Unit 5 - Chapter 16 – European Exploration of Africa and Asia
Vocabulary:
1. circumnavigate - going completely around the Earth, especially by water
2. isthmus - a narrow strip of land connecting two larger areas of land
3. monopoly - the exclusive control of goods or services in a market
4. colony - a territory ruled over by a distant state
5. missionary - a person who is sent to do religious or charitable work in a foreign country
6. persecution - the causing of injury or distress to others because of their
religion, race, or political beliefs
Chapter 16 – European Exploration of Africa and Asia
Section 1 – Exploration Begins
Obj: why Europeans began exploring the world in the 1400s; early achievements of Portuguese exploration under Prince Henry the Navigator; how Portugal’s efforts inspired early Spanish exploration
What was out there in the ocean beyond the horizon? In the 1300s, no European knew for sure.
Did the waters reach a boiling point if you sailed too far to the south?
· Some sailors actually held such fears
In fact, there was little firsthand knowledge of the open ocean
European vessel did not sail there.
That was about to change.
· Europe was emerging from the Middle Ages
· Europeans were growing more interested in faraway lands
· Merchants were looking for a way to expand their trade and wealth
· Kings and queens were looking for power and glory for themselves and God
These were some of the reasons that ships from Europe first sailed out into the deep and mysterious sea.
With those first ocean journeys, Europe’s age of exploration began.
Why Europe Looked to the East
· Marco Polo and the Crusades
o These events helped increase European awareness of the wonders of the East
· Merchants of Italian city-states made fortunes bringing spices and other goods from Asia and northern Africa
· Although Italians controlled this trade at the beginning of the Renaissance, other Europeans also were interested in expanded trade.
· The Crusades and the Protestant and Catholic Reformations helped keep Christianity strong, especially on the Iberian Peninsula
o Where Spain and Portugal are located
§ On the Iberian Peninsula Christians had been trying to remove Moors & Muslims
Portuguese Exploration
· Prince Henry the Navigator
o Born in 1394
o Third son of Portugal’s King John I
o The driving force behind Portuguese exploration
o Portuguese trade and navigation advanced significantly
o Conquered Cueta (say oo tah), a rich Muslim trading city in North Africa
o Died in 1460
Exploring the African Coast
· Conquest of Cueta helped the Portuguese learn more about the continent of Africa
o Allowed them to have access to excellent maps of North Africa and the riches it held
· 1419 – Prince Henry
o Decided to press Portugal’s exploration of the African coast
o Hired many of Europe’s best navigators, scientists, mapmakers and shipbuilders
o Provided money for these journeys of discovery
o Voyages pushed farther and farther down Africa’s western coast over several decades
§ Establishing trade with the newly discovered areas
§ Could have gone as far as modern-day Sierra Leone
§ Journeys also began the terrible practice of the European trade in slaves
§ Portuguese ships were returning to port with African captives
· A practice that grew rapidly in the centuries ahead
Bartolomeu Dias
· Explored Africa’s western coast
· 1487 – left Portugal to find the southern tip of Africa
o Succeeded in 1488
o Named the tip the Cape of Storms, later changed to the Cape of Good Hope
Vasco de Gama
· November 1497 – sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and into the Indian Ocean
· 1498 – sailed into the port of Calicut in India
o Celebrated as a hero in Portugal
European presence in Asia continued to expand in the coming years
Columbus Sails Under Spanish Flag
Christopher Columbus
· Born near Genoa, Italy in 1451
· Was a skilled sailor
· Traveled to Portugal and later Spain
· Developed a plan to reach the rich lands of India and the East by sailing to the West
o Only those who were uneducated thought the world flat
o Scholars knew it was round
· He believed by sailing far enough to the west, you would arrive at the lands of the East
· Tried for several years to win support for his plan
· 1492 – Queen Isabella of Spain finally agreed to pay for the voyage
· That year he sailed with 3 ships
o The Nina
o The Pinta
o The Santa Maria (the flag, or lead, ship)
o After ten weeks of sailing, he and his crew reached an island in the area now known as the Caribbean (October 12, 1492)
· his journey changed history
Others Explorers Look West
Europeans came to know the western lands Columbus had reached as America
· names after an Italian trader Amerigo Vespucci
o wrote a letter to a government official in Florence, Italy
§ claiming to have taken part in four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean
§ exploring the coast of what is now South America (1497)
· Columbus never gave up the idea that the lands he had reached were part of Asia
· By the early 1500s – Europeans knew that the Americas were not lands of the East
Balboa Sees the Pacific
· 1511 – Spanish explored Vasco Nunez de Balboa
o Arrived on the Isthmus of Panama
§ Connected North and South America
o After nearly a month, he reached the shores of a sea that stretched far into the distance
o He called it the South Sea (the Pacific Ocean)
o He claimed it and all the lands it touched for Spain
Magellan’s Voyage
· 1519 – Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan
o Set out to achieve Columbus’s unfulfilled goal of reaching Asia by sailing west
§ Left with five ships and 250 sailor
· 1520 – Magellan and three of his ships reached the Pacific, it took fifteen months
· 1521 – Magellan landed in the Philippines, where he was killed by natives
· 1522 – One remaining ship and 18 sailors reached Spain
o The entire voyage took nearly three years
o It was the first circumnavigation of the globe
Quest for the Northwest Passage
§ Because of Magellan’s difficulty, many Europeans sought a shortcut through North America
o Referred to as the Northwest Passage
§ Even England’s Henry Hudson looked for such a shortcut
Chapter 16 – European Exploration of Africa and Asia
Section 2 – Europeans in India and Southeast Asia
Obj: How Portugal traded in India; how Portuguese trade expanded into India and the Spice Islands; the English and Dutch challenge Portugal’s power in Asia
Portugal Gains a Foothold in India
§ The first European country to reach the rich ports of Asia
§ Vasco da Gama reached the trading center of Calicut, India
o He left India empty-handed
o Calicut traders rejected the humble cloth, honey and other trade goods he brought from Europe
§ 1500 – Pedro Alvarex Cabral
o Set out for India
o This was the first time Portuguese landed in what is now southeastern Brazil
o He claimed the land for Portugal
o This journey also took the life of Bartolomeu Dias (part of Cabral’s crew)
o He reached Calicut
§ Trade for spices slow at first
§ Got into an armed conflict with Arab traders leaving many dead
§ In spite of the bloodshed, was able to establish a trading post in India
o 1501 – returned to Portugal with a load of spices
The Portuguese Empire Expands
§ Cabral’s voyage a great success
§ Soon Portugal sending more ships to trade and armed forces
§ With forces, they were able to gain control of many trading centers between the east coast of Africa and the west coast of India
§ Next, Portugal looked further to the East
o Moluccas – the Spice Islands (northeastern part of present-day Indonesia)
o 1511 – Afonso de Albuguerue helped establish the Portuguese spice trade in Malacca, while leading a mission there
§ Portugal’s hold on the East was vast
§ However, its control was limited mainly to trade
§ It held very little territory
§ Its empire did not last very long
Challengers to Portugal
Soon other powerful European nations became interest in the Portuguese region
The Rise of the Dutch
§ The Dutch (people from Holland, what we now call the Netherlands)
§ Soon challenged Portugal’s leading role in the East
§ 1500s – Dutch were growing into an economic and military power in Europe
§ Sought to control Portugal’s empire of Asian trading posts
§ Portugal unable to defend these posts against the more powerful Dutch
§ 1602 – Dutch East India Company founded in Holland
o Dutch government gave this company a trade monopoly in Asia
o Company became a powerful force in Southeast Asia (modern-day Indonesia)
o It established many new trading posts and relationships
o Developed close ties with other Asian nations
o Had its own armies, which it used to seize land and people to serve its enterprise
The English in Asia
§ England also interested in Asian trade
§ 1600 – the East India Company established
o For a time the British and Dutch East India Companies competed in the East Indies
o The English soon moved their focus to India
o First they drove out the Portuguese
o Then expanded their own trading operations
o Throughout the 1600s enjoyed great success
o As the English made headway, the main power in India (the Mughal Empire) began to lose control of the country.
o Groups in India began to fight for power
§ The French East India Company were among the groups battling for control
§ Mid 1700s – the British emerged as the leading power in India
§ Over the next hundred years, Britain tightened its hold
§ Mid 1800s – India became a colony of Great Britain
European interest in Asia did not stop with India and the East Indies.
Europeans became involved elsewhere in the region.
Chapter 16 – European Exploration of Africa and Asia
Section 3 – Europe Explores East Asia
Obj: European efforts to expand trade in East Asia; European encounters with China and Japan, 1600-1700.
In 1793
§ British government sent Sir George Macartney to ask to greater British trading rights in China
§ He presented Qianlong (chyahn lawng), the Chinese emperor, with samples of fine British manufactured goods.
§ The Chinese were not moved and rejected the British requests
§ Great Britain was not the only country seeking greater trade in East Asia from 1500 to 1700, and were not the only country to come away disappointed
o The Portuguese, Dutch and Spanish also tried
o Few returned home with much for their efforts
Expanding European Trade
§ 1500s – European powers established trade and acquired some territory in India and Southeast Asia
§ They were also aware of the great riches of nearby China
o Porcelain
o Jade
o Silk
§ 1557 – Portugal secured a trading post at Macao
o However, China strictly limited and controlled this trade and did not recognize Portugal control of Macao
§ During this time, the Spanish also traded with China
o Operated from their colony of the Philippines
§ Also in the mid 1500s – Europeans first learned about Japan
o 1540 – Portuguese vessel landed there after being blown off course
o More Europeans later returned to trade and spread Christianity
European Contacts with China and Japan
1600s – the Dutch and British replaced the Portuguese as main trading powers in Asia
They hoped to tap China’s riches
The China Trade
§ Chinese viewed themselves as the greatest empire in the world
§ Made it difficult to Europeans to trade with them
§ Chinese held little regard for “foreign devils”
§ Europeans also thought of themselves as superior to Chinese
o This sometimes causes conflict with the Chinese
§ Chinese did not trade for goods but for silver
§ 1624 – Dutch seized the southern part of the island of Taiwan, but were driven away by the Chinese in 1661
§ Chinese also were able to resist British trade allowing only tightly controlled trade
Europeans in Japan
§ Soon after 1540, Portuguese traders and missionaries returned to Japan
§ By the late 1500s, Japanese rulers had come to distrust the Portuguese
o Religion a major cause of the distrust
o Missionaries and Japanese Christians were persecuted
o Portuguese soon left Japan altogether
§ Early 1600s – the Dutch came to Japan seeking trade
o They were allowed to build a trading post
o Post eventually moved to self-made island called Deshima (near the city of Nagasaki)
o Japanese closely controlled the trade
o The Dutch remained the only Europeans to trade with Japan until the 1800s