Europeans Encounter the New World :Europeans Encounter the New World An Introduction


Motives for Exploration :Motives for Exploration Upset that Islamic empires controlled trade routes in Africa and the East. Gold and silver supplies drained as they purchased silk and spices at high cost. Enrich your nation-state and end the Muslim monopoly. Spread Christianity.


Motives for Exploration :Motives for Exploration Technological advancements permitted exploration of West Africa. Africa major source of gold & slaves. Portuguese traded guns, textiles, and manufactured goods for gold & slaves. Portuguese set up sugar plantations in African coastal islands. (Cash crop) Bartholomeu Dias & Vasco da Gama helped chart water route to Asia.


Motives for Exploration :Motives for Exploration Spain unified under Ferdinand & Isabella and they want a piece of the action. Spain looked westward and found their man in Christopher Columbus. Columbus’s voyage led to “discovery” of the New World.


The Columbian Exchange :The Columbian Exchange Global diffusion of plants, food crops, animals, human populations, and disease pathogens Populations of Europe surged. Excess populations could be sent to the New World. Ireland is a good example.


The Columbian Exchange :The Columbian Exchange Europe altered the New Word by introducing new animals, vermin, and even weeds. Africa provided the slaves since plantation system first took hold in Caribbean. New World provided land, gold, and silver.


The Conquistadores :The Conquistadores Spain the winner in Treaty of Tordesillas (1494). Sought gold, glory, and wanted to please God. Biggest prize: Mexico (1519-1520). Hernan Cortes & company toppled the Aztec Empire. How did he do it?


The Conquistadores :The Conquistadores The Aztec Empire was a centralized state. Superior technology, military organization, and tactics. Spanish immunity to small pox. Aztecs were unpopular with the surrounding population. Aztecs lost their fighting spirit.


Social & Cultural Impact :Social & Cultural Impact Socially and racially stratified society. 1: Peninsulares- from Spain stood at the top of the social hierarchy. 2: Creoles- of Spanish ancestry, but born in the Americas. 3: Mestizos- racially mixed. 4: Conquered people & imported slaves. Population turned to Catholicism.


Governmental Structure :Governmental Structure Viceroys eventually replaced Conquistadores as leaders of New Spain. Viceroys were accountable to the audiencias. Transportation and communication meant that viceroy exerted less influence. Local administrative duties fell on the shoulders of audiencias and town councils.


Economic Exploitation :Economic Exploitation Big picture: Spanish silver mining helped lubricate the growing global economy. The indigenous population subjected to the encomienda system. Extract labor and tribute from local tribes. System had originated in Spain and had been used in Hispaniola as well. Priests & bureaucrats opposed it.


Other Attempts to Colonize :Other Attempts to Colonize Conquistadors looked for other Mexicos. Pizarro scored in Peru. (de Leon, de Soto, and Coronado struck out) Settle in North America to solidify claims and/or protect shipping. St. Augustine (1565) was successful. New Mexico not so much. (Pueblo Revolt)


The Spanish Empire :The Spanish Empire Spain the dominant power in Europe in the 16th century. (New World wealth) Spain felt entrusted to guard against the “heresy” of Protestantism. Other European states feared the growth of Spain. (And wished to emulate it too.)


The Spanish Example :The Spanish Example Pirating enriched England. (Religious dimension to rivalry) Other states rejected Treaty of Tordesillas. The French, Dutch, and English sent other explorers. (Sought Northwest Passage or another Mexico)


The Spanish Example :The Spanish Example In 1524, Giovanni de Verrazano explored the coast of North America. (France) In 1535, Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence River. (France) In 1609, Henry Hudson explored New York river. (Dutch) 1576, Martin Frobisher explored northern Canada. (England)


The Spanish Example :The Spanish Example No immediate impact. The Newfoundland colony failed. (1578 and 1583) The Roanoke Colony failed. (1585) In 1607, English settled in Jamestown. French established Quebec in 1608. Dutch settled near the Hudson in 1623.


The Spanish Example :The Spanish Example The Netherlands declared independence from Spain in 1581. Spanish Armada defeated in 1588. Spanish economy was in decline. Other nations turned to mercantilism. Spain began to weaken and its hold of North America was tenuous.