European Exploration - Chapter 14 (1400s-1600s) Flashcards
Triangular Trade
DEF: pattern of trade in early modern Europe that connected Europe to Africa & Americas in Atlantic Economy of goods & enslaved ppl
SIG: Trade in Slaves Grew (Europe gave manufactured goods like cotton, guns etc to Africa for slaves, shipped them to Americas & sold & euro merchants would buy goods from Americas ie. sugar tobacco etc and shipped back to Euro for markets)
-10 million slaves transported to Americas between 16-19th century even when attempted to be stopped
Price Revolution
DEF: inflation in prices of goods
SIG:-wages didn’t keep up with prices
-allowed for accumulation of money for some (large landowners)
-commercialization of agriculture: enclosed more farms/field, increased pop., fewer workers
-new tax burdens (imposed by gov. who heavily borrowed money from bankers)
Columbian Exchange
DEF: trade of plants, animals, ideas, people, and diseases between the Old World of Europe and Africa and the New World of the Americas
SIG: -improvement in nutrition=increase in pop.
-transformed farming & human diets
-increase trade (new world order of trade) & food production across globe, lifestyle changes w/new products
-Euro. power shifts from Mediterranean to Atlantic
-Merchants grow wealthier=growth in capitalism, wealthy/landowners see some success and benefits
-price revolution continues/increases, inflation across Europe
wage worker/lower class suffer; standard of living drops
-disease outbreaks & slavery increase
Mercantilism
DEF: belief that there is a fixed amount of wealth and volume of trade, must accumulate wealth to be/maintain wealthy
SIG: -replaced feudal economic system & dominated economic practices
-states needed to protect wealth=hoarded precious metals, implemented protectionist trade policies (tariffs), promoted colonial development
-Connection to colonial empires: must have a favorable balance of trade = more exports than imports (get bullion=prosperity), tariffs=taxes on imported good, rise in price=less desirable in Europe=domestic good/industry encouraged)
Economic Changes in Europe
CONTINUITY: - some medieval social/economic structures continued
-established hierarchies continued to dominate socio-economic status & movement
-most Europeans still peasants!, still rely on subsistence agriculture for livelihood
CHANGES: -urbanization, growth of commerce (buying things), commercial agriculture & banking=major changes in eco.
HOW were Europeans able to embark on voyages of discovery & expansion at the end of the 15th century?
-better technology: advances in cartography (making maps), compass, guns, caravel (Portuguese/Spanish fast ship)
- New Monarchies and growth of centralized monarchs during Ren. CONNECTED to expansion of Europe (desire to)
WHY did Europeans able to embark on voyages of discovery & expansion at the end of the 15th century?
GOD, GLORY, & GOLD! Three G’s!!
-GOD: Religious Zeal: “bring God as many souls” as they could
Plus Christian Conversion
-GLORY : Fantastic lands, ie. feeling lure of unknown lands b/c of fantasy literature, desire for glory & adventure, & intellectual curiosity
-GOLD: merchants, adventurers, government officials had high hopes of new areas for trade (& access to spices from East b/c expensive via Arabs), desire for gold and other precious metals
Portuguese Exploration
MOSTLY TO AFRICA & ASIA
-seeking access to Spice trade of India, sailed eastward
-advanced ship tech, & guns, used terror (military elite)
-1400’s expeditions in Africa Gold Coast (slave, gold/ivory trade)
-beginning of extensive slave-trade-soon discovered immense profit
-estab. colonies on Africa’s west coast until 1990’s
-Limited Asian expansion due to lack of pop. (#’s) & power to etab. colonies, maintained trading posts
Spanish Exploration
MOSTLY TO AMERICAS
-Christopher Columbus convinced he discovered Asia, rlly Americas
-felt there were “riches to be found” esp. in India that could be converted to Christianity
-inspired other explorers when they realized he wasn’t in Asia
-Conquered Aztecs & Incas:exploited resources to become rich
-easily conquered mostly b/c of Smallpox
Dutch Exploration
-Better financed than Portugal
-seized several Portuguese trading posts along West Africa & Asia
- Cape of good Hope trading post & colony, one of very few permanent Dutch colonies abroad, leads to Boer Wars & apartheid in South Africa (segregation policies)
English Exploration
-Also better financed than Portugal
-interest in India, compete w/French to estab. control (India eventually becomes Britain’s “crown jewel”)
-East India Company (trading) rule until mid-1800’s
-Expand control into China in late 1600’s * increasing into 1700/1800’s
-settlement of Americas in 1600’s = sugar!
Affects on Conquered: Africa
-Africans remvoed from homes & forcibly shipped to plantations in New World
-slavery part of triangular trade, ships from England, France, Spain, Portugal, Dutch carried manufactured good to Africa to trade for cargo of slaves, shipped them to Americas & sold, bought resources (tobacco, sugar etc) & then brought to Euro. Market
-devastated pop. growth
-(politcally & socially) encouraged growth of territories in West Africa
Middle Passage
-middle leg of triangular trade
-barbaric treatment of enslaves Africans on passage from Africa to America
-increased warfare within Africa to supply enslaved ppl 4 profit
-devastation to ppl & families of enslaved
Affects on Conquered: Southeast Asia (islands area)
-Overall, mainland states (in Burmu, Thailand, & Vietnam) were able to resist Europeans
-b/c Europeans became involved w/factional disputes & states united to DRIVE THEM OUT!! (good!)
-Weaker states (Malay states) = victims of their own resources (Euro desire for spices), Euro determined to take control of Indonesian archipelago (some major islands and small groups)
Affects on Conquered: India
-British forces defeated Mughal-led army (empire who opened doors to Europeans)
-British East Company got authority from Mughal after defeating them, to impose & collect taxes for increasingly expensive military operations
