LECTURE 8 HST 111 9 24 12 CLASS NOTES Voyages of discovery One of the key developments of the Renaissance was an increased knowledge of the world Another key development was technological advances especially in maps and navigation Many voyages are individual enterprises but are financed by governments and states exploration is a government business Three words God glory gold For a long time Europeans were confined in Europe Most Europeans were concerned domestically Ferdinand Magellan was an adventurer who traveled outside of Europe Magellan was convinced he could find a sea passage to Asia through America and convinced the King of Spain to finance a voyage In August 1519 Magellan set out on the Atlantic with 5 ships Initially set sail down the coast of South America In October 1520 Magellan found the strait Strait of Magellan but it was near South America Sailed into the Pacific and named it ran out of food Eventually reached the Philippines named after King Philip of Spain who financed the voyage where Magellan died One ship returned to Spain in 1521 Magellan known as the first to circumnavigate the globe These voyages started European power throughout the world In the islands of Southeast Asia Europeans took over 1500 1800 is the pure period of European power and energy of Western Civilization Countries that had an Atlantic Sea coast were raised to power the Atlantic became the center of commercial activity This expansion helped transform Europe from a rural economy to a commercial and industrial capitalist system For 1000 years Catholicism was bounded in Europe with little attempt to expand Trying to expand in the Crusades was a failure However goods from Asia and Africa were found in medieval homes so Europe was not all isolated Why did Europe suddenly break out First reason economic Merchants adventurers and governments had high hopes of finding precious metals and new areas of trade Specifically they wanted direct access to the spices of the East It was all about material gain Second reason religion In Spain and Portugal there was a crusading mentality Economic motivations were still more important than religious ones but there was still a desire to convert people to Christianity How were these voyages possible The Renaissance saw the rise of powerful centralized monarchy so they controlled the voyages By the second half of the 15th century countries like Spain and Portugal had become so powerful they could turn their attention abroad The French started off by invading Italy France was still thinking in medieval mindset Portugal was a small state on the Atlantic seaboard right next to Spain and was not powerful or rich as a result could not invade So they turned attention abroad Only Spain was powerful enough to expand in Europe and abroad The 14th century was an age of mapmaking By the end of the 15th century Europeans had reasonable maps of the world Key factor Ptolemy Map printed in 15th century but written in 2nd century Ptolemy was an ancient astronomer Europe was able to develop more seaworthy ships These ships could carry lots of cargo One of the most crucial factors to know in exploration is the patterns of wind Portugal attempted to dominate all the trade with Southeast Asia Port of Lisbon became extremely busy Portugal created a vast trade empire throughout Southeast Asia not a colonizing one Spain was a big rival of Portugal Spain set up trade with Asia and colonies The Dutch attacked the Portuguese and took over control of colonies Key Points Motivation God greed glory Importance of centralized monarchy Advances in technology More accurate maps Wealth leads to expansion leads to wealth Importance of luxury items not only gold and silver but also spices ginger etc