Chapter 15 Outline

The Maritime Revolution to 1550

I. Global Maritime Expansion Before 1450

A. The Pacific Ocean
-Historians have debated for years about Polynesian people and their sailing.
Despite traveling over the vast Pacific Ocean and not being able to navigate
using the land (because of their distance from it, they could not follow the shore
line) The Polynesians left no written records on how they navigated, and
historians debate over whether they were actually able to navigate or whether
they just got lost and found their way through the chain of Hawaiian islands, even
though some were over 2000 miles away from their home ports. Others say that
peoples from the Americas settled there instead of the Polynesians, however the
native language has ties to Malaysia, the Pacific west, and the Asian continent,
disproving this theory.
-In 1976, a Polynesian crew proved that it was possible to navigate the Pacific
waters using only observations of stars, currents, and land.
B. The Indian Ocean
-The Indian Ocean has long been a vital area for developing civilizations in the
Middle East and Asia. It served as a highway for goods and people, with its
coves and large landmass proximity sheltering the seafarers. The monsoon
winds were very predictable and helped to transport goods very easily, and large
ships filled with goods were easily transported
-The traders and merchants who operated in the Indian Ocean trading system
were for the most part not loyal to their homeport. They were independent and
traded without influence from their homeland.
-During the period of 1368, the Chinese government began to show interest in
the trading going on in their ports, because of the large amount of revenue it was
generating. The ruler’s Ming dynasty overthrew the Mongols at this point and
began to establish connections and implement policies in order to nurse China’s
suffering economy and prestige back to what it was before the Mongol
conquests. Once establishing control over the East Asian continent, the Ming
sent out expeditions on an enormous scale. Under the command of Zheng He,
these expeditions sent large treasure ships for trade and documented the local
customs and cultures of the places visited. After 1433 though, the Ming
discontinued the expeditions due to the fact that it faced growing internal issues
and lacked the finances to continue sending out ships.
C. The Atlantic Ocean
-The Vikings were the main group of mariners in the Atlantic Ocean during the
middle ages. Much like the Polynesians, they navigated without maps and
navigation tools. They used their small nimble ships to attack towns throughout
the Atlantic.
-During this time, the Europeans and the Africans sent out exploratory
expeditions in the Atlantic. The Amerindian peoples voyaged up and colonized
the West Indies, and by 1000 AD, the Arawak (Group of Amerindian peoples) had
moved and settled into the Greater Antilles, consisting of Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto
Rico, and Hispania.
II. European Expansion 1400-1550
A. Motives for Exploration
-There were many motives for the rulers of Europe to send out these explorers,
one reason even being that the rulers had an adventurous personality. Other
reasons include economy, and wanting to expand the trade and wealth. Some
countries like Spain and Portugal did it because of religion and their militant
views of Christianity, as well as the growing dominance of Islam. Also the growing
curiosity about the world around them sparked these exploratory trips.
-Some countries like Italy however, who was a leader in Europe, did not send out
expeditions because they were comfortable with the trade that they had already
established with the Muslims and Islamic states.
-These new expeditions also helped to stimulate new technologies, as the small
and brittle ships of the Mediterranean could not withstand the heavy winds and
current of the Atlantic. This led to new shipbuilding techniques, as well as
advances in gunpowder technology.
B. Portuguese Voyages
-The Portuguese voyages were based on two building blocks, the strong Atlantic
fishing, and a long history of anti-Islamic feelings. So when the Islamic Moroccan
government began to show signs of weakness, the Portuguese attacked. These
crusades helped to establish the trade of gold from west Africa, and the
Portuguese would sail from their home ports directly to the gold mining areas.
-During this time, the Portuguese established new forms of navigation and filled
in many blank spots on the map largely due to the efforts of Henry the Navigator.
While Henry himself actually traveled very little, he founded an establishment that
focused on collecting maps, geographical information, and navigation
techniques.
-The advent of new ships called caravels helped explorers to gather new
information like this. These ships were small enough to sail up rivers and enter
shallow areas, but they were strong enough to with stand the strong Atlantic
currents and weather. They also were moderately fast and were armed with
cannons making it a good ship to explore in.
-Henry also encouraged the explorers to travel into the South Atlantic, and during
that time period, ocean routes were discovered. An ocean route is a path along
which ships can easily sail due to the current and wind being in their favor. In
order to finance all of these expeditions, Prince Henry took money from The
Order of Christ, and that is why the Portuguese sails had crusaders’ crosses on
them. Slave and gold trade also helped to finance these trips.
-After the Portuguese had established colonies on the west coast of Africa, there
was a sudden speeding up of expeditions. This was due to a new public interest,
which led to private funding in addition to the money the government paid for
these trips.
C. Spanish Voyages
-The early Spanish voyages were not meticulously planed out and organized as
the Portuguese were. The Spanish explorers got as far as they did mostly due to
blind luck. During the 1400s, a man named Christopher Columbus got
authorization from Spain to sail across the Atlantic to what was believed to be the
Indian Ocean. Instead in 1492, he sailed to the American continent, discovering
the New World for the first time. He however, believed that he had found India
and insisted on calling the local inhabitants Indians.
 -In an attempt to settle any disputes that might arise over this new world, the
Spanish and Portuguese signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, which divided the globe
in half.
-In 1519 Ferdinand Magellan set out to sail around the American continent and
link up on the other side with Asia and India. He died on his journey, but the
overall voyage was a success and Magellan is considered the first person to ever
sail across the entire world.
-The effect of all of this is that the Spanish and most of Europe now began to
establish trade and colonies in the Atlantic, and it grew so large that it began to
rival the Indian Ocean trading system.

III. Encounters With Europe 1450-1550

A. Western Africa
-In West Africa, there was much anticipation for the Portuguese. When the
Portuguese did come they did so peacefully, and obtained permission to build a
small trading port on the coast. The African king warned that if the Portuguese
tried to overthrow them, they would simply move away and leave the trading city
without food or water. The Portuguese complied and the trade that flourished was
excellent. The Portuguese imported massive quantities of gold in exchange for
goods delivered to Africa.
-The kingdom of Benin also traded with the Portuguese, creating a slave trade
monopoly. When the demand for slaves went up, the ruler put limitations on the
market and raised all of the prices, creating an even higher demand in Portugal.
After internal strife over this trade, Benin’s government weakened and the slave
trade mover further south.
B. Eastern Africa
-The reaction to the Portuguese in the Muslim controlled East Africa was very
different from the west. The leaders were very suspicious of the Portuguese and
Christianity, and did not want to get involved with them. Their suspicions were
confirmed years later when the Portuguese bombed and burned their cities. They
spared the trading city of Malindi because they had been very welcoming and
open to trade with Portugal.
-During this time Ethiopia tried to obtain help from the Portuguese, as their state
was being threatened from the surrounding Muslim states. Their pleas were
ignored at first, but finally given into and the Portuguese sent a fleet to help the
Ethiopians push back the Muslims. It worked, however Portugal and Ethiopia
never forged a long lasting diplomatic relationship because the Ethiopians
refused to transfer their Christian alliances to the Pope in Rome.
C. Indian Ocean States
-Portugal’s first impression in India was a weak one, with tiny ships and a sick
crew giving meager gifts to the Indian ruler. Portugal however, intended to control
the Indian Ocean trade, and in 1505 launched a large campaign that would help
them to dominate the trade.
-The Portuguese seized control over many of the trading ports, and tried to
monopolize and tax all trade in the area, using their far superior navy. They had a
difficult time regulating this however, and smugglers began to secretly sneak in
and out of ports, trading goods.
-In China, they welcomed Portugal and let them set up a small trading town.
They did however, isolate themselves somewhat.
-Overall, the Portuguese were the powerful and reigning force of the Indian
Ocean, and their warships put the surrounding countries at their mercy, and while
some prospered, others were devastated by the heavy control and taxes put
upon them.
D. The Americas
-In the Americas, the peoples were welcoming at first, but the Spanish settlers
were incredibly inhumane to them, forcing them into a war. Columbus brought
hundreds of Spanish who stole from, murdered, and raped the Amerindians.
They were forced into heavy taxes and labor and lived in incredibly harsh
situations.
-The actions of the Spanish show how they behaved towards other non-
believers, like the Muslims on the European continent; it also showed their
devout devotion to god and the pope. Spain began to appoint conquistadors, who
would conquer, kill, and claim land for the Spanish king. One of the most ruthless
named Hernan Cortez traveled to Mexico and the Aztec areas. Cortez retreated
from the Aztecs after a fierce battle, killing many Aztec. After they left, it became
evident that they had passed on smallpox to the Aztecs and the disease left the
greatly weakened so when Spanish returned, they were able to easily enslave
them and capture large amounts of gold.