Chapter 8 - The Age of Exploration

Question 1

Describe some realistic and unrealistic fears of sailors during the Age of Exporation (2 of each)

Answer 1

Realistic
1. Scurvy (lack of vitamin C bc no fresh fruit, causes sores + cuts on skin, gums went spongy + teeth fell out)
2. Being shipwrecked
Unrealistic
1. Falling of the edge of the world at the horizon
2. That seas + oceans were filled with great monsters that could destroy a ship + eat sailors

Question 2

Describe the main reasons for exploration

Answer 2

1. Trade - Europeans had ancient trade links with India, China + the Spice Islands - spices from India + silk from china were two of most valuable commodities in medieval Europe
   - but spices + silk were v. expensive as main route to East was over land via the Great Silk Road (merchants travelled in caravans across Asia, journeys took months/years)
   - route became increasingly dangerous with growth of Turkish Empire - Muslim Turks were enemy of Christian Europeans + made it v. difficult + even more expensive for European merchants to travel though lands
   - this happened to be at same time as increase in population in Europe - bigger demand for spices + silk
   - this meant whoever found new, safe + fast route to east would make lot of money
2. Religion - in 15th + 16th century almost all Europeans were Christians - believed followers of all other religions were heathens (worshipped false gods, many felt it was their duty to covert heathers to Christianity
   - most ships that went on voyages of discovery carried at least one priest, job was to look after sailors + spread Christianity to any new people discovered on journey
3. Empire Building - many European countries wanted to build empires: wanted to control new lands + exploit natural resources of those lands to increase own wealth
   - throughout history, control of foreign lands had seen as sign of nation’s strength + wealth
   - once Portugal + Spain began collecting colonies + displaying fabulous wealth that came from controlling them, rest of Europe wanted to catch up
   - Europeans believed they were superior to people of other continents + had right to rule them

Question 3

Describe the improvements to ships that aided the Age of Exploration

Answer 3

1. During Middle Ages, sailors afraid to explore far out into ocean - always tried to keep land in sight bc feared getting lost in open sea (had no equipment to help find way back if lost sight of land)
2. But by 1450 great improvements had been made: ships were stronger
3. In 15th century, Portuguese invented new model of ship, the caravel
4. Caravel was clever mixture of two types of ship - ships used for sailing in Mediterranean had triangular lateen sails, which allowed them to moved in + out of small bays + harbours
5. Ships built to sail in rougher Atlantic were clinker built (had overlapping planks of wood)
6. Caravel simply combined best bits of both designs to create new + improved ship

Question 4

Describe the new navigational instruments developed during the Age of Exploration

Answer 4

1. Compass - helped find direction (magnet will always point north of north of equator + south of south of equator
2. Astrolabe + quadrant - used to work out ship’s latitude (astrolabe by studying position of sun during daylight hours, quadrant by studying position of stars in night sky), latitude helped work out how far they’d travelled
3. Portolan charts were early navigational maps of the sea - recorded information such as shape of coastlines + depth of water at particular places
4. Log, line + knots - how sailors worked out speed + distance travelled (rope with number of knots tied in it + log tied to it thrown over side of ships sailor counted how long it took knots in line to go through hands)

Question 5

Why were the Portuguese the first explorers in the Age of Exploration?

Answer 5

1. Portuguese merchants bought gold from Muslin traders in North Africa, knew this gold came from further south + wanted to get it for themselves
2. Portugal was v. far from old trade routes to Asia, spices v. expensive for them - this made Portuguese merchants v. interested in finding way to sail around Africa to Asia

Question 6

Who was Prince Henry? Describe his main contribution to the Age of Exploration

Answer 6

1. Prince Henry of Portugal/Henry the Navigator was the man who started the Portuguese Exploration
2. He realised his country would become v. rich if sailors could find bottom of Africa + were then able to sail to India - knew this would mean Portugal would control spice trade in Europe + there’d no longer be any need for European merchants to risk dangerous Great Silk Road journey
3. Set up school for sailors in mid-15th century in Sagres, southern Portugal + encouraged shipbuilders, sailors, astronomers + map-makers to come together at Sabres to exchange ideas + learning,+ pool their information
4. Many important navigational tools developed/improved upon here (astrolabe, quadrant, caravel)

Question 7

Give an account of the Portuguese discoveries during the Age of Exploration

Answer 7

1. Portuguese sailors first explored the north-west coast of Africa - under Henry’s guidance they reached Sierra Leone + discovered Madeira, the Canary Islands, the Azores + Cape Bojador (big reef)
2. Forts + trading ports established along the coast - long stone pillars erected as they went, marking territory of Portuguese monarchy
3. Ivory Coast got name from ivory traded there, Ghana was known as Gold Coast
4. In 1487, Bartholomeu Dias reached southern tip of Africa - ship battered by storms when he got there so called it ‘Cape of Storms’, but it was renamed the ‘Cape of Good Hope’ by King John of Portugal (gave them hope of reaching India)
5. He also discovered the Orange River + Cape Verde Islands - this voyage was important bc showed it was possible to sail around tip of Africa
6. In 1497, Vasco da Gama sailed around Cape of Good Hope + reached India

Question 8

Give an account of the results of the Portuguese voyages during the Age of Exploration

Answer 8

1. Da Gama proved India could be reached by sea - filled ships with spices + returned to Portugal to heroes welcome, became wealthy man
2. His voyage paves way for hundreds of similar voyages by Portuguese, often beyond India to Spice Islands + China
3. Portuguese also benefited from Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) which divided known world along imaginary line from north to south through Atlantic Ocean (new areas to east would be controlled by Portugal, those to west controlled by Spain), passed through South America so Brazil became Portuguese colony
4. Over next century Portugal became one of Europe’s wealthiest + most powerful nations - able to take over many of areas they discovered (places like Guinea, Angola, Mozambique + Glass remained property of Portuguese empire for centuries)
5. Portuguese were trendsetters in the Age of Exploration, played enormous role in ship design, navigational techniques + voyages of discovery
6. After this, many Europeans sailed around Africa to Asia - Portuguese, Spanish, English + Dutch all conquered empires there + grew wealthy by selling Asian goods to Europeans

Question 9

Give an account of the life of Christopher Columbus up until he left on his main voyage, and the preparations for that voyage

Answer 9

1. Born in port city of Genoa, Italy in 1451
2. Gained sailing experience in Mediterranean, went to Portugal where learned navigation + Atlantic sailing
3. Believed earth was round, determined to prove could reach east by sailing west - wanted to cut out long + difficult journey around Cape of Good Hope
4. Failed to get sponsorship from King of Portugal (only interested in African route to Asia), went to King Ferdinand + Queen Isabella (rivals)
5. Persuaded them to sponsor him by promising them gold, silver, spices, + an Empire for Spain; as well as chance to convert pagans to Christianity
6. Given two caravels (Nina + Pinta), captained by brothers Martin + Vincente Pinzon; + one nao (bigger, improved caravel) called Santa Maria (his flagship)
7. Provisions made up of hard flat bread, made with salt to preserve it, salted meat, beans, dried fish, garlic, rice + wine

Question 10

Give an account of the main voyage of Christopher Columbus

Answer 10

1. Set sail on August 3rd 1492 from Palos to Canaries, where they took on supply of water + fresh food before setting off across Atlantic
2. Sailors nervous about sailing out of sight of land; fears included starvation, scurvy, sea monsters, shipwrecks, storms + falling overboard/off edge of world
3. Columbus thought journey would take around 3 weeks, but by beginning of October still no sight of land, had seriously miscalculated how far they needed to travel
4. Lied about how far they’d travelled to calm fears of sailors, even kept two logbooks - also kept a diary which is valuable primary source (contains details of this voyage)
5. Sailors began to suffer from scurvy, some demanded he turned back - Martin Pinzon dealt with this threat of mutiny

Question 11

Give an account of the discoveries made on the main voyage of Christopher Columbus

Answer 11

1. Land sighted on 12th October - Columbus convinced he was in India, but had in fact landed on island off coast of America (today)
2. Named island San Salvador, cross + Spanish flag planted on beach to show Columbus was claiming the land for God + Spain
3. Called natives Indians because was convinced he was in India
4. Spent next 3 months exploring are which is now called Caribbean (he called ‘the Indies’), discovered islands of Cuba + Hispaniola
5. Returned to Spain in March 1495, bringing goods such as pineapples, parrots + native ‘Indians’ with him to prove discoveries
6. Puzzled about why he hadn’t found any of the great cities of Asia, but was confident further exploration could find them: made 3 more voyages to Indies, discovered Jamaica + Trinidad
7. Clear he’d discovered whole new continent, but refused to accept he hadn’t reached Asia
8. Many of Europeans who followed him were v. cruel to natives; robbed, tortured + murdered
9. Made Governor of newly discovered lands as promised, but sent back to Spain in disgrace after being accused of cruelty to natives
10. . Acquitted, but died bitter, disappointed + unaware of the extent of his achievements in 1506

Question 12

Describe the results of the main voyage of Christopher Columbus

Answer 12

1. He’d discovered a whole new continent for Europe - America, or the ‘New World’, as it was later Called
2. His voyages also paved the way for Spain to develop an empire
3. They also led to further exploration taking place which would prove the earth was round (Magellan)

Question 13

Give an account of the life and main conquest of Hernando Cortes, and its results

Answer 13

1. Spain’s most famous conquistador
2. Born in Spain in 1485, served as soldier in Caribbean + decided to gather army of 600 soldiers to conquer legendary Aztec empire in Mexico (inspired by native tales of a great empire on the American mainland with vast amounts of gold + other valuables)
3. Despite opposition from Spanish governor of Cuba, sailed for Mexico in 1519 (had ships burned on landing so no going back)
4. Went to Tenochtitlan, impressed by wealth of Aztecs
5. Aztecs were v. civilised, could read + write, make fine clothing + jewellery, + had even worked out v. accurate calender
6. But were also pagans + still practiced human sacrifice
7. Also lacked ability to make iron or wheels, had never seen horses or cannons
8. Believed Cortes was one of their Gods, Quetzalcoatl, so welcomed him
9. Aztec king, Montezuma, also welcomed Spanish but quickly realised mistake when they began stealing gold + jewellery from natives
10. Aztecs drove Spanish from Tenochtitlan in 1520, killed Montezuma for welcoming them
11. But Cortes returned with army mostly made up of native tribes opposed to Aztecs + destroyed Tenochtitlan + the Aztec civilisation
12. King of Spain made Cortes governed of ‘New Spain’ (Mexico)
13. Thanks to Cortes, Mexico became Spanish colony
14. Gold + mineral wealth of Aztecs made Spain richest country in Europe
15. Spanish became official language of Mexico + Christianity the official religion

Question 14

Give an account of the main conquest of Francisco Pizarro, and its results

Answer 14

1. Conquered the Inca empire in Peru with a force of only 180 men
2. Incas lived high up in Andes in Peru - land contained much gold + silver, which attracted Pizarro + his adventurers
3. They went in search of El Dorado, the land of gold
4. Incas were very civilised; had well organised system of government, cities with fine buildings + good roads
5. Also produced beautiful artwork in gold + silver, + like Aztecs, had never seen horses, armour or cannons
6. Pizarro kidnapped Inca king, Atahualpa + demanded roomful of gold as ransom; but when Incas gave him the gold he murdered the king anyway
7. Spanish then defeated the Incas, who couldn’t cope with their horses + guns
8. Capital, Cuzco, was captured, as was the silver mine at Potosi
9. Their civilisation was destroyed + their people enslaved
10. Land was taken + given to Spanish settlers who forced the Incas to work as slaves in gold mines
11. Pizarro established Spanish capital of Peru at Lima, and helped to spread Spain’s control throughout most of South America until death in 1541
12. Because of conquistadors like Cortes + Pizarro, most of South America became a Spanish colony for the next 250 years

Question 15

Give an account of the effects on Europe of the Age of Exploration

Answer 15

1. Europe, especially Spain, Portugal + later England, France + the Netherlands, became v. wealthy + gained empires in Asia, Africa + America
2. Italy’s importance as a trading nation declined - the Mediterranean ports of Genoa + Venu declined in importance while the Atlantic ports of Rotterdam + Antwerp flourished
3. New goods, such as tobacco, potatoes, cotton, maize + chocolate were imported from the Americas + tea, coffee + spices from Asia
4. Discovery of new territories sparked biggest mass migration in European history - millions, especially younger songs, were attracted to colonies bc of promise of cheap land
5. Others emigrated to avoid religious persecution (Pennsylvania: Quakers, Maryland: Catholics)
6. Even people from countries in Europe without empires emigrated, attracted by opportunities which newly discovered lands provided (5x Irish descent in America than in Ireland)
7. Many Irish first went to Australia as prisoners to penal colonies there

Question 16

Give an account of the effects of the Age of Exploration on native populations of places

Answer 16

1. Native civilisations such as the Aztecs/Incas largely destroyed, millions enslaved - native peoples everywhere lost their lands, usually divided into large estates for rich Europeans
   - original landowners were then forced to work as slaves on the land, in the mines or in the houses of their new masters
2. Many native peoples massacred/treated so badly by Europeans that they dies
3. Millions of natives died of European diseases such as measles + the common cold carried by the settlers
4. Estimated that in a little over a century the number of natives dropped from 50mil to 4mil
5. Christianity spread bc native religions suppressed + Christianity imposed on them - today vast majority of people living in Central + South America are Roman Catholics
6. Many towns + cities in America have names of Christian origins such as San Francisco, Sacramento, San Paulo + Santiago
7. In North America, British + French took land from native Americans + established US + Canada - today their descendants far outnumber the native people + European languages are spoken there
8. European languages replaced the traditional languages of the native people - Spanish, Portuguese + English are spoken today in areas of world which were once colonies (sun never set on British empire)
9. Europeans began mass transportation of African slaves to the Americas to work on vast new plantations in the colonies - worked on coffee plantations of Brazil, sugar plantations of the West Indies, silver mines of Bolivia + cotton fields of Alabama
   - estimated 10mil Africans sold into slavery while 2mil died on voyage
10. Horses + cattle introduced to new world

Question 17

Give an account of the conflicts between European countries as a result of the voyages of the Age of Exploration

Answer 17

1. Great wealth of new world led to competition between the great European powers - Portugal + Spain were great rivals
2. The Treat of Tordesillas helped them avoid a war over the New World, but conflict did occur between England + Spain
3. During 2nd half of 16th century the English Queen, Elizabeth I, gave permission for English ‘privateers’ to operate in the Caribbean Sea
4. These men, like Sir Francis Drake + Sir Walter Raleigh, attacked + robbed Spanish convoys carrying wealth back to Spain from New World
5. This infuriated the Spanish King, Philip II, + in 1588 he sent the Spanish Armada to attack + invade England
6. The Armada was huge (130 ships) but failed due to combination of bad weather + clever leadership of English navy by Sir Francis Drake