age of discovery 1400s-1500s Flashcards
cHow Merchants Aimed to Gain More Profit Through Increased Trade:
-Increased volume of luxury items to sell.
- Increased speed of luxury items to be sent to other territories to be sold
- Integration of new luxury items, introducing new items means more profits
Henry the Navigator
-1394-1460
-First Western navigator interested in going through the western oceans to enter India.
-He was a collector of all things exotic (books, maps, etc.) and then set about trying to find eastern lands.
-Exploration slowed down after Henry’s death, but the capture of Constantinople increased the pressure to find alternative routes for trade
Supposedly he
-he also established a library to collect all available information.
-Attracted an international set of navigators and captains.
- Employed a score of map makers, astronomers and geographers.
- Set standards for sea equipment (astrolabe, quadrant, compass log.), by trial and error, people who explored had begun using new technology due to failure for it
The Age of Discovery
-a merchant endeavour
-with only the intent of creating trade among land
-Colonies only became created after gradual ethnic cleansings of the locals and governments brought about civilians and slaves to tend to the land.
Pedro Tafur
-Wrote a book about travelling the 3 continents and his various adventures
- he’s an example of how travel biographies had become increasingly popular.
Caravan, Convoy, and Caravel
-Caravan: Tried and true method, however, it’s difficult to travel long due to having to pay taxes across every border.
-Convoy: Can transport much more and more efficiently, higher risk from pirates, storms, etc. Less taxation since the waters don’t have a complete, isolated, and official border.
-Caravel: Specialized type of boat specialized for travelling goods through the waters during systematic exploration.
Slaves in West Africa
-were sold and exchanged due to the darkness of their skin.
-They weren’t bought for the work they could do, there were already serfs for that.
-They were seen more as ornaments and the darker they are, the more their “worth”.
Mansa Musa
-Died in 1330s
-Considered to be the richest man in all history, made almost all of his money in slaves and gold.
-He’s a Muslim who, as he travelled, had people always exclaiming how rich he was.
Portuguese Travels
The Portuguese had limited success:
-Land equalled wealth, whether or not you could do anything with said land wasn’t as relevant
-1420: Madeiras and 1427: Azores
-1441: Henry ordered crews to kidnap West African inhabitants to offset the cost of exploration, which was the true beginning of slavery as exotic products. A whole new ship class was created for the transport of human cargo.
Bartolomeo Dias
-1450-1500
-The first traveller to discover South Africa and reached the bottom tip of Africa.
-Left Lisbon in August 1487 and set a Padrao (A stone pillar that the Portuguese used to claim their land their own and
-mark the distance between each Padrao) at Table Mountain in the spring of 1488.
Vasco da Gama
-The first Portuguese traveller to reach Kenya in February 1498 and
-arrived in Calicut, India, 3 weeks later, after finding Kenya.
-He found Calicut first because he hired a pilot; a man who only travels one set of waters, usually dangerous, and the captain momentarily gives all commands to the captain. This allowed for travel through waters to occur far easier.
-Portuguese were never able to control the land. Calicut
- had managed to gain such a large amount of resources in Africa, that even after sustaining so many losses, he became one of the richest men in Portugal
Ottoman Empire
-The Ottoman Empire never stopped trade from happening even after taking Constantinople
-they taxed merchants heavily and took a lot of the cut, enabling their growth.
-This new expensive trading leads to Italian cities (Florence, Milan, etc.) being at risk of collapse and being unable to become their own states. This is what incited the beginning of the age of Discovery
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Christopher Columbus
Columbus, after being and jail and being proved to not be able to pay his debts, was released from prison and died poor and alone, ending his story.
Fra Mauro
-Ca.1460
-A man who attempted to draw the entire world,
-taking reports from everywhere and adding them to the map.
-The painting was huge, about the size of a classroom floor.
Martin Behaim:
-Was the man to create the first globe of the earth called “Erdapfel” (Earth Apple)
-was made in 1492 right after Christopher Columbus’ first trip to the Caribbean (1520)
-discovered Taina: Name of the first civilization to live in the Caribbean.
Christophe Colomb trips
-On Columbus’ first trip, he gained extreme renown.
-By the 2nd trip, He had gained nothing and the craze towards transport was waning
-By the 4th trip. Christopher Columbus was arrested and was allowed to die in house arrest
Treaty of Tordesillas
-1494
-The treaty which had split the world in two: everything on the left of the line in Tordesillas is Spain’s, and everything on the right is Portuguese.
-This began the discoveries as less mercantile and more a matter of government.
Doldrums:
-Couple of degrees north or south of the equator
-where there is no wind and makes it difficult for sailors to move.
-leaving them stranded and often having boats fall apart and sink into the ocean.
Ferdinand Magellan
-Portuguese sailor that had sailed the globe.
-The Portuguese didn’t wish to support him; therefore, he got his support from Spain.
-He had sailed from Africa into South America, then hugged the South American border until he crossed the continent and reached all the way back to Spain.
Antonio Pico Feta:
- A fleet member of Magellan who recorded his travels and is the source of knowledge of Magellan’s travel
-He began his trip with a fleet of 5 ships and 277 men Hidalgo (low-class nobles)
-By the time the fleet returned to Spain, there remained only 1 boat and 18 men, not including Magellan.
Conquistadors
-used the exploration of America to conquer
- gain prestige and wealth in order to go back to Europe and gain social status through their land and money
- Hidalgos (usually) which came after the initial discoverers to attempt to gain wealth from the excursion
