress in science: geography, navigation, natural science - Creation of overseas empires, Europe’s supremacy and exploitation of the colonized peoples -Contact with other peoples - Exchange of products: richer and more varied diet
- 18. BEGINNING OF THE GLOBALIZATION PROCESS Relationships between different parts of the world, that shared products, people and knowledge.
- 19. PRE-COLUMBIAN PEOPLES AZTEC CIVILIZATION: Present Mexico MAYA CIVILIZATION: Yucatan Peninsula INCA CIVILIZATION: Andes Mountains The Europeans came into contact with different indigenous civilizations. They were called Amerindians (American Indians), but at present they are called Pre- Columbian peoples.
- 20. CHICKENPOX MEASLES SMALLPOX DISEASES BROUGHT BY THE EUROPEANS TO AMERICA These diseases became lethal for the indigenous peoples at the beginning of colonization and a demographic catastrophe took place, especially in Central America and the Caribbean Sea. The Europeans started bringing black slaves from Africa to replace the dead.
- 21. EXCHANGE OF KNOWLEDGE AND PRODUCTS PRODUCTS BROUGHT FROM AMERICA
- 22. PRODUCTS BROUGHT FROM EUROPE TO AMERICA
- 23. OVERSEAS EMPIRES The Europeans created colonial empires and imposed their supremacy over the new lands discovered.