HISTORY NOTES FOR 1301 Exam 1 Notes TEST 1 HIST 301 LECT 1 FROM THROUGH SPANISH CONQUEST Vikings Vikings lived in today present Scandinavia Norway Sweden Finland violent people for the most part Vikings were also called Norsemen Vikings wrote nothing down 1940 1950 archeologists found at the Vikings were in the Western Hemisphere 500 years before Columbus 950 AD Vikings liked to attack monasteries Vikings settled in 3 areas not in Europe Iceland Greenland and Newfoundland Greenland 982 Vinland 1000 Iceland Shetland Island York 820 FaroerIsland Dublin 795 Scandinavia 793R hin e Normandy 911 860 Staraya Lagoda 820 D niester Danube Novgorod Kiev 854 882 Dniepper D o n Volga 880 941 Miklagard 839 AtlanticOcean 844 could have potentially been a driving factor in their abandoning of their settlements Two important names of leaders Leif Ericson and Eric the Red Crusades and European Life Don t know why they went and we don t know why they stopped Diseases Crusades years but were spread out attempt to take back the holy land of Jerusalem from the Muslims 11th 12th and 13th centuries popes order armies to open the desire for exploration The crusades took place for 300 attack Jerusalem excommunicate any leaders or kings who would not help fund or raise armies for the crusades Roman Catholic was the first ORGANIZED religion pope cardinal bishop etc Sometimes during the 300 year span there was no fighting and Muslims had conversations with Christians this lead to trade and many serfs brought back gems silk and dyes and perfumes which were very pungent spices such as nutmeg cloves and PEPPER worth more than gold Life in Europe was difficult middle class was basically non existent Rome looted and burned several times Popes go to prominent kings prince s and leaders to try and raise the armies Popes would Two classes were present in Europe Serfs very poor and Lord of the manor people own vast stretches of land in Europe serfs worked the land MOST people stayed in their class for their whole life Serfs lived in small huts on the lord s land most huts had thatch roofs VERY basic homes Average life expectancy for serfs was 30 years old Diet was consistent of root crops potatoes carrots onions etc Drinks were mostly water sometimes milk Serfs didn t bathe as they thought dirt shielded against disease Lords lived in homes made of stone and were nicely built Luxury compared to serfs Feasts were common in Lords homes in their halls Lords drank Meade brewski is the oldest alcoholic beverage wine is second Lords bathed more than serfs most bathtubs made of copper Explorers Marco Polo from Italy heard about wealth of china made several trips 4 trips to China legend that he killed 60 Chinese warriors bull loney Brought back silk spices and pasta GUNPOWDER also gets brought back and its revolutionary rich Printing press Invented by Guttenberg Christianity makes bibles cheaper and more accessible German Helps spread Ships Ships now grow larger and can carry horses and more supplies powered by sails Compass is invented at this time National Unity stability at home no civil strife equals more money for other things such as Exploration Begins to increase Portugal First Nation to actively engage in exploration Lisbon is the capital The leader was Prince Henry 1430 1460 the navigator large advocate of sailing Prince Henry is advised to explore the western coast of Africa He agrees and they begin exploring and spreading Christianity they bring back gold timber mahogany especially Ivory Henry has another cabinet meeting years later and is advised to partake in the slave trade He says NO Because the Catholic Church was against slavery Years later Henry has another meeting and he is advised again to try participating in slavery his cabinet says that because these people aren t Christian they could buy some of them and convert them along with using them as slaves Henry decides that this is a good idea he contacts the pope and the pope approves of the idea Pope and Henry make money Spain split into two factions 1 Lead by Isabella and 2 Lead by Ferdinand Civil war between each faction They agree to stop the war and they actually get married Now that the fighting is over they can focus on exploration Christopher Columbus is going to sail for them even though he is from Italy He was a very intelligent well spoken man and knew everything about sailing Born in 1451 and dies in 1506 Columbus objective is to go to India in search of silk gold and spices Columbus also believed in the theory that the world was round and he can sail west to go east and India Christopher Columbus went to Portugal for money and they say no He then tried the French and they were not interested Columbus was desperate for someone to finance his proposed adventure He had friends who helped him obtain a meeting with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain Christopher was told no by Ferdinand but Isabella said come meet with her privately and Chris did in the evening It was rumored that Columbus and Isabella had a romantic affair and Isabella sold some of her jewels to fund his expedition This story is only a rumor but could be true Columbus got three ships cargo ships named them total crew members Columbus starts in Spain and goes south to the Canary Islands rather than sailing due west to avoid the Portuguese navy that was planning on destroying the Spanish ships The tactic works and the Portuguese lose interest in Columbus ships In the Canary Islands he loads up on supplies and then sails west across the Atlantic and lands in the Bahamas The crew men become extremely impatient as Columbus thought it would only take two weeks they start running low on food and begin eating rats Crew all meet together and want to turn back Columbus guarantees that in 3 days they will find India 3 days later they find India its the Bahamas Specifically he lands in the area that later became Haiti and The Dominican Republic Columbus calls the natives Indians as he thought he landed there The natives bring the Spaniards food and flowers The most important thing that is brought back to Spain is CORN Europeans had never eaten corn or sweet potatoes There was no gold or rare spices but some of the agricultural crops especially CORN would be worth more than gold in the future Columbus believed he was on islands off the coast of India When Columbus returned he is given the title Admiral of the Seas One of Columbus s ships gets damaged in the Bahamas and he decides to