Exploration and Expansion in the Age of Discovery
Political Causes:
The conquest of territories was an opportunity to acquire gold and silver to finance their rule as well as gain personal glory. It was a way to demonstrate their power over the medieval institutions.
Economic Causes:
The fall of Constantinople to the Turks (1453) had closed the traditional European trade route that brought supplies of spices, luxury products, silk, and precious stones from Asia. Therefore, to bring them to Europe, it was necessary to use a new route.
Scientific and Technical Causes:
During this period, books argued that the Earth was round; as a result, curious sailors considered it feasible to reach India or China by sailing westwards. Thanks to the widespread use of the compass and the improvement of the astrolabe, sea navigation improved. The development of cartography provided new world maps and portolan charts, which set out the location of ports and enabled ships to navigate without needing to keep the coast in sight. Besides, in Spain and Portugal, new types of ships were built, such as the caravel and the carrack.
Religious and Ideological Causes:
The peninsular kingdoms maintained their desire to fight against the infidel and to create alliances against them. There was also considerable interest in spreading Christianity to new lands. The cultural attitude of the era encouraged a thirst for adventure, fame, and wealth. Humanism and scholars were interested in checking the veracity of ancient texts and the accuracy of mathematical and astronomical methods.
Quadrant
It is an instrument to measure the sun’s height above the horizon at midday or the North Star at night. They were able to calculate which latitude they were in.
Portolan Charts:
There were maps that had a graphic scale and were marked with routes.
Compass
Instrument to look where the North is, it was used to check the direction of the ship when out at sea.
Astrolabe
Instrument that enables them to use the stars to measure distances and to check the ship’s latitude as well as the time.
Caravel
It was a lightweight vessel with three masts, enabling it to combine square and triangular sails and navigate even in adverse wind conditions. It also had a hold, which could carry plenty of supplies for long journeys.
Nocturnal
It was an instrument used to measure time at night and also the tides.
Bourgeoisie:
It was part of the Third State during the Estamental society that became very popular and powerful in the Modern Age due to the money they accumulated. They invested in businesses and produced greater profits. They also aspired to participate in government and criticized the privileges of the nobles and clergy.
Treaty of Tordesillas:
It is a document signed by the Portuguese and the Castilians under the supervision and approbation of the pope. This agreement established a frontier 370 leagues to the west of the Cape Verde Islands: the land located to the west of this line would belong to Castilla and those to the east, to Portugal.
Treaty of Alcaçovas:
It is a document signed by Portuguese and Castilians in 1479. The agreement guaranteed Castilla the right to conquer the Canary Islands, while Portugal was allowed to explore the African coast south of Cape Bojador.
Capitulations of Santa Fe:
It is the agreement signed between Christopher Columbus and the Catholic Monarchs in 1492 that allowed Columbus to travel to America. These agreements at the military encampment of Santa Fe on the edge of Granada, Isabella, and Ferdinand bestowed on Columbus the offices of viceroy, admiral, and governor in any newly found lands. Further, Columbus received the right to one-tenth the value of the sale of “pearls, precious stones, gold, silver, spices,” and other commodities. He was given the title of Don, and the capitulation was transferable to his heirs in perpetuity. In return, Columbus was to undertake the expedition, providing leadership and part of the funding.
Bartolomeu Dias
He was a navigator that rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1487.
Vasco Da Gama
He was a navigator that reached India by sailing along the African Coast. It permitted the Portuguese to found colonies and built forts to oversee the trade in Sudanese gold and slaves, and also monopolize the spice trade with India and the silk trade with China.
Vasco Nuñez de Balboa
He was a sailor who crossed the Isthmus of Panama and discovered the Southern Sea, which was later renamed the Pacific Ocean.
Magellan and El Cano
They were two sailors that completed the first voyage around the world and thereby demonstrated that the Earth was round.
Demographic Growth:
During the 15th and 16th centuries, population growth was favored by improved harvest, the eradication of the plague, and relative peace. However, the population increase was slow, as a result of the high death rate due to infectious diseases, the limited development in medical practice, and the lack of hygiene.
Economic Growth:
- Agrarian activities continued to account for most professional activity.
- The handicrafts sector avoided guild control by developing a system of homeworking, in which businesspeople provided the peasantry with raw materials and tools to make products at home.
- Trade grew as a result of geographical discoveries: trade routes were diversified and new products from America were incorporated.
- The emergence and early development of the capitalist economic system. At its outset, it was mercantilism or merchant capitalism, based on the accumulation of capital acquired from trade. The first banks were founded, both official ones (Taula de Canvi in Barcelona) and private ones (Fugger, Medici). There was also greater circulation of money, mercantile and banking operations were simplified, and the first trading companies were established.
Social Changes:
Although the society of three estates continued to exist, the economy developed more complex forms during the period. The nobility and the clergy accepted the increased power of the monarch; in return, they maintained both their economic power and privileges. The bourgeoisie grew wealthier with the transoceanic trade, business dealings, and banking. They established their social status over the other commoners. The peasantry, their living conditions improved in Western Europe, as they were freed from servitude.
Definition of Reformation:
Reformation was a religious movement that swept through Europe in the 1500s. It resulted in the creation of a branch of Christianity called Protestantism, a name used collectively to refer to the many religious groups that separated from the Roman Catholic Church due to differences in doctrine.
Indicate the Causes for the Reformation:
Disdain for the papacy and clergy. The Roman Catholic Church was very powerful in Europe. However, many believed that popes were mainly concerned with their interests; bishops lived a life of luxury and did not reside in their dioceses; the lower-ranking clergy lacked education, did not preach, and failed to set a moral example; and many religious orders did not adhere to the established rules. The abuses of the Church: Nepotism (favoritism), nicolaism (marriage or living with a woman in sin), simony (the sale of ecclesiastical posts), and indulgences (a document you can buy that gives you forgiveness for sins).
Definition of Humanism:
It was an intellectual and cultural movement that gave rise to a change in the world view in contrast to that in the Middle Ages. It encompassed all areas of life: Literary and philosophical (Pico Della Mirandola and Niccolo Maciavelli), religious (Erasmus of Rotterdam and Thomas More), and scientific (Copernicus, Paracelsus, and Andrea Vesalius). Humanism spread all across Europe between the 15th and 16th centuries. The foundation of academies to disseminate knowledge and the printing press helped Humanism to spread faster.
Explain What the Catholic Counter-Reformation Is:
It is the response of the Catholic Church to the Reformation of Martin Luther, the intention of the Counter-Reformation was to halt the spread of the Protestant Reformation. Its two principal features were: a) The Council of Trent (1545-1563) created by Pope Paul III. It defined Catholic doctrine, which was disseminated in the form of catechism: – Good deeds were needed to attain salvation. – Only the Church could interpret the Bible. – The Pope was infallible. – There were Seven Sacraments – The saints and virgin were subjected to devotion – Rules to halt disdain for the clergy were also set out. – They promoted the creation of seminaries to train priests. b) The Society of Jesus, founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola in 1540 – They have a special vow of obedience to the Pope – They received theoretical training – They dedicate themselves to preaching and education.
Indicate the Characteristics of Humanism:
It has two basic features: – Classical antiquity was taken as a model – Mankind was conceived as being the center of the world (anthropocentrism) – They defended the values of freedom, reason, classical world, and individualism, the search for earthly honor, success, fame, prestige, and power.