Term
|
Definition
| Venetian merchant who traveled through Asia for twenty years and published his observations in a widely-read memoir, Travels. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Ottoman Slavery: Social system of using Christian slave labor for domestic, administrative, and military work that permitted social advancement and religious diversity within the Muslim empire.
They Conquer Constantinople |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| -rounds Cape of Storms/Cape of Good Hope (1488) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Vasco de Gama rounds the Cape and crosses the Indian Ocean to Calicutt (1497/98)
Portuguese reach Malacca (1511)
The Spice Islands and China (1515) |
|
|
Term
| Prince Henry the Navigator |
|
Definition
Portuguese defeat Indian and Ottoman naval force
I. Prince Henry the Navigator (1394–1460)
His central place in European exploration has been debunked
Motives before 1480s
Crusading ambitions against Muslims
Establish direct links with sources of African gold production
Desire to colonize Atlantic islands
Slavery
II. The myth of Prester John
Not the architect nor visionary of Portuguese exploration
Main goal was to intercept trade in African gold at its source
Portuguese monarch who encouraged conquest of western Africa and trade in gold and slaves. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| -Brought back no Asian spices and little gold |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| -Magellan’s crew circumnavigates the globe (1522) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Hernando Cortés (1485–1547) subdues the Aztecs in Mexico (1519–1521)
The profits of empire in the New World
1. Cortés and Pizarro as plunderers
2. First gold deposits discovered in Hispaniola
1. One million natives in 1492—500 in 1538
2. Cattle ranching (Mexico)
3. Sugar production (Caribbean)
1. Imported African slaves
2. Sugar plantations fell into the hands of a few wealthy planters
3. Gold mining as the initial lure
4. Silver the most lucrative export
1. The silver deposits of Potosí (Bolivia)
2. Profits went directly to Spanish crown
3. Slave labor
4. New mining techniques
5. Ten million ounces of silver per year arrive in Spain (1590s) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
1. Francisco Pizarro subdues the Incas in South America (1533)
B. The profits of empire in the New World
1. Cortés and Pizarro as plunderers
2. First gold deposits discovered in Hispaniola
a. One million natives in 1492—500 in 1538
b. Cattle ranching (Mexico)
c. Sugar production (Caribbean)
i. Imported African slaves
ii. Sugar plantations fell into the hands of a few wealthy planters |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Hernando Cortés (1485–1547) subdues the Aztecs in Mexico (1519–1521) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Francisco Pizarro subdues the Incas in South America (1533) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Portuguese were interested in the African gold trade and Atlantic colonization but by the end of the 15th century, their ships had rounded the Cape of Good Hope and by the 1520s reached the Spice Islands and China. With developments in artillery Portuguese ships were fitted with cannon and at the battle of Div in 1509, they defeated the combined naval forces of India and the Ottomans. They built trading forts all along the west coast of India, thus protecting their trade. (pp. 424-427)
I. Mediterranean Colonialism
A. Motives for westward expansion
1. African gold trade
2. Growth of European colonial empires in the western Mediterranean Sea
B. Silver shortages and the search for African gold
1. African gold trade was not new
2. Catalan and Genoese merchants traded woolen cloth for gold at Tunis
3. Gold needed because of a serious silver shortage
4. Balance-of-payments problem
a. Too much silver flowing east in the spice trade
b. Could not be replaced
c. Gold as alternative for large transactions
C. Prince Henry the Navigator (1394–1460)
1. His central place in European exploration has been debunked
2. Motives before 1480s
a. Crusading ambitions against Muslims
b. Establish direct links with sources of African gold production
c. Desire to colonize Atlantic islands
d. Slavery
3. Main goal was to intercept trade in African gold at its source |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Sailing vessel suited for nosing in and out of estuaries and navigating in waters with unpredictable currents and winds.
-two-masted Portuguese vessels efficient for long voyages.
1. The Portuguese caravel
2. Change to larger caravel with lateen sail
a. Could sail against the wind
b. Required smaller crews
4. Larger caravels—more effective artillery pieces could be mounted on them
Portuguese caravel was based on a ship design used for centuries but in the 15th century had become larger and capable of carrying with large displacements. Sailors had a number of technologies available for their use: quadrants, astrolabes, compasses, navigational charts and maps, and portolani. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
1. Change to larger caravel with lateen sail
a. Could sail against the wind
Required smaller crews |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The Portuguese and then the Spanish took the lead in this age of ocean navigation. Captains and their crews faced terrifying risks as they sailed into uncharted waters. Perhaps the greatest risk was the fact that none of them really had any idea of where they were going. While captains had quadrants and astrolabes at their disposal, much of their navigation was done by "dead reckoning."
Means of navigation |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| navigational instrument used to find latitude while at sea. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Maps and navigational charts (rutters and routiers) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
A. Artillery and empire
1. Increasing sophistication of artillery
2. Larger caravels—more effective artillery pieces could be mounted on them
3. Floating artillery platforms
4. Battle of Div (1509)
a. Portuguese defeat Indian and Ottoman naval force
With developments in artillery Portuguese ships were fitted with cannon and at the battle of Div in 1509, they defeated the combined naval forces of India and the Ottomans. They built trading forts all along the west coast of India, thus protecting their trade. (pp. 424-427) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
A. War, slavery, and social advancement
1. Conquest created the need for a larger Ottoman army and administration
a. Army and administration composed of slaves
2. Slaves were critical to Ottoman upper class
a. Provided status
b. Household servants and administrators
3. Slaves obtained through conquest and from the Ottoman empire itself
4. Some people would rather live as slaves than as poor peasants
5. Child slavery—helping to pay the “child tax”
6. Little social stigma associated with slavery
7. Muslims prohibited from enslaving other Muslims
a. Elite positions in Ottoman government held by slaves
b. Paradox—Muslims were excluded from social and political advancement
8. Power in the Ottoman empire open to men of talent and ability
a. Provided that they were slaves and not Muslims by birth
b. Commerce and business also in the hands of non-Muslims
c. Jews found a welcome refuge from the persecutions of medieval Europe
B. Atlantic colonization and the growth of slavery
1. Major slave markets were in Muslim hands
2. Few early fifteenth-century slaves were Africans
3. Most were European Christians (Poles, Ukrainians, Greeks, and Bulgarians)
4. Mid-fifteenth-century Lisbon as major slave market for enslaved Africans
5. 150,000 African slaves imported into Europe by 1505
a. Regarded as status symbols
b. Slaves mostly used in sugar mills (Madeira and the Canaries)
Many people also willingly accepted slavery since they believed they would be better off as a slave in Constantinople than a poor peasant in the countryside. There was also relatively little social stigma attached to slavery. The vast majority of slaves were Christians since Muslims could not enslave other Muslims. Power in the army and administration of the Ottoman empire was open to men of talent and ability, provided they were slaves and non-Muslims by birth. Commerce and business remained in the hands of slaves as well. (p. 417-419)
Ottoman Slavery Social system of using Christian slave labor for domestic, administrative, and military work that permitted social advancement and religious diversity within the Muslim empire. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
a. Sugar production (Caribbean)
i. Imported African slaves
ii. Sugar plantations fell into the hands of a few wealthy planters |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
What was the impact of New World silver on the European economy?
Author Answer: The Spanish discovery of vast silver deposits at Potosí in Bolivia by the mid-16th century brought a massive influx of silver into Spanish hands. New developments in mining techniques made it possible to extract even greater quantities of silver. The influx of New World silver into Europe exacerbated inflation that had been driven by population growth, an expanding economy, and a fixed supply of food. The result was "the Price Revolution." Between 1500 and 1600 Spanish prices doubled twice. High prices undermined the competitiveness of Spanish industries and by the 1630s, the Spanish economy collapsed. Lesser amounts of silver flowed into Europe after 1600 but prices continued to remain high, sometimes five or six times their level in 1500. The consequences were social dislocation, widespread misery for millions, and living standards fell. (pp. 430-432)
Profitable product of mining which prompted thousands of fatalities among indigenous workers and disastrous inflation in Europe called "the Price Revolution." |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
1. Effects of the influx of silver
a. Exacerbated European inflation
b. The “Price Revolution”
i. Spain affected most acutely
ii. Spanish prices doubled twice between 1500 and 1600)
iii. Undermined the competitiveness of Spanish industries
Spanish economy collapsed (1620s/30s)
Question 4: What was the impact of New World silver on the European economy?
Author Answer: The Spanish discovery of vast silver deposits at Potosí in Bolivia by the mid-16th century brought a massive influx of silver into Spanish hands. New developments in mining techniques made it possible to extract even greater quantities of silver. The influx of New World silver into Europe exacerbated inflation that had been driven by population growth, an expanding economy, and a fixed supply of food. The result was "the Price Revolution." Between 1500 and 1600 Spanish prices doubled twice. High prices undermined the competitiveness of Spanish industries and by the 1630s, the Spanish economy collapsed. Lesser amounts of silver flowed into Europe after 1600 but prices continued to remain high, sometimes five or six times their level in 1500. The consequences were social dislocation, widespread misery for millions, and living standards fell. (pp. 430-432) |
|
|
Term
| The Conquest of Constantinople |
|
Definition
A. The conquest of Constantinople
1. Ottoman dynasty established as the leading family among Anatolian border lords
2. Extended their control all the way to the Danube (1370)
3. Ottomans attack Constantinople (1396, 1402)
a. Mehmet II conquers Constantinople (1453)
b. An enormous psychological shock to Europe
c. Minor economic impact
i. Europe got most of its spices and silks through Venice
4. Effects
a. Ottoman conquest did not force the Portuguese to establish new trade routes
b. Ottoman attempts to control Egyptian grain trade
c. Modest effects on Europe
d. New wealth poured into Ottoman society
e. Ottomans become a naval power in eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea |
|
|
