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4. Transoceanic Interconnections

1450-1750

4.1 Technological innovations

ship design, navigation, mapmaking

Portuguese caravel: lighter, faster, highly maneuverable

navigation

currents in Atlantic Ocean are fixed (unlike monsoons)

Europeans mapped the wind currents as well as water currents

gunpowder combined with ironwork = guns and cannons

Ships

Old

Arab dhow

designed for Indian Ocean sailing

not for long distances

Chinese junk

large, flat bottom

carried lots of tribute gifts and cargo

New

caravel

smaller than junk

could access rivers, coastal waters

2 sets of sails

square: speed

lateen: maneuverability

fluyt

16th-century Dutch cargo ship

could carry twice the cargo for half the price and crew

1670: half of all European sea trade

carrack

15th century

3-4 masts

traded along African coast, Asia, Americas

example: Columbus’s Santa Maria

Early innovations

astrolabe

innovation from House of Wisdom

allowed sailors to determine latitude

compass

Chinese (from Han Dynasty 206 BCE)

later adopted by Europeans in 13th

allowed sailors to determine their position by using Earth as a magnet

lateen sail

early evidence suggests it was used in the Mediterranean as early as 2nd

allowed sailors to catch winds from both sides of the ship

made it easier for boats to travel in different directions, travel in large bodies of water

European discovery of naval technology

learned about naval technology from preservation of Greek knowledge combined with knowledge from House of Wisdom and Asian technology

al-Andulus (southern-most part of Spain) was formerly under Islamic rule; was a European capital of social and cultural exchange

Wind patterns

astronomical chart

map of stars and galaxies that sailors used to guide ships

increased trade and expansion as a result

1600s: scholars began using telescopes to create charts

resulted in increased accuracy for maritime travel

prevailing winds

understanding of winds was crucial to European maritime exploration

fixed year-round (unlike Indian Ocean monsoons)

⁠

Summary

before this period, many of the voyages that Europeans took would have been impossible

Europeans built on the knowledge of the travelers from Unit 2 (Networks of Exchange)

the most important things they picked up were astrolabes (Islamic) and trade wind maps to know how/when to get from place to place

Europeans disrupted trade networks around the globe

Europeans become major power of world

4.2 Causes and events

European disadvantages

inferior trade position

resentment from having to use Muslim intermediaries for access to Asian goods

looked towards Atlantic Ocean for better route to Indian Ocean trade

religious concerns

Catholic missionaries sought to expand Christendom (Reformation)

persecuting minorities (Protestants) sought religious freedom

competition over trade/territory

Venice held monopoly on trade in Mediterranean

other European states resented Venice’s wealth and power

Ottoman Empire encroaching into Europe

losing territory (and Christians) to Muslim empires

land = power

European advantages

government sponsorship

Portugal

Prince Henry the Navigator

financed expeditions around Africa to find a sea route to Indian Ocean

wanted to expand Portugal and Christendom

Bartholomeu Dias

sailed to and discovered Cape of Good Hope (Africa, 1488)

opened way for European ships to sail to Asia by circumnavigating Africa

Vasco de Gama sailed to India (1498)

Spain

Columbus tried to find a route to the “Indies”, arrived in Caribbean (1492)

Ferdinand Magellan

first recorded expedition to circumnavigate the globe (1519-1522)

did not survive entire journey

irrefutable evidence that Earth is round

landed in Philippines

John Cabot (English)

sponsored under King Henry VII to find westward route to Asia

ended up in the New World

instrumental in initiating English exploration and colonization in North America

Henry Hudson (English; initially sponsored by Dutch)

driven to find northwest passage to Asia

claimed Hudson River for Dutch in what is claimed as New Amsterdam (New York)

later worked under various trading companies

Jacques Cartier (French)

explored North America, particularly Canada

claimed Canada for France

advanced France’s exploration, claims, colonization of parts of North America

Summary

Europeans had new navigational technology (4.1)

Spain and Portugal went first, splitting the world with the Treaty of Tordesillas (Brazil and rest of Americas respectively)

new: British, Dutch, French

trading post empires: not massive, just along coast

arrivals accompanied by death, disease, genocide

4.3 Columbian Exchange

Transfer between Eurasia, Africa, Americas

New World → Old World

crops

maize, potato, cassava, sweet potato (highly caloric)

tomato, capsicum, cacao, tobacco (become culturally important)

diseases/medicines: syphilis, quinine (used to treat malaria)

innovation: rubber

Old World → New World

crops: wheat, rice, sugar, coffee, fruits (grew well in New World soil)

domesticated animals

horse, cow, pig, sheep

upset ecological balance, ate/destroyed native crops

major changes to indigenous cultures (horses)

diseases: smallpox, influenza, typhus, malaria

impact favors Europeans

cheap crops fueled European population growth

60 million (1400) → 390 million (1900)

American colonies provide space for excess population

wealth of colonies sparked Industrial Revolution

The Great Dying

natives lacked immunity to European diseases

90% of indigenous population killed by disease

sometimes even before European arrival

impact

allowed Europeans to easily conquer and quickly outnumber

forests regrew; animal populations rebounded from hunting

shortage of labor: Europeans turned to African slave trade

Summary

Old World and New World met for first time

exchange stuff

not an event, just exchange

disease, livestock for Native Americans

caloric foodstuffs for Afro-Eurasians

4.4 Maritime empires established

Slavery before the New World

Trans-Saharan trade provided slaves to Middle East and Indian Ocean

operated within the Islamic World

southern Russia: Slav was basis for “slave” in English

slavery came in many forms

Rome: slaves earned freedom, became politicians and business owners

Egyptian Mamluk: slaves became rulers

Indian Habshis: slaves became military strategists

Islamic world: female slaves preferred as domestic servants

slave status sometimes inherited, sometimes not

Slavery in the New World

most slaves came from West, Central Africa

12-15 million over 400 years

80% of slaves (mostly male) sent to sugar colonies in Brazil, Caribbean

chattel slavery: slaves were legally property, not humans

slavery became associated with race (African) for the first time

status as slave was inherited across generations

Atlantic Slave Trade

Why Africa

Europeans cut off from Slavic slaves by Ottoman expansion

Pope gave permission for Christians to enslave non-Christians

indigenous peoples of Americas killed off by diseases

European indentured servants were expensive and temporary

Middle Passage

second segment of the Triangle Trade (80 days long)

packed ships to maximize profits

male slaves chained together to keep from jumping overboard

special nets to catch any that decided to jump together

kept below decks in specially-built holds; crammed together

mortality rate: 14%

disease

starvation

dysentery (infectious viral diarrhea)

whipping

occasional executions

Effects

some African nations prosper (initially)

Asante (West Africa), Kongo (central Africa) were largest source of slaves

conquered neighboring tribes, sold slaves to Europeans in exchange for firearms, European goods, alcohol

disrupted most African societies

sex ratio imbalance

labor demands on women increased

economic stagnation

4.4-4.5 Maritime empires established and maintained

Portugal

Europe sought more trade with Asia

most trade went through Muslim middlemen, Venice

Portugal was first to seek alternative trade routes

Bartolomeu Dias (1488): sailed to Cape of Good Hope (southern tip of Africa)

Vasco da Gama (1498): sailed up coast of East Africa to India

interested in spice trade: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, pepper

Portugal sought to dominate trade in Indian Ocean by force

caravel ships were faster and better armed than merchant ships

developed a trading post empire (controlled commerce, not land)

4.1 Technological innovations

European discovery of naval technology

Wind patterns

Summary

4.2 Causes and events

European disadvantages

European advantages

Summary

4.3 Columbian Exchange

Transfer between Eurasia, Africa, Americas

The Great Dying

Summary

4.4 Maritime empires established

Slavery before the New World

Slavery in the New World

4.4-4.5 Maritime empires established and maintained

Portugal

Spain

Treatment of Filipino population

4.5-4.7 Maritime empires maintained and developed; internal and external challenges to state power; changing social hierarchies

Spanish Americas

Economics

Social structures

Economics of sugar colonies

Settler colonies of North America

British America (Virginia)

French Caribbean (Saint-Domingue)

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