mythical leader of mythical far-away land of a Christian Kingdom; part of Crusader mentality, extend Christendom to challenge spread of Islam --> find Christian kingdom in new world

[Vasco da Gama carried letter addressed to Prester John]

*Theory: Africans didn't go up to Mediterranean but went Across Atlantic frequently, ever earlier than others

Evidence: Mansa Musa reign: mentions predecessor who left Mali w/ fleet "across the sea" in 200 vessels

Trade winds vs. Westerlies

Trade winds: blow E->W on bottom

Westerlies: blow W->E on top

"Return through the sea", not by hugging the coast like usual

Result of breakthrough technology of maritime compass which allowed latitude measurements by monitoring prevailing winds

island, generally uninhabited, part of group of islands used as crucial stepping stones to crossing Atlantic

Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494 made line of demarcation to extend Spanish territory 320 mi W of Cape Verde islands

island, colonial blueprint for the Americas

Indigenous population: Guanche

indigenous population of Canary Islands, neolithic hunter-gatherers, mostly eradicated (resisted Euros but succumbed to Euro disease) b/c 0% immunity to Euro diseases e.g.Smallpox

Light-skinned, possibly related to Berbers of N.Africa

Portuguese prince, patron of exploration

encouraged amritime exploration & trade, fascinated by "Prester John", virtuous

One of his navigators discovered Azores & passed Cape Bojador (south)

Economic: withdrawal of Ming presence in Indian ocean network (1435), African Gold Trade (financial means for funding further expeditions), Portugal's limited resources (not wealth/powerful)

Religious: Ottoman Hegemony in E. Mediterranean (hostile Islamic power makes trade mroe difficult, persistent crusader mentality to counter spread of Islam

Portuguese explorer, marked ominous beginnings of exploration/established atmosphere

Went to Mozambique, Malindi, Calicut (used aggressive to tactics to take control)

D'Almeida: Portuguese nobleman/explorer - credited with establishing Portuguese hegemony in Indian Ocean

Kilwa: D'A offended by small gifts - bombs city & pillages, parading Christianity

Mombasa: encountered more resistance than in Kilwa, pillaged & each allowed to keep 20% of what they found; high casualties

Strait of Hormuz: 1508 naval battle w/ Safavids

1510: Portugal's 2nd capital at Indian city of Goa where Da Gama is appointed Viceroy

1st example of Euro colonialism

Demonstrates method of Portuguese rule: persecution fo local Muslims & gnostics

Teach lessons through excessive means

Goa=Portugal's 2nd capital in India; Da Gama was the viceroy - harsh rule

Incident: Portuguese killed in Calicut, retaliate with abduction of 800 Muslim sailors, cut off hands, ears, nose, etc

issued by Don Afonso d'Alboquerque for all entering & leaving "choke points"

W/o passes, cargo can be confiscated & cut off hands of all people on board

Portuguese historian on Portuguese rule in Asia (India)

SEcretary of Afonso d'Alboquerque, possibly murdered by Da Gama's son in Malacca

[by end of 16th century]

Conflicting interests at home: religious & commercial

Resurgence of Islamic power:

-Sultanate of Oman

-Shah Abbas

Fringe elements of Spanish society, not wealthy country at the time

Lower nobles, mainly hollow titles --> hungry for gold, land & status

Felt desperate, isolated, & outnumbered in Americas - no reinforcement

Psychology of desperation = nothing to lose

-->took outrageous

Aztec woman who helped Spanish, pivotal role

Translator & informant, lover of Cortes

(gave birth to 1st of Mestizo)

leader of the Spanish conquistadors, captured Tenochtitlan in 1519

Capital lost under Alvarado, captured again in 1521 upon his return

leader of the Aztecs upon Cortes' arrival

[viewed as possibly fatalist, passive]

Welcomed Cortes as equal: ill-fated hospitality

Tried to avoid confrontation by giving them what the want - Gold (<- mistake)

-fed Spanish greed & incentive

captured last sovereign emperor of Inca Empire (Atahualpa), used to control Inca Empire

Executed Atahualpa to end Inca Empire

last sovereign emperor of Inca Empire after defeating older half-brother in civil war following death of father from smallpox

Met Francisco Pizarro who captured & executed him

use of effective intimidation/extortion to exact tributes from neighboring conquered peoples

system largely dependent on continuous conquest, earned resentment of neighbors

Political mechanism to hold onto authority

relgiious spectacle to display power, political mechanism for holding onto authority, also believed that Gods fed on sacrifice (Sun God)

vicious cycle: weakening empire made them sacrifice more people, which further weakened the empire

Sahagun=missionary of Aztecs

Described Festival of Huitzilopochtli where Pedro Alvarado slaughtered everyone in ritual out of fear & Resistance led by Cuanthtemoc where they took back city & restored capital Aztec rule (temp.)

Originally portrayed Aztecs as passive/fatalistic until Sahagun)

Moctezuma's successor whose resistance was detailed in Sahagun's account

Took back city & restored Tenochtitlan to Aztec rule temporarily

Spaniard left in charge by Cortes, got nervous during festival of Huitzilopochtli (according to Sahagun's account) & compelled to slaughter everyone in ritual

Slaughter provoked Aztecs to rise up

led by Cortes, naval siege [city built on a lake]

Cortes determined weakness of water - capital surrounded to cut off mainland access

turned tide in favor of Cortes when people were starving & dying

Decisive factor leading to demographic catastrophe (impact of disease in americas)

Spaniards acquired permanent control

Americas previously isolated = 0 immunity to old world diseases

-Peru: lost 70% pop

-Mexico lost 90% pop

Conversion: natives were "noble savages" vs. Africans

their souls were conducive for conversion

Requested royal charter for protection of native Americans

Set up self-sustaining communities to provide livelihoods (missions)

Champion of cause: Bartolome de las Casas

account of Spanish atrocities assoc with De Las Casas account corroborating those stories

Forced Spanish crown to respond

champion of missionary cause

Most vocal of missionaries, condemned conquistadors

wrote Short Account of the Destruciton of the Indies

-graphic descriptions of Spanish cruelty

-wrote appeal addressed to King Philip II of Spain

Economic exploitation to exact gold & wealth for the Spanish crown using such systems as Encomiendas

-objected to by Missionaries

"provisional trusteeship" granted to Conquistadors

-gave right to conscript local labor [temp]

-must provide minimal admin in areas (taxes, courts, etc)

-assure crown that lives/properties of subjects would be safeguarded

-->ABUSE of power: harsh treatment, overworking

Led to Spanish Compromise

[One measure for monitoring Encomiendas]

-university trained officials sent as record-keepers

-sent to regulate tax-collection, imposed labor, etc

-respresent natives in court (e.g. against Juan Ponce)

[most drastic measure to monitor Encomiendas]

-crown assumed full jurisdiction of all remaining natives/laborers

accused of mistreatment/treachery towards his laborers

-taken to trial in court

So much silver that it 3x volume of global trade silver

"American silver lubricated global economy" - Bentley

-geopolitcial advantages of owning silver mines

-Spain had deal with spread of Ottoman Empire with costly battles

*finally provided Euros (Spanish) w/ commodity that Chinese wanted

-Implemented Mercantilism

-to become powerful, must have favorable trade balance in gold & silver

-willing to exploit human/natural resources in colonies

-confine trade relationships to home country & colonies

-don't allow free trade -->monopolies

-claime 20% (quinto) of all silver

-monopoly over mercury mines in Huancavelica, key ingredient for refining silver

[*explains Spain's lucrative enterprise]

-flota system: annual state-controlled convoys between Spain & colonies

Monopolized by Spanish Crown

-mercury was key ingredient for refinign silver

*explains Spain's lucrative enterprise

annual state-controlled convoys between Spain & colonies

-each way 1x a year

200-300 large cargo ships per flota

Repartimiento: exportaiton of conscript labor

(similar to old Inca system: mita)

-crown claimed right to conscript 1/7 men from village in 4 month shifts

(most men didn't survive)

-contributed to attrition rate of native villages

-flee to mountains/missions to escape system, made Spanish crown persecute some missions & revoke charters; men accused of heresy

darker-skinned Virgin Mary: synthesis of Virgin Mary & Native American iconography

-represent Christin icon vs. Native idolatry

-most revered saint in Native society -> made Christianity more accesible

ideal location b/c sugar requires hot, wet climate e.g. Azores, Canary Islands, Madeiras, etc

-Portugal established 1st plantation society in Azores for sugar

-labor: 1st captured peoples - Guanche

established after arrival of Pedro Alvares Cabral (Portuguese)

-determined climate perfect for sugar cultivation, Brazil eclipsed islands as major sugar producer by mid-1500s

-increased demand for African slaves since most natives had died of disease

Plantations around Caribbean e.g. Martinique, Haiti, etc

-unique aspect of plantation societies

-investments came from Euro banking houses in Germany, Holland, or Belgium & transport from British/French (no 1 particular country involved in processes - ALL of EUROPE)

(industrial style)

not labor-intensive enterprises

-used replaceable slave labor instead of sustainable labor resources

-slave regarded more as replaceable machinery than humans (95% slaves crossing Atlantic worked in Caribbean/Brazil)

-found cheaper to replace slave b/c slave supply was abundant

-prohibition against slave households

[*for every ton sugar produced, 1 slave died] - cost efficient

-1st experiment w/ capital enterprises, premises of capitalism

slaves overthrew masters, 1st example in Americas; establisehd 2nd republic (after US) in W Hemisphere run by black slaves

-most traumatic event for Europe: affected source of profit & slave treatment worsened

wrote "Refinement of Cruelty" - accounts kidnapping, transport, slave life, freedom, graphic description of slave treatment & entire journey across

[exception: somehow able to buy his own freedom]

-one of most vocal voices of abolition movement

corroborates Equiano's accounts

-says slaves would rather die than make crossing to Americas

-tone of contempt for some of the practices (more enlightened than other captains): attempt to clear his own conscience, recognize AFricans' humanity

[ignorant/biased: believes slave life better than home in AFrica]

deaths of slaves & deaths from raids in villages forced AFrican society to eventually try replenish population

-permanently destabilized w. Coast; changed dynamics of tribal relations in AFrica

-locus of power inland 1st (Mali), shifted to coast where they're more militant, violent e.g. Dahomey, Oyo, Asante

Americas --> Europe --> AFrica

(ship routes)

Europe ->Africa: Euro goods e.g. guns & horses to trade for slaves

AFrica -> Americas: slaves sold for 2-3x cost in Africa

Americas->Europe: sugar, silver (later tobacco, cotton)

-fed Euro industrial revolution

-productive human resources exchanged for non-profit luxury items

-slave trade brings complete destruction of infrastructure in W. AFrica

-increasing reliance on violence to become powerful/wealthy

(long-term consequence: Africa we see today, led to myth of "Dark Continent")

N. Europe, though England & Portugal not hit as hard as Spain, Italy, etc

(Poland not hit b/c there aren't any trade routes through there)

-Florence lost 2/3 population

~50% European pop succumbed to plague

(gives sense of response to crisis)

-preemptive measures: municipal sanitation control, exclude foreigners, etc

-range of psychological responses: asceticism, hedonism, Epicureanism, etc (all useless)

-general lack of regard for each other (save yourself = survival)

-climate of hysteria & intolerance - Flagellants

theory rejected by Muslims (unlike Europeans), emphasize maintenance of community by enforcing the concept of helping community

-used Fatwas: decrees prohibiting flight & isolation for Muslims, forcing Muslims to care for plague victims

[note: society didn't crumble]

Vision of the Apocalypse

Belief that plague is all just part of Allah/God's plan

-part of natural cycle of existence (God's mystery)

fanatics whipping themselves

-trying to get rid of everyone's sins, took job upon themselves even though it was pointless

-created Violent atmosphere & channel for anti-semitism (Jews often singled out as scapegoats, blamed for poisoning wells)

Muslim decrees prohibiting flight & isolation for Muslims

-force Muslims to care for plague victims, support community

detractor lynched in Granada for disagreeing w/ Wardi's religious stance & rejection of Theory of Contagion

-believed in medical theories, proving the danger of spreading disease

(example of extreme measure taken to keep society intact - silencing detractors)

Muslim response like that of Ibn al-Wardi, believing there's no sense in finding explanations for plague

"God creates and recreates...it is God's will"

Believed there's no sense in finding explanations for plague - in state of "reverent resignation"

"God creates & recreates...it is God's will"

Result of declining returns for the nobility due to severe depopulation

-end to feudal system of nobles/serfs

-lower demand for grains, lower profits for producers

-forced nobles to make mroe concessions due to lower supply of laborers: demand to be paid in wages, later earn freedom

-led to mass migration from countryside -> cities

Rising wages for skilled artisans (more demand since so many died in plague): skilled artisans = former peasants

-people have more to spend since it's 1/2 pop w/ same wealth --> increased demand for luxury/manufactured goods, new consumption patterns, but w/ too few artisans

-peasants moved to cities to fill demand

Increased consumption to stimulate economy b/c people have more money to spend --> increased demand for luxury/manufactured goods

-contributed to rise of urban middle-class

Persecution emanates from Conditions in society

-case study: anti-semitism in Europe

-"innocuous" seeds of injustice; extent any society nurtures seeds of discrimination & prejudice in times of peace wil dictate how violently it responds when crisis emerges

Christian knights going to Jerusalem to save holy city harassed/killed Jews along the way e.g. Germany: forced suicides if they didn't convert, etc

*Rationalization: Christians blamed Jews for loss of holy land, working with Muslims, and allowing Moors to conquer Spain

Communal violence/mob violence targeted at Jews (sometimes in "Aljames", Jewish enclaves in Spain), fueled by rumors that Jews ahd poisoned Europe's wells & spurred by overall climate of hysteria created by flagellants

Evil = Jews in community

[during height of plague in Europe]

Jewish enclaves invaded by mobs in Barcelona (ex. Pogroms); 300+ Jews killed in 1 city; burned at stake, possessions/homes destroyed

-perpetrators of violence often targeted certain documetns [legal papers] to destroy evidence of debt

Spanish royalty forced to respond to violence targeted at Jews - royal concessions to Jewish victims:

-condemn attacks as diabolical & instructs clerks to reconstruct destroyed documents, but 1.5 years to late (futile task)

[symbolic rebuke rather than real improvement]

"protection" offered by nobles/royals which brought financial perks when Jews became property

e.g. King Philip Augustus expelled Jews in France (who were under his protection) & didn't let them keep their property - only allowed return if they paid for their own home

-allowed for royal extortion

King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella's victory against Muslims in Iberia (Granada), the last stronghold of independent Muslim states

-Defeat made Moors in Spain especially vulnerable to the domestic "crusade" against Islam

Issued ban on all things Arabic e.g. Arabic books, treasures, Moorish customs e.g. eating couscous, Berber music, rituals, etc

[not really against Islam, but against Moor culture - escalating cultural persecution]

-led to massive waves of forced conversions

Moors forced to convert to Christianity

-lead double life: Christian public, Muslim private

-Catch22 dilemma: lives NOT improved from converting b/c now they are subject to inquisition - tried as heretics

-deteriorating status: Moro-->Morisco

Rumor that Moors are licentious, they'd breed "like rabbits"; outnumber Christians in Spain

-called for eviction of Moors: city ordinance

-kept Moor children as servants/slaves

Result of escalating rumors of Moorish proclivities, called for eviction

-Moor children kept as servants/slaves

-Moors tried to go to N. Africa e.g. Morocco (but many can't afford); instead went to S. France - suffered further persecution

-dark legacy of ethnic cleansing in Spain

rumor that Jews are somehow practitioners of Satanic rituals

-use ashes of dead babies in rites of initiation or circumcision

-descrate Christian vessels

using blood in circumcision ritual

-only perceived as Jewish/Muslim tradition b/c Christians don't circumcise

3 Jewish brothers in small German town - outskirts of Hapsburg empire - tried for ritual murder of Christian family <-- targeted Jewish Community & extracted confession that they Wanted to hear

-resulted in Snowball Effect that started active persecution of Jews

conflict between empire & townships, where townships sought independence from Hapsburg rule

-townships rebuked by Emperor Fredrick III for trying Jews w/ sanction from empire

-townships saw Jews as pawns of empire imposed upon the common people

*Jews unfortunately caught between political struggle

Emperor of Hapsburgs who wrote letter to rebuke Karl of Baden (leader of townships)

-expresses dissatisfaction w/ proceeding sof trial & that Jews were wrongfully tried, warns against taking anymore action

[rebuke was political, not for justice]

Provisions allowing Muslims to break precepts if lives are threatened

-allowed for Muslim Moors to convert to Christianity b/c otherwise covnersion would be the ultimate sacriledge of Islam

False claims to make it appear as though there is a Jewish conspiracy; add false evidence e.g. Jews gave Christian family more milk to sleep more soundly & Jews sing loudly to muffle screams during ritual murder

-tag murder on entire Jewish community & Jews beyond the town (by claiming that Jews SOLD the blood to other Jews)

confession of last tortured brother under torture of Strappada

-what interrogators finally wanted to hear: Jews used blood for circumcision ritual, satisfactory motive b/c it's ubiquitous for all Jews, applicable to entire Jewish community

[no legal justification for punishment w/o ubiquitous proof]

-added to fabrication of conspiracy

"Jew Free", goal of Germans which would signal their growing independence from Hapsburg Empire

-perceived tolderance of jews in midst a symbol of political submission to the Hapsburgs to whom the Jews answered

-saw Jews as subservient to townships' enemy (Hapsburg)