Overviewand Purpose Ofthe Lesson

PortugueseControloftheIndianOceanTradeduringtheFirstGlobalEra(1450–1770CE)

Author:Allyson McCarthy

Overviewand Purpose ofthe Lesson:

Although manyworld powerssuchasGreat Britain and Francewere present inIndianOceantrade throughout the firstglobalera,few powers seemed to dominatethat tradeover that time.The dominant powersof the period werethe Portugueseand later theDutch. However,prior toanyEuropean rulecontrollingthe traderoutes in theIndianOcean,Arabmerchantssailed effortlesslythroughoutthe region profitingoffof the abundantresourcesincludingporcelain, silk, silver,spices,andmore. This Arab dominationof thetrade routes would drasticallychange after thevoyageof thePortugueseexplorer Vasco deGama who set out from Portugal to reach theIndianOceanbysea.Throughout this lesson, students will discover whythe Portuguese sent Vasco deGamaon hisvoyage and how his voyageaffectedworldtrade.Students will also learnaboutsome ofthecities that the Portuguesecommandeeredin their efforts to dominateIndianOceantrade.

InPartIof this lesson, students will become acquainted with the geographyof the IndianOceanand commonlytraded items and theiroriginatinglocationbyexploringtheGoods icons on theFirst Global Era map on theIndianOcean in World History (IOWH)Website. Students will then fill outHandout A usingthe information theygathered.InPartII,students will work individuallytolearnmoreaboutVascode Gamaand map out his voyage fromPortugal toIndia.Theywill dothis byreadingexcerptA, fillingout Handout B and continue fillingout handout Awith the helpof anAtlas.InPartIII,studentswill work in pairs or in groups to discover citiesandregionsintheIndianOcean that were attacked or influencedbythe PortuguesebyexploringthePlacesicons on the First GlobalEra Map on theIOWHWebsite.Thestudentswill then fill outHandout Cusingthe informationtheygatheredfrom the website.Finally,students will reconveneand sharethe information theygatheredabouttheirdifferentcitiesanddiscuss the impact the Portuguesehad on theIndianOcean throughout theFirst Global Era.

Performance Objectives.

• To understand what goods were commonlytradedthroughout theFirstGlobalEra in theIndianOceanandwheretheyoriginated
• Tounderstand how the Portuguese dominated theIndianOcean Trade
• To assess the impactof the Portuguese on theIndianOcean

MaterialsNeeded:

• Access to theIOWHWebsite
• Handoutsandreadingsincluded in thelesson (one of eachforeachstudent)
• Atlases
• Atleast 3 different colored pencils/markersfor eachstudent(i.e.Blue, Red, Green)

Time: Roughlythreeclass periods total, one classperiod foreach part

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Procedure:

Introduction and Context

Introduce students to theIndianOcean, the third largestocean in the worldafter the AtlanticOceanandPacificOcean(theworld’slargest).Byclickingonthegeographicalicons forTravelers,PlacesandGoodson the First Global EraMapstudents can learn moreabout thehistoryand movement ofpeoplesthroughoutthe era.

Tell students that theyare goingto learn about tradeand conqueston theIndianOcean duringthe First Global Era(1450-1770 CE) focused on Portugal.Duringthis time,European Powersbegan exploringmoreefficientandcosteffectiveways to tradegoods to and from the East,especiallyin regards to hubs in theIndianOcean.

Part I:

In order to helpstudentsget the“bigpicture”of thegeographyof the IndianOcean,project theFirst Global Eramap fromtheIOWHWebsitesuch that thewhole classcansee it at onetime.If this is not possible, assignstudents to look at it individually(in acomputerlab orathome,etc.)andreconvene to shareanswers.

From their observations,you will want thestudents to see silverand porcelainfrom China;spicesfromIndonesia and the Philippines; cloth,opium, and ebonyfromIndia; gold, ivoryandcopper from SoutheastAfrica;vanilla from Madagascar;andcoffeefromYemen.The studentsshould alsodiscoverthatEuropeanstraded for these goods with manywestern items or tradedforthese goods withgoods theyhad previouslytraded,thereforeglobalizingall sorts ofmerchandises.

Questions to pose asstudents look at themap:

1.Wheredo most of theicons appear?Whydo theythink this is?

2.Lookat thesolid orangelines,whichrepresentwatertraderoutes.Whatarethe busiestareasof tradeon theIndianOcean?Whichareas form thehubs of trade, the locationsfrom whichgoodsand people aregoingin andcomingout?

3.Now begin selectingthe“goods” icons. Wheredowefind cloth?Silver?Spices?Etc.Weretheseitemstraded to be in theselocations, oraretheycultivatedthere?Discusseachitem in depth andgive them time to map these goods ontohandout A with abluepencil.

Part II:

Tell students theyare goingto look morecloselyat Portugal’s rolein tradein theIndianOceanbylearningabout Vascode Gama’svoyage.

1.Have the students watchthis briefclipfromCBSNews titled How Portugal BecametheFirst Global Sea Power until 5:10, or all the waythrough(8:38).

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2.Thentell them to work individuallyandreadthroughExcerpt Afrom bbc.co.ukwhichdescribes whoVascode Gama is andwhyheis important.

3.With the help of an Atlas, have thestudents use the informationfrom theexcerpt to mapout his voyage beginning inLisbonand endinginIndia on handout Awith a red pencil.Have them first plot theplaces,then later add theline connectingthe dots showingthewaterroutehetook toget toIndia.Include placenames anddates in whichhe arrivedwhenincluded. Use partners orsmallgroups ifthereis a limited number of atlases.

4.Have the students reconvene and discuss thefollowingquestions(with theoptional

handout B)

a.Howlongdid it take Vasco deGamato reachIndia fromPortugal?

b.Whydid PortugalsendVasco deGama toIndia?

c.Whydid he goallaroundthe tip ofAfrica?Whynot through the Mediterraneanseathen through the Redsea?

d.What did his voyage do for tradingin theIndianOcean?Not just for Portugal.

Part III:

Ifpossible, have thestudents donumber1 and 2 of thisactivityon theirown either in lab or ashomework. However, itmayalso be done asaclass.

1.Have the studentsclickonall of the “Places” icons on the First Global EraMap on theIOWHWebsite and havethem fill outHandout C. Not all thespaces need to be filled out, not all the placeson the map will have informationforeveryblock on the chart.

2.Thenhave the students return toHandout Aandwith the help of anatlas,onlymap thecities that Portugalconqueredwith agreen pencil.

3.Have the students reconvene anddiscuss thefollowingquestions:

a.Inwhat countryaremostof Portugal’s hub cities? Whydoyou think that?

b.Howarethesehub locations significant?In regards to the differentcommonlytradedgoods alreadyonhandoutA?

c.What is so significant about Portugal controllingthe Strait of Hormuzand theStrait of Malaca?

d.What importantthings did Portugal bringtothe region?Religion,trade items,etc.and how weretheyreceived?

e.How else did Portugaleffect the development of trade andcities in theIndianOceanregion?

Assessment:

1.Itmaybe decided to havethe students hand in their maps(handout A)in order to checkforcompletion

2.Have the students turn inhandouts Band C for furtherassessment.

3.Assignan brief researchessayaskingstudents to delvemore into aspecificwaythatPortugalhaseffected theIndianOceanwith this prompt:

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How hasPortugal effected theIndianOceanin trade routes, trademethods,religion,oraspecificregion or city?Pick onewayPortugal haschanged theIndian Oceanand expandupon it with informationfromclasshandoutsandactivities, theIOWHWebsite, or otherreliablesources.

4.Orhaveaquizusingthequestions from handout Band thefollowingquestions:

a.What is significant aboutPortugal ControllingtheStrait of Hormuz and thestraitof Malaca?

b.Inwhatregions did Portugal havehub cities?

c.What majoreffort did Portugal bringto theIndianOcean?

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VascodeGamaByShaneWinser

Vasco daGamawas the firstEuropeanto openasea-basedtrade route to India.Inanepicvoyage,hesailedaroundAfrica's Cape ofGoodHope andsucceededinbreakingthemonopolyofArabandVenetianspice traders.The RoyalGeographicalSociety's Shane Winserexplains howdaGamachangedthe world.

Thesearchfor trade routes

Vasco daGama's pioneeringseavoyage toIndiais one ofthe definingmoments inthe historyofexploration.Apart

frombeingone the greatestpieces ofEuropeanseamanshipofthattime -afargreaterachievementthanChristopherColumbus's crossingofthe Atlantic - hisjourneyactedas a catalyst foraseries ofevents thatchangedtheworld.

Bythe middle ofthe15th century,Portugalwastheleading maritime nationinEurope,thankslargelyto thelegacyofPrince Henrythe Navigator,who hadbroughttogetheratalentedgroupofmapmakers,geographers,astronomers andnavigators athis schoolofseamanshipatSagres, insouthernPortugal.

Henry's intentionhadbeento find asearoute to Indiathatwouldgive Portugalaccess to the lucrative trade in spices fromthe FarEast.He hadhopedto be aidedbyanalliance withthe elusive PresterJohn,whose Christianempire was thoughttoexistsomewhere in Africaandwho mighthave providedassistance to Christiansinanyfightto overcomeMuslimdominance of the IndianOceantrade.For40years,Henrysponsored voyagesofexplorationsouthalongthe westAfricancoast,resultinginalucrative trade in slaves andgold- butthe southernextentofthecontinentremainedunknownto Europeans,andthe Prince's dreamwas notrealised.

Itwas notuntil1487thatBartholomewDiazsetoffonthe voyage thatfinallyreachedthe southerntipofAfrica.Byroundingthe Cape ofGoodHope,Diazprovedthatthe Atlantic andIndianOceans were notlandlocked,as manyEuropeangeographers ofthe time thought,andrekindledtheideathatasearoute to Indiamightindeedbe feasible.

To complementthe seavoyages ofDiaz, the Portuguese monarch KingJohnII alsosentPedro daCovilha,afluentArabic speaker,outonadangerous overlandjourneytoIndia.Disguisedas anArab,Covilhagatheredvitalinformationontheports ofthe eastAfricanandIndiancoasts duringhis three-yearjourney.

Itwould,however,beafurthertenyears before the Portuguesewere able toorganiseavoyage toexploitthe discoveries ofthese two explorers.Inthemeantime, ChristopherColumbus,sponsoredbythe Spanish,hadreturnedto

Europe in 1493to announce thathe hadsuccessfullyfoundaroute to the Orientbysailingwestacross the Atlantic.

Thefirst voyagetoIndia

Vasco daGamaandhis fleetsailedfromLisbonon8July1497.BartholomewDiazhimselfactedas pilotto the CanaryIslands,whichtheyreachedon15July,andonto the Cape Verde islands.Onboardwere the latestmaps andnavigationalinstruments.Between26Julyand3Augustthe crewpreparedforthe nextstage oftheirvoyage withoutDiaz,who advisedthemto take anunusualcourse: west-southwest in ahugeloopout into the Atlantic to avoidthe doldrums inthe GulfofGuinea.Theywere 965km (600miles) fromBrazilbefore the south-westerlywindsblewthembacktowards southernAfrica.

On7NovembertheylandedatStHelenaBay,200km(125miles) northofthe CapeofGoodHope.They had beenoutofsightofland for13weeks - muchlongerthanColumbusonhis trans-Atlantic voyage-andhadtravelledadistance ofmore than7,200km (4,500miles) fromCape Verde.

Two days later,afterleaving StHelenaBay,theyroundedthe Cape ofGoodHopeandlandedatMosselBay,where theytradedtrinkets withlocalpeoplein exchangeforanox.The store shipwas burnt,andthe supplies re-distributedamongtheotherships.Theywouldnowbe sailingin unknownwaters,havingalmostreachedthe farthestextentofDiaz's explorations.

OnChristmas Day1497the three remainingships were sailingnorthwards alongthe eastcoastofwhatis nowSouthAfricaandcalledthe country'Natal'.By11January1498theywere exploringthe mouthofCopperRiver('Rio Cobre') (modernlocationis betweenSouthAfricaandMozambique),namedafterthe copperornaments wornbythe localpopulation.

Movingslowlynortheastagainstastrongsouth-westerlycurrent,theytravelled2,700km (1,700miles) upthe coast until,on2March 1498,theysailedinto theportofMozambique.This was one ofachainofMuslimcitystates,atthesouthernmostpointofMusliminfluence onthe eastAfricancoast.WhendaGamatriedto trade withtherulingSultanhispaltrygifts were scorned.Despite sparingno expense to equipthe expedition,the Portuguese hadtotallyunderestimatedthequalityofgoods beingtradedin this partof the world- cotton,ivory,goldandpearls.Theysailedonto Mombassa, 1,300km (800miles) north, inthe hope ofmore lucrative trade,butfaredno betterthere.Fortunatelythe rulerofMalindiwasmore welcoming,andduringhis staythere daGamarecruitedaknowledgeable andefficientpilot,possiblythe greatArabnavigatorAhmedIbnMajid,to showtheexplorers the route to India.

DaGamareachesIndia

The 27-daycrossingofthe Arabiansea, viathe Laccadive Islands to the MalabarCoastofIndia,was easedbythe favourable monsoonwinds,andthe fleetarrivedatCalicuton20 May 1498.

India's MalabarCoastwas atthe centreofthe spice trade -it was the mainoutletforKerala'slarge peppercrop- andthe place where ships fromthe IndonesianSpice Islands came totrade cloves withArabmerchants fromthe RedSeaandPersianGulf.The newcomers stayedforthree months,andwere initiallywellreceivedbythe Hinduruler,the Zamorin.Butthe Muslimtraders also heldconsiderableinfluence atcourt,andwere unwillingto relinquishcontrolofthe spicetrade to the Christianvisitors - andonce againthe goods daGamawas offeringtotrade were inadequate.Relations deteriorated,anddaGama's menwere reducedtobarteringonthe waterfrontto trade whatgoods theycouldforthe homewardvoyage.

Itwas aterrible voyage backto Malindi.The pilotcouldnotbe found,the monsoonswere againstthemandthe 3,700km (2,300mile) journeytookthree months.DaGama's crewsufferedterriblyfromscurvyand30mendied.Onlythe kindness ofthe SultanofMalindisavedthe restofthe crew, withhis gifts offreshmeatandoranges.

Butnow,withtoo fewmenalive to sailthree ships,theStRaphaelwas burnt.Keento gethome,the adventurers roundedtheCape ofGoodHope on 20March1499,andsailedupthe westcoastofAfrica.Paolo daGama,who hadbeenverycompassionate to the sickandailingthroughoutthe voyage,finallysuccumbedtoillness himself,anddiedonthe Azores.

Secondary voyagestoIndia

Vasco daGamaarrivedin Lisbonon18Septemberandrode intriumphthroughthecity.He hadbeenawayformore thantwoyears,travelled38,600km(24,000miles) andspent300days atsea.Only54 ofthe originalcrewof 170 hadsurvived,butKingManuelwasverypleased.Whathadbeendone once couldbe done again.

A secondvoyage,involving13ships and1,200men,wasimmediatelydispatchedunderPedro AlvaresCabralto secure the searoute to India,andthe fleetreachedCalicutin undersixmonths.This time the Portuguese were better preparedandbroughtlavishgoodswithwhichto tempttheZamorinintoatrade agreement.TheMuslimmerchants were outragedatthis attemptto stealtheirtrade,andkilled50ofCabral's men.

CabralretaliatedbyburningtenMuslimcargo vessels andkillingnearly600 onboard,andsettinglightto the woodenhouses ofCalicutin revenge.He thenmovedonto Cochin,where he establishedthe firstPortuguese trading post in India.Hereturnedhome in thesummerof1501.Onlysevenships andhalfhis mensurvivedthe journey,buttheircargo ofspices was sufficientto breakthemonopolyontheEuropeanspice tradepreviouslyheldbyArabandVenetianmerchants.

The followingyear,Vasco daGamacommandedPortugal's thirdmajorvoyage toIndia.He setout withafleetof20ships,includingtenofhis ownandfive eachunderthe commandofhis uncle andnephew.Theirtaskwas to consolidate

Portuguese dominance oftheroute to India,butitwas toleadtoone ofthe worstmaritime massacres inhistory.

After raidsonseveralMuslimports alongthe eastAfricancoast,daGamabeganacampaignofterroragainstMuslimshippingoffthe MalabarCoast.Here he capturedtheMeri,ashipwith200 Muslimpilgrims onthe returnjourneyfromMecca,and set it alight.Withsome 400 men,womenandchildrenaboard,daGamafuelledthefires forfourdays untilallhaddied.He thenmovedonto Calicut,where hecapturedanddismembered30fishermenandlettheirbodies floatin withthe tidefortheirfamilies to find.

Fearedandhated,he leftbehindthe firstEuropeannavalforce inAsianwaters.Upon his returnhome inSeptember 1503,daGamawas richlyrewardedbythePortuguesefor his efforts andwas eventuallyappointedViceroyof India.

Shane,Winser."VascoDeGama." BBCNews.February 17,2011.AccessedNovember 9,2015.

Portugal in theIndianOceanReview Questions

1.How did Portugal becomeaglobalsea power?

2.Whydid PortugalsendVasco deGamatoIndia?

3.How longdid it take Vasco deGamato reachIndia fromPortugal?

4.Whydid Vascode Gama’sroutegoaroundAfricapastCape Hope?Whynot through theMediterraneanSea to theRedSea?

5.What did Vasco de Gama’svoyage dofor Portugal in regards to tradingintheIndianOcean?

6.What did Vasco de Gama’svoyage dofor other Europeanpowers in regards to tradingintheIndianOcean?

Handout C: IOWHName

Date

PlaceName / Location(Country/continent) / Goods/Exports / Conquered byPortugal?Ifso,when? / Whatdid Portugalbring tothem?
Ex. Kilwa / SoutheastAfrica / Gold,Ivory,TortoiseShells / Yes,1505-1700s / N/A