THE RISE OF THE ATLANTIC WORLD,

1400-1625

Ch. 1: I can. . . describe how trade and political

centralization transformed West Africa before the advent of the Atlantic Slave Trade.

describe the role the Columbian Exchange played in the formation of the Atlantic world.

identify and explain the difference between the various colonial footholds in North America (Spanish, French, English, and Dutch)

AFRICA AND EUROPEANS PEOPLES

Mediterranean Crossroads

The confluence of African, Asian, and European people since ancient times West African gold; European guns;

Indian spices Med. Commerce was closely

intertwined with religion and politics

Christians felt hemmed in by Muslims who possessed superior wealth, power, and technology

Crusaders had suffered bloody and humiliating loses in attempts to capture Jerusalem

Europe felt the Muslim power came from their control of lucrative trade routes

Europeans sought a way around the Muslim merchants and Turkish tax collectors

The development of the printing press expanded reading and also the stories of exploration (Marco Polo)

And after Isabella and Ferdinand completed the reconquista by seizing Granada in 1492 they began to look westward This also opened the western

mouth of the Mediterranean

West Africa and Its Peoples

The major arena of long-distant travel and trade was the trans-Saharan caravan trade

Gold became the standard for nearly all European currencies

New African states emerged to take advantage of exporting gold

European Culture and Society

By 1500 accumulated wealth was able to pay for magnificent architecture, paintings, etc., all commissioned by government

Strong national monarchs in France, England, and Spain

However, most Europeans (75%) were peasants

Doubling of the population: From 55 mil. In 1450 to 100 mil. In 1600

Enclosure movement converted land to private property, created wonderers

European towns were numerous yet small – around a few thousand

The joint-stock company was formed – the ancestor to the modern corporation – and a new economic outlook of profit and acquisition of wealth (unimpeded) This replace the old form of

reciprocity: a just price and a reasonable profit This had been important in the business

relationship

The chief economic entity was the family

The nuclear family served as a “little commonwealth” With specific ideas of

sovereignty and roles People not with their

families were viewed with suspicion

Europe was recovering from the Black Death which had killed 1/3 of the population

Religious Upheavals Most of 16th Century Europe adhered

to Christianity However, there were fears of witches

and magic The Catholic Church wielded

awesome spiritual power and offered indulgences

This provoked challenges, especially Martin Luther and John Calvin Luther stressed faith and Calvin insisted

upon Predestination

Luther’s “priesthood of all believers” insisted on the importance of the layperson and reading

The Reformation in England, 1533-1625

Henry VIII desire for a male heir Creation of the Church of England,

which then for the next 100 yrs. struggles between degrees of “Catholicism” and acceptance of Puritan views.

These Puritans (both Separatists and Non-Separatists) become influential in the settling of America

EUROPE AND THE ATLANTIC WORLD,

1440-1600

Portugal and the Atlantic, 1400-1600

The first out of the gate, the first to overcome impediments to long-distant trade Adoption of the triangular Arab sail Create the caravel – more

maneuverable against the wind Mastering the compass and

astrolabe Renaissance scholars search more

accurate readings of ancient texts

The goal was to circumvent the Moroccan control of the African gold trade topple Muslim power

Discovering the Canaries, Azores, and Madeiras was the first step A place to test weapons, settlement

and slavery As well, the first example of pestilence Assimilation and intermarriage

enveloped the few survivors The colonists cleared the forests

(domesticated plants and animals) for profitable export

By the time of Prince Henry the Navigator died in 1460 Portugal had established itself in Arguin and south of the Sahara (modern day Mauritania), established through treaties with African rulers

In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias had reached the Cape of Good Hope

A decade later da Gama had reached India

The profits keep rolling in and the expeditions continue

The conquest and transformation of the Atlantic islands prepared for the discovery, invasion, and remaking of the Americas.

Both Portuguese and the Spanish learned how to organize and sustain prolonged oceanic voyages. Weapons, mounted men, war dogs,

exploitation of indigenous rivalries, disease, slave usage

It was their first profitable exploitation

The “New Slavery” and Racism

Institution took two basic forms Ten to fifteen slaves given for a

Berber horse Guns traded to the Africans

exacerbated conflict amongst Africans

Differences in this New Slavery Magnitude Dehumanization Race as a factor

Europeans Reach America, 1492-1541

Coupled with Columbus’s religious fervor and ambition for wealth and glory, Ferdinand and Isabella sought to break the Portuguese monopoly on direct trade with Asia

What had deterred Europeans was not “falling off the Earth,” it was the inability to carry supplies; however Columbus underestimated the voyage to Indian

Three ships, about 90 men and 33 days later Columbus hits the Bahamas

Thanks to the new printing press, the word of Columbus’s discovery spread rapidly

Columbus was offered a tenth of the profits and a goal to convert the Indians

This success also brought about the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494

Upon his second voyage he found the Taino had killed the 39 men that were left

This was pretext for war, captives, and slaves

Treaty of Tordesillas

Hispaniola 2/3 of the colonists died in the

first decade But the Taino suffered far worse

From 300,000 in 1492 To 33,000 in 1510 To 500 in 1548

Although not genocidal in intent- the Spanish actually wanted the Taino for slaves- the colonization was genocidal in effect

Ignoring the Treaty, Henry VII sent John Cabot (Italian) to explore the north Atlantic in 1497

1500 – Portuguese claim Brazil America is named 1513 – Balboa crosses the

Isthmus to see the Pacific 1519 – Magellan makes it to

the Philippines

Epidemics These hit every region from the

American southwest, Pacific Northwest to eastern Canada and New England In 1793 beaches of the PNW were

littered with skulls and bones and saw the faces of survivors pocked with scars

Repeated and diverse epidemics provided little opportunity for natives to repopulate

Between 2-10 million Native Americans in the future U.S. and Canada in 1492

It was an uneven exchange Europeans got venereal syphilis

The Europeans died in far greater numbers when they tried to colonize sub-Saharan Africa Yellow fever and malaria

Why did the Native Americans not have these types of diseases? Subarctic trek Scattered population

All in a village got sick at the same time, and therefore no one could care for the sick

Smallpox New diseases also sapped

morale Leaders were no match for the

outsiders It destroyed kinship Many turned to the God of those

that brought the disease

Three factors helped develop powerful pathogens in the Old World Long-distance trade and invasions

Larger pool of potential hosts and constant exchange and mutation

Urbanization Crowded population kept diseases cycling More garbage and excrement More vermin

Living among domesticated animals Cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses Natives only domesticated the dog (which

rarely shares diseases with humans)

The colonizers did not necessarily champion the death; they needed the natives for labor

Beginning in 1518, slaves begin to be transported in larger numbers to Hispaniola

Prior to 1820, at least 2/3 of the 12 million emigrants (Old to the New World)were slaves

From 1492 to 1800: proportion of the world’s population European: 11% to 20% Native America: 7% to 1%

Contrast this with Africa African tropical diseases actually

harmed the Europeans European colonists took over, but

only amidst conquered minorities

By 1800 in America Indians – 600,000 Euro-Americans – 5 million African-Americans– 1 million

Food European population surges due to

an increased supply of nutrients Comparison of the indigenous crops

Average yield in calories per hectare (2.5 acres) New World: Cassava 9.9; maize 7.3;

potatoes 7.5 Old World: wheat 4.2; barley 5.1; oats 5.5

In Europe it had taken five acres of grain to support one family; with potatoes five acres supported three families

What the exchange meant for Europeans. Expanded food supply permitted

reproduction at a unprecedented rate

Acquisition of fertile and extensive new lands

Outlet for surplus population that flowed to the New World

Ecological Imperialism Determined to farm in a European

manner, they introduced their domesticated livestock and plants

Livestock Honeybees, pigs, horses, mules, sheep, cattle

(rats) Plants

Wheat, barley, rye, oats, grasses, grapevines (weeds)

Ranging cattle and pigs wreaked havoc on the America landscape

258 of the approximately 500 weeds species in the U.S. originated in the Old World

Spain’s Conquistadors, 1492-1536

The Columbian Exchange

FOOTHOLDS IN NORTH AMERICAN, 1512-1625

Spain’s Northern Frontier, 1512-1625

France: Initial Failures and Canadian Success, 1541-1610

England and the Atlantic World, 1558-1603

The Beginnings of English Colonization, 1603-1625

New England Begins, 1614-1625

The Enterprising Dutch, 1609-1625