elizabethan - chapter 2.3 Flashcards
at the start of the 15th century what was the belief about the world
- much of it was yet to be discovered by europeans
- it was believed that the world was flat and that the mediterranean lay at its centre
why were there trade links beyond europe
there was a great demand for luxury goods from the East, including spices, incense, silks, cottons and perfumes
-> such items were highly prized because transporting them took so long and was so expensive
in the early 15th century how were goods transported from the east
they were brought over from the Far East over land on the back of camels
it could take two or three years for the goods to reach the Italian trading centres of Genoa and Venice
what worsened the difficulty with trade with the east and what did this lead to
- Ottoman expansion
- the Ottoman Empire was muslim and hostile to Christian Europe
- the Ottoman Turks had conquered much of eastern europe and now held power in the mediterranean
- the Ottomans placed high taxes on all goods that passed through their territory
-> this annoyed the Europeans, who were also aware that the Turks had the ability to block off trade between Europe and the East altogether - the europeans therefore wanted to find an alternative route, which would remove the need to pass through ottoman land
- ships also had the advantage of being able to carry far more than camels, so it was hoped that new sea routes would mean that more goods from the east could be imported for less money
what was exploration spurred on by
new ideas and new inventions
what did the age of the renaissance encourage
learning and a spirit of adventure
what was the growing idea about the world, and what ideas did this lead to
- there was a growing belief in intellectual circles that the world was round, not flat
- it was therefore suggested that ships could sail north around Russia, or south around Africa, or west across the Atlantic, in order to reach the far east
what new inventions meant exploration could happen easier
- the printing press now meant that maps and other geographical literature were more readily available that before
- the astrolabe meant that a ships position could be plotted accurately and the magnetic compass was developed
- there had also been developments in ship design
what were the new developments in ship design
- smaller ships called caravels and carracks were used for exploration
- the invention of the rudder cave the grew more control when steering the ship
- the triangular lateen sail (copied from Arab ships) meant that ships could now sail whichever way they wished, no matter the wind direction
who were many explorers funded by
monarchs who were keen for national glory
what journey was crucial in proving ships can’t fall off the end of the world
in 1487, the Portuguese navigator Bartholomew Diaz sailed around the southern tip of Africa - later called the Cape of Good Hope
although his crew forced him to turn around, this journey was crucial in proving that ships could sail around africa without falling off the edge of the world
what journey opened up a route to India and what did this mean
11 years after Diaz, fellow portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama followed Diaz’s route but carried on further, eventually reaching India
this opened up a totally new route to India, meaning it was no longer necessary for goods to pass through the Ottoman land before reaching Europe
in 1942 what did Christopher Columbus inadvertently discover
- he inadvertently discovered what was called the New World
- he had sailed westwards across the Atlantic ocean, sponsored by the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, in search of an alternative route to India
- landing in the Caribbean, he called the islands he discovered the West Indies
five years after Columbus, who sailed across the Atlantic and what did they find
- John Cabot, funded by King Henry VII
- he reached what is now Newfoundland in Canada
the year after Cabot who sailed across the Atlantic and what did he find
- Amerigo Vespucci, at the invitation of the King of Portugal
- sailed across the Atlantic to explore the eastern coast of South America
-> he decided this land was a new continent, not the eastern edges of Asia as Columbus had thought - the word ‘America’ is derived from his forename
first circumnavigation of the globe:
who funded it?
who led the expedition?
when was it?
- Spanish-funded
- led by the Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan
- took place between 1519 and 1522
what was the result of spain and portugal dominating the world of exploration at the beginning
they became enormously rich and powerful
they both began to establish overseas empires and oversaw the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade
what had the spanish done (empire)
- the spanish had rapidly defeated local people in central and south america and set up colonies there
- these areas had large amounts of silver and gold, as well as other resources, such as tobacco, potatoes and tomatoes
what had the portuguese done (empire)
- they had colonies coastal areas of West Africa, India and Brazil
-> in Brazil they grew sugar and cotton on plantations, using slaves taken from West Africa ad their workforce
how much exploration had there been by english sailors up until the beginning of elizabeth’s reign
apart from Henry VII’s funding of Cabot’s voyage, there had been little exploration by english sailors
why was Henry VIII interested in building up the navy
for military purposes
he was aware of England’s vulnerability as an island
by Henry VIII’s death how many warships did england have
53
once elizabeth was queen, what was england and spains relationship like
catholic spain was very hostile to english interests
spain did not let other countries trade with their colonies in the new world without a licence, and such licences were rarely granted to english sailors
what did the spanish monopoly of the New World on the english lead to
it angered the english, and led to lots of english pirates robbing spanish treasure ships and ports
privateers:
- they were licensed by elizabeth’s government to commit non-illegal acts (robbing) against any ships belonging to england’s enemies
- the privateers’ ships were privately owned, financed by merchants and even the queen herself
- guns were essential
- the privateers’ would sail past the enemy and fire broadside, then do the same on the other side of the galleon
- english ships were smaller sand faster than the huge but slow spanish galleons, which were unable to change their course in time in order to escape such an attack
what did english explorers try to do
damage the interests of the spanish
promote england
why did english explorers want to promote england
- patriotism and nationalism meant they were jealous of spanish and portuguese achievements
- england, too, wanted a share of the New World
- the english economy depended heavily on trade links with antwerp, but during elizabeth’s reign there was a crisis in englands traditional markets
-> england was therefore looking to set up direct links with new trading partners
what english trading companies were formed because of connections made by explorers
- The Muscovy Company
-> had been set up before elizabeth’s accession in 1555, after a voyage led by english sailors Willoughby and Chancellor reaches Archangel, in Russia (1553). it traded timbers and furs with russia - The Eastland Company
-> formed in 1579, it traded timber, tar, canvas and rope with Scandinavia and the Baltic - The Levant Company
-> formed in 1581, it traded goods in the mediterranean, such as currants and dyes - The East India Company
-> formed in 1600, it traded in the Far East, in silks, spice, cotton and tea
what was a key english aim, in the interests of trade
to discover a North West passage to China
what were the english attempts to find a route to china
- to get to china would involve sailing around the North of Canada
- this was impractical, due to the ice in those seas, but the elizabethans did not realise this
-> Martin Frobisher attempted this 3 times, first in 1576, but he failed, as did later expeditions by Humphrey Gilbert and John Davis in the 1580s - James Lancaster had more luck in reaching the east in the 1590s, taking a route that had been used before
-> inspired by the portuguese explorers of a century earlier, he sailed around the cape of good hope in africa to reach India and the spice islands, after which the highly profitable east india company was formed
in the 1560s, who made three voyages to the caribbean and what did he do there
- John Hawkins
- he traded slaves he had captured in west africa with the Spanish colonies
- he made a great deal of money, returning to england with gold, silver and animal skins
what happened on Hawkin’s last voyage so what did he start to do instead
- on his last voyage, he clashed with the spanish, and lost many men and a number of ships
- as a result, he turned to designing new ships for the navy, using his experience of the spanish attack
- on his last voyage he was accompanied by his young cousin Francis Drake
who was the most famous english explorer and privateer
Francis Drake
why did Drake want to become an explorer
- personal wealth and glory
- wanted to gain territory for england
- he hated Spain
why did drake hate spain
- as a puritian, he hated Spanish catholicism
- on a personal level, he wanted to avenge the spanish attack on his cousins expedition in 1568
what did drake do in 1572
- he captured £40,000 worth of spanish silver when he attacked spanish treasure ships travelling from mexico and peru, as well as capturing the spanish port of Nombre de Dios in Panama
- after this the spanish referred to him as El Draque, meaning ‘the dragon’
- on his return to england he was rich and famous
- drake started planning his next voyage
- it was financed by a powerful group of people at court, including elizabeth I and cecil
- however, they had to tread very carefully as by supporting drake’s activities, they risked war with spain
what was drakes intent when he set sail again in 1577 and what did he actually achieve
- it is unclear exactly what he was intending to
- as it turned out, by the time he returned, nearly three years later, he had circumnavigated the globe
who was the first englishman (and second in whole world) to circumnavigate the globe
Francis Drake
after his circumnavigation, how much money did drake bring back and what did he do with it
- he returned with an estimated £400,000 (2 million today) worth of treasure captured from the spanish
- he himself made about £10,000
- the rest was paid to investors, with the queen receiving a half-share of the money, which was more than her entire income for the whole year
what did elizabeth do to drake when he returned after his circumnavigation
- elizabeth swore drake and the other sailors to total secrecy about the voyage, on pain of death, as she was afraid of what spain would do with the information
- elizabeth rewarded drake with a jewel bearing her portrait
- when the spanish ambassador demanded drake’s punishment for his actions, elizabeth responded by knighting him on the deck of his flagship, the Golden Hind
who led a number of voyages to the americas
Sir Walter Raleigh
what did elizabeth given raleigh for his expedition
- she gave him a royal patent to establish a colony, just like the spanish and portuguese had done successfully in central and south america
- he named an area of north america ‘Virginia’ in honour of elizabeth, the so-called ‘virgin queen’
why did raleigh choose virginia to colonise
- it was believed that this area had a huge supply of wine, oil, sugar and flax
- it was hoped that gaining control of such resources would reduce england’s dependence on europe
- colonisation was also seen as a way of solving the poverty crisis at home, as emigration would ease the problem of over population in england
how successful were raleigh’s attempts at colonisation
- both failed
- the first settlers faced food shortages and returned home after just a year
- the second set of colonists disappeared without a trace
in 1595, what did raleigh do
he set out on another voyage, unsuccessfully looking for the mythical city of gold, El Dorado, in south america
how was raleigh significant
he helped to establish the idea of setting up english colonies in the americas
when and where was the first successful english colony established
it would not be until 4 years after elizabeth’s death that the first successful English colony was established in Virginia in Jamestown
short term consequence of elizabethan exploration
- helped to increase the hostility between england and spain
- made heroes of men, such as drake
- brought great wealth to the merchants and nobles who sponsored the voyages
- the glory and riches won for england helped to build elizabeth’s magnificent personal image
long term consequences of elizabethan exploration
- it was the foundation on which britains later position as a global superpower was built
- economically, britain became enourmously rich through establishing trade links across the world
- militarily, it led to the development of a powerful navy which dominated the seas until the 20th century
- politically, it led to the establishment of colonies that later grew into the british empire, which covered 1/4 of the worlds surface at its peak
