Renaissance-Age of Exploration

Age of Exploration
Discovery of the New World dramatically increased the

idea of exploring
The Portuguese and the Spanish were the firsts to take

part in exploration

The Portuguese
70 years before Columbus, Prince Henry the Navigator

captured Ceuta (North Africa)

His motives were religious and mercenary

Spices and African slaves were taken by Portuguese

exploreres
Before the sea route, Europeans could only get spices from

the Venetians who had bartered with the Ottoman Empire

The Portuguese (cont.)

Overland routes had already existed, but Portuguese were

looking for a faster way

The Sea brought its own dangers!!

Like this guy!

The Portuguese (cont.)

They became very good at sailing close to the coast with

their ships
This gave them good practice to ultimately cross the

oceans to the Americas

The pope ultimately gave the Portuguese the spoils of

land, goods and slaves

The Church expected exploration to lead to mass

conversion

The Portuguese (cont.)

Established colonies in Goa and Calcutta
Ultimately challenged the Venetians and Arabs for control

of the spice trade

Spent majority of their time in the Indian Ocean

The Spanish
1492, Columbus lands in the Americas
Thinks hes in India! Natives greeted him, Columbus calls them Indians

(thinking he was in India)

Other Explorers
Vespucci and Magellan explored the coastline of South

America
Voyages marked the beginning of more than 3 centuries of

a vast Spanish Empire in the Americas

The wealth gained, helped Spain finance the wars of the

sixteenth and seventeenth century

The Results
Biological impact: new species of fruits, vegetables, and

animals were transported to and from the Americas

Native Americans died because of new diseases

This begins a long history of conquest, disease and slave

labor

Spanish Empire in the New World

Aztec= Mesoamerica, central America to Guatemala
Inca=Andean South America Both had large quantities of gold

Aztecs of Mexico
1519 CE, Hernan Cortes lands in Mexico with 500 men
Begins talks with Moctezuma II who thought he was the

god Quetzalcoatl
Moctezuma first tried to appease Cortes w/ gold

Aztecs
Cortes forges an alliance, specifically with Tlaxcala, an

enemy of the Aztecs

Cortes decides to march on Tenochtitlan, takes over city

Aztecs fight back, were driven back, but ultimately the

Spanish prevailed in 1521

Cortes declares the land as New Spain

Tenochtitlan

Incas in Peru
In 1532, Francisco Pizarro lands on the west coast of South

America with 200 men to take on the Empire

Pizarro lured Atahualpa into a conference and seized him

and killed many of his followers

Pizarro executes Atahualpa in 1533 Spaniards ultimately take control of Cuzco

The Church in Spanish America

Priests accompany early explorers
Wanted to not only convert, but bring European ideals to

the natives
Priests often were at odds with conquistadors
By end of the 16th century, church powers grows in the

region

The Economy of Exploitation

Native Americans and lands were drawn into the Atlantic

economy
Three major components: mining, agriculture, and

shipping
Intertwined New World economy particularly with Spain

Mining
Early conquistadors interested primarily with gold but

later turned to silver mining

Spanish crown received 1/5th of all mining revenues

The crown maintained a monopoly over the silver-

smelting
The Spanish epitomized the wholly extractive economy

Agriculture
Hacienda: large landed estate owned by persons originally

born in Spain (peninsulares) or of Spanish descent born in the Americas (creoles)

Laborers subject to the ways of the land-owner 2 major products came out of this: foodstuffs for mining

areas and leather goods

Farming/ranching subordinate to mining economy

Agriculture (cont.)
West Indies: Plantation was the basic agricultural unit
Cuba, Hispanola, Puerto Rico-black slaves used for the

production of sugar
Major economic activity was also due to service

occupations, government, legal profession

Labor Servitude
Native population was exploited and provided the labor

force
The Encomienda= A formal grant of the right to the labor

of a specific number of Indians

Repartimiento:-Required adult males to devote a certain

number of days of labor annually to the Spanish economy

Labor (cont.)
Free labor was a result of a shortage of labor
Free laborers were forced to purchase goods from the

mine or land owner- debt peonage

Black Slavery=Sugar plantations of Brazil and West Indies

became a major center of black slavery

Impact on Europe
Columbus voyage increased skepticism of the

ancientshow trustworthy was their knowledge if they were so wrong?

New commercial contacts developed, brought cooperation

and civility (did it really?)

Started the discussion on how native peoples were treated

Impact (cont.)
Influx of spices and precious metals
Inflation was created due to the steady rise of prices Increased coinage also led to inflation Prices in Spain on goods quadrupled by 1600 Basic research was sponsored, expansion of printing,

shipping, mining, textiles, and weapons

More Impact
Capitalist institutions begin to develop, monopolies came

about over goods

Bankers grew richer! Were able to fund monarchs

Raised the ambitions of the poor

These long lasting effects pave the way for the era of

reformation