Company LOGO. Europeans Begin to Explore the World

Transcription

1 Company LOGO Europeans Begin to Explore the World

2 THE ROMAN EMPIRE From about the 5 th century B. C. Until the late 400s A. D., the Roman Empire ruled much of Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, North Africa, and the Middle East.

3 Rome at the Height of its Power

4 The empire split into two parts in the late 200s A.D. in order to better manage it.

5 The Western Empire eventually collapsed in 476 A. D., after internal strife, and invasions from outside forces such as Northern Germanic tribes. The invaders eventually destroyed many of the Roman trade routes, and Europe broke up into many smaller kingdoms. With no trade, people stopped using money, and began to pay for items by using things like animals and produce the barter system. Other invaders, such as the Vikings also disrupted life in Europe.

6 Feudalism and the Manor System To survive tough times, people turned to an idea called FEUDALISM. It is a political system in which a king allows people called NOBLES or LORDS to use land they own in return for military service. The MANOR SYSTEM also developed. With this system, lords divided their land into manors or large estates farmed mostly by SERFS who were landless peasants who the lord promised to protect. Large castles were built for protection.

7 The Catholic Church The Roman Catholic Church also gained power during uncertain times. The church filled roles such as collecting taxes, aiding the sick, and punishing criminals. It became a powerful, unifying force throughout Europe.

8 By the 1000s, feudalism had created a more stable society. Merchants eventually felt safe to travel, more food was raised, and the population began to grow. Old trade routes opened up, as more and more people produced goods, and wanted to buy goods from far away places. Money came back into use, and a new middle class of people developed.

9 Contact With the East Trade not only increased throughout Europe, but spread toward the East. Italian cities especially gained from this trade because of their location on the Mediterranean Sea. Religious wars known as THE CRUSADES also introduced new goods to European people. The Crusades were for control of the Holy Land and the city of Jerusalem.

10 The Crusades

11 During and after the Crusades were over, Europeans were exposed to new goods, which were brought home with them. Clothing made from silk and cotton was introduced. New food items like oranges, lemons, dates, etc. were introduced. Spices such as pepper and cinnamon, livened up the food Europeans were eating. The desire for products like these and many others, directly led to Europeans traveling and trading more often.

12 Marco Polo and Family Italian traders often brought products from the east. One of the most famous was a trader from Venice named Marco Polo. His father and uncle journeyed throughout Asia leaving before Marco was actually born. They returned when Marco was about 15. At age 17, Marco, his father, and uncle embarked on a remarkable journey that lasted 24 years. It is estimated they traveled about 15,000 miles.

13 Journeys of Marco Polo and Family

14 On the journey, they saw incredible things, and learned about Asian culture. When Marco Polo returned, he found Venice at war with another Italian city, Genoa. While imprisoned for a few months, he dictated his memories to a cell mate. Later, a book containing some of his memories was written. His tales of the riches of the east inspired and excited many Europeans.

15 Before becoming a united country, Italy was broken up into several city-states. Venice and Genoa were bitter rivals who wanted to control trade in the Mediterranean.

16 Both Venice and Genoa had established extensive trade networks.

17 The Decline of Feudalism The growth of trade and towns weakened feudalism as many serfs left the farms and moved to cities to work. A deadly plague known as the Black Death that started in 1347, killed about 1/3 of the population, reducing the number of workers. Kings eventually grew to be stronger, and as countries became safer, trade grew.

18 Bubonic Plague - Black Death Devastated Europe

19 The Renaissance After going through the decline of feudalism, and suffering from the Plague, Europeans began to question what life meant. Many people turned to the past for answers. In the 1300s Europe went through the RENAISSANCE or rebirth of learning and the arts. The influence of Greek and Roman culture came back. Writers described human feelings, artists created lifelike paintings and sculptures, and architects designed nonreligious buildings.

20 The Renaissance started in Italy, and occurred from the 1300s 1600s.

21 The Reformation For nearly a thousand years, the Catholic church had dominated life. After the invention of the printing press, books became more widely available, and new ideas began to spread. Some people began to question the power and authority of the Church, and wanted to reform it. Protests against the church, led to PROTESTANT churches beginning to flourish in parts of Europe.

22 Martin Luther and his 95 Theses, or questions for the Church.

23 Changes in Trade As the Renaissance continued, Italian trade boomed. Because they had been trading with Muslims in the Middle East for centuries, they had a special relationship. The Italians used military strength to protect their interests on the Mediterranean, and worked to block other Europeans from trading. Many were jealous of Italy s wealth, and began to look for other ways to get to Asia.

24 Constantinople Becomes Istanbul When the Muslims conquered Constantinople in 1453, they changed its name to Istanbul and the oldest remaining part of the old Roman Empire collapsed. The Muslims could now control the land trade routes between Europe and Asia.

25 With Italians in firm control of Mediterranean trade, Europeans began to search for other trade routes.

26 Portugal, located on the southwest edge of Europe, turned to the sea, and its use of a ship known as a CARAVEL, to try and find a route around Africa.

27 Portuguese explorers made it to the bottom of Africa in the 1480s, and all the way to India by the 1490s.

28 An Italian explorer named Christopher Columbus proposed sailing west, into the Atlantic Ocean, in order to reach Asia.

29 Although much of the educated world accepted the idea that the earth was round, there were some people feared venturing far from land in case they fell off the earth, or were attacked by sea monsters.

30 Columbus had approached Portugal with his idea, but they thought it was impractical, and chose to focus on their African route. Both Genoa and Venice were also not interested in his plan. He approached the Spanish monarchy, but was originally rejected. However, he was called back by the Spanish royalty, and he eventually achieved financing for his adventure.

31 Columbus in the presence of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella

32 1890s replicas of the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria

33 The 120 Voyagers left Spain on August 3, As the winds continuously blew them west, sailors worried about getting home. After weeks of traveling, Columbus faced the danger of MUTINY from his crew. On October 12, 1492, the exploration party landed on an island somewhere in what we now call the Bahamas.

34 Columbus was fortunate, in that the trade winds blew him westward, but on the return journey, he caught the winds that tend to blow eastward.

35 The First Voyage of Columbus 1492

36

37 While exploring, the Santa Maria was wrecked on Christmas Day, On the return trip, the captain of the Pinta sailed off on his own to try and beat Columbus back to Spain. However, Columbus arrived back in Spain first, on the Nina, March 15, The Pinta arrived a few hours later, with its ill captain dying a few days later.

38 News of Columbus successful journey spread rapidly throughout Europe. Mistakenly believing he was in Asia, he referred to the natives as Indians. He made a total of four voyages to this New World, as some called it. Note: HE NEVER TOUCHED WHAT IS NOW THE MAINLAND U. S.!!!

39 The Second Voyage of Columbus 1493

40 The Third Voyage of Columbus 1498

41 The Fourth Voyage of Columbus 1502

42 Columbus died in 1506, still believing that he had made it to Asia. In history, he is famous for making the journey, and then having so many other Europeans come after he did. Some Native Americans do not look on him fondly, because of all the changes that took place in the New World after his journeys. Regardless of opinion of him, he made a huge impact on history.

43 Both Spain and Portugal were Catholic countries. Not wanting them to fight, the pope created an imaginary line, giving Portugal the riches of Africa, and Spain the riches of the New World Columbus had bumped into. Nobody knew how big the region really was.

44 The Pope divided new land between Spain and Portugal without knowing how far Brazil juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. That is why Portuguese is the dominant language there.

45 Around the year 1500, a Portuguese explorer by the name of Cabral was supposed to go around Africa. However, possibly by accident, or perhaps being blown off course, he landed on Brazil s east coast. Eventually other Catholic Christian countries like France didn t pay too much attention to this line, and Protestant Christian countries like England and Holland ignored it as well. However, it took awhile for those countries to catch up to Spain and Portugal in claiming the riches of this New World.

46

47 Conquistadors CONQUISTADORS were Spanish (and Portuguese) warriors who overpowered a lot of the New World. They took much of the region s gold and silver, and set up colonies. Many native people were enslaved, but then began to die off, especially from diseases like SMALLPOX. Eventually, imported African slaves were used as labor on places such as sugar plantations.

48 Hernando Cortes Hernando Cortes was a Conquistador. He landed in what is Mexico today in The Aztec Empire had dominated this area for hundreds of years. The Aztec emperor Montezuma worried that Cortes had been sent by Aztec Gods to rule Mexico. Montezuma sent Cortes gifts of silver and gold in hopes that he would go away.

49 Hernando Cortes Instead, these gifts excited Cortes and his men. They were convinced that there was more gold and silver to be had. Cortes formed alliances with the enemies of the Aztecs and was able to surround the Aztec Capital, Tenochitlan. The Aztecs were forced to surrender and the Spanish built Mexico City on top of the ruins of Tenochitlan. This is how Mexico came to be.

50 After the Europeans realized they were not in Asia or the Indies, they focused on gathering the riches of this New World.

51 Tenochtitlan Cortes & Montezuma Mexico City

52 Hernando de Soto de Soto went on an expedition with the conquistador Fransico Pizzaro in They conquered the Incan Empire. de Soto returned to Spain but grew restless. He wanted to explore again. de Soto left Spain in 1538 and sailed to Cuba, then to Florida, where he landed at Tampa Bay. For the next three years he explored the area

53 Hernando de Soto He faced ambushes from Natives and enslaved many of them. He explored what is Florida, Georgia and Alabama today. Eventually he discovered the mouth of the Mississippi River. He is given credit for being the first European to discover this river, the biggest in North America.

54 Hernando de Soto

55 Several European countries began competing for control of various parts of the Americas, changing them forever.

56 The Columbian Exchange