Motives and contributions of individual explorers Flashcards
Dias: who is he?
-Portugese
-Nobel Family
-In his youth - travelled gold coast with Diogo de Azambuja
-Knight of the Portuguese court.
What were Diaz’s motivations?
-Making contact with Paster Jhon - a character from Medieval narrative - Christian believed to have created a Kingdom in Africa - possible ally against the Muslims.
-Personal adventure and the status achieved via discovery.
-national aggrandisement
-riches - for his nation and himself.
-alternative route to India
What were Dias’s achivements?
-1st to navigate around the Souther tip of Africa.
-Continued exploration of other portugese explorers and navigators - who since the early 15th century had journeyed along the coast of West Africa - progressing more and more south.
-Oversaw preparation of Vasco Dagama’s navigation.
-Navigated with Da Gama and Later with Cabral.
Limitations of Dias’s exploration’s?
-Did not reach India - his crew and officers advised him to return to Portugal - scarcity of supplies and difficulty to access new provisions due to the coast not bing hospitable/unknown intentions of people they might meet along the way.
Successful in rounding the Cape of Storms/Good Hope - navigation route considered very perilous - others (Cabral) - chose to naviaget far off the South African coast.
Challenges faced by Dias?
-Positioning unchartered waters - in Southern Africa - caught in a storm for 13 days before rounding Africa.
-disease on board
-Lack of/running out of supplies.
-Hostile encounters
Padro de Covilhā
-Before Dias returned he was sent to find land route to India through Mediterranean, red sea and North of Africa - did reach Indian + sent dispateches to Portugal.
-King told him not to return without finding Pastor John.
-Christian Coptics of Abyssinia - closest he found - lived their till death.
Da Gama: who is he?
-Portuguese
-noble family
-grew up near a port
Da Gama: Motivations
-Similar to Dias:
Personal adventure and the status achieved via discovery.
-national aggrandisement
-riches - for his nation and himself.
-alternative route to India
Da Gama: Achievements
-1st to reach India 1498 and return home:
1st voyage - benefitted from expertise of Dias - oversaw preparation of 4 vessels, 170 men.
-2nd Voyage: 1502
-at sea with 20 armed ships
-attacked Muslim vessels - established Portuguese trade with the East - breaking and replacing Muslim/Arab and Venetian monopolies.
-Was given governmental role of Viceroy of India on behalf of Portugal - went back to India for role in 1524 - but died that year.
Why was there 10 years between Dias and Da Gama?
-awaiting Covilha
-Death of Jhon II
-Preparation for the second trip
-Return of Columbus in 1492 - challenged the rights to the market between Spain and Portugal (Columbus thought he had found the Indies) - settled by Treaty of Tordesillas 1494.
Da Gama: Limitations and Challenges
-Usual explorer problems (weather, supplies etc)
-Underestimated the culture he encountered so the goods he had taken were not as appealing as he thought.
-E.g. Mozambique leader was not willing to trade with Da Gama.
-Malandi - hired Muslim navigator to help him to India
-Once in India - struggled with commerce - market was dominated by the Muslim Traders.
-On his 1st return journey - timed departure wrong - unaware of Monsoon season - Da Gama’s crew struggled for a month in the Indian Ocean - Before reaching East African coast - survived only with the help of Sultan of Malindi.
-Needed Malindi’s help as lack of Fresh fruit caused Scurvy with lethal consequences - only 54/170 of Da gama’s men returned to Lisbon in 1499.
Columbus: who was he?
-Navigator by trade from Genoa - had travelled to Guinea, England, the levant Island.
-son of weaver and cheese vendor - lived most of his life in Spain/Portugal.
-for decade - without success - tried to convince European monarchs to finance his westward venture.
-eventually succeeded - his patrons were Spanish Monarchs - Isabella of Castile -1492.
-Although - find finance partly himself.
Columbus motivations?
-Not from noble family - had connection to nobility through his wife.
-therefore personal prestige - key motivation - he asked Spanish monarchs to give him a series of title - including Admiral of the Ocean’s and make titles hereditary - also had administrative role as governor of a few settlements.
Columbus Achievements
Personal achievements:
-Persistent - finding support for his venture.
-tenacity to sail into the unknown - with the wind behind.
-ability to keep crew together despite uncertainty of goals/distances.
Wider achievement:
-Chartered navigation route that changed world history - despite his blind conviction that he reached India.
-Established 1st Spanish settlements in ‘The New World’.
-Brought unknown items to Europe.
-Brought awareness that there were other cultures and humans that had not previously been known.
-for good and for bad - he changed history.
Columbus voyages
FIrst Voyage
-1492
-2 Caravels
-1Carrack
-120 men
-Land fall in what is now the Bahama Islands.
-explored Cuba and Hispaniola and built a stockade on Hispaniola at the new city La Navidad.
Second voyage
-1493-6
-1200 volunteers
-17 ships
-Reached Hispaniola - discovered that Taino natives had destroyed the stockade at La Navidad.
-Left brothers in charge and returned to Spain.
Third Voyage:
-1498-1500
-6 ships
-200 crew
-explored Trinidad, the Gulf of Paria, Venezuela, and the mouth of the Grande River.
-failed to find treasures or a strait to India.
Fourth Voyage:
-1502-04
-4 ships.
-explore Jamaica, southern Cuba, Honduras, the Mosquito Coast of Nicaragua, and parts of Panama.
What were Columbus limitations and challenges?
Typical explorer challenges
Also:
-Prospect of mutiny - from the crew - possibility of no return - not enough provisions to return.
Did not return to Spain with gold and spices in a promised quantity.
His experience as a governor - faced internal and external hostility and was unsuccessful.
Who is Vespucci?
-Part of historic family - in economic decline.
-From Florence
-In Seville on the behalf of the Medici’s as a shipping agent.
What were Vespuccis motivations?
-Possibility of wealth and status.
-Gained some experience in navigation.
-Unknown how he gained command for his first voyage - maybe was one of the Shareholders.
-In 1495 - King Ferdinand had abrogated Columbus’s monopoly… private enterprises were allowed - Vespucci embarked with two from Columbus vogages - one who was Juan da la Cosa - author of The ‘New World’.
What were Vespucci’s achievements?
-Reached the Amazon basin (which he called the Gulf of Santa Maria).
-reached Brazil the same year as Cabral.
-Contested who did it first.
-Vespucci claimed to gave journeyed South - towards the tip of South America - patagonia. (venturing beyond the lune of Tordesillas, in Spanish territory.
-Comparison to others - not associated with any breakthrough.
-Yet - little in known about his voyages - but he did write a few popular letters.
-Published and known in Europe - one of them - reference to ‘New World’ - perhaps coined the Term.
-explicitly referred to a new continent.
-Made Chief Pilot by Spanish Monarchs.
-German Cartographer named new continent America - become common use by the early decades of the 16th century.
Who was Cabral?
-From a noble family
-Member of the court, advisor to Manuel I
-Portuguese
What were Cabral’s motivations?
Like other Portuguese explorers who were part of the ruling elite - national aggrandisement.
Cabral returned to his private life once he returned to Portugal after his first and only Voyage.
Cabral achivements?
-1500 - Admiral of a fleet of 13 ships - 100 crew - Bartholomew Dias (advisor).
-Objective of expanding the trade connection with Malabar coast - (south west of India).
Instead of coasting Africa - navigated west using prevailing winds and currents reported by Da Gama - unexpected winds carried him mission further west.
Discovered (by accident) land that extended to the east of the line drawn by Treaty of Tordesillas - came under Portugal’s sphere of influence - Brazil - called it ‘Vera Cruz’.
Brazil wood found - produced washable black and red dye - commercialised and profitable.
Portuguese established 2 factories in 1519 - Brazil named after this.
used easterly winds - till reached same latitude as Cape of Good Hope - the head eastward.
In India - established trading settlement in Cochin - South of usual trade route - due to enmity of Muslims traders.
Cabral Limitations?
-Could not link with Calicut due to the hostility of the Muslim traders in the areas.
-4 ships and their crew died - caught in a storm off the coast of the Cape of Good hope - this included Dias.
Who is Cortes?
-Spanish
-Conquistador
-Lawyer
-minor nobility of Spain
-In the army that conquered Cuba.
