European Expansion Flashcards
Roger Bacon
wrote theoretic texts in the middle ages about the possibilities of inhabitation south of the equator
Marco Polo
wrote about travelling south of the equator, mentions Madagascar and Zanzibar
Sir John Mandeville
talks about riches and trade abroad, in ‘The Travels of Sir John Mandeville’ he writes that “a might might go all the world about, both above and beneath, and come again to his country”
Herodotus
long forgotten classical works rediscovered in Renaissance hints at voyages south of the equator and inhabitable equatorial regions there
Ptolemy and Columbus
Ptolemy’s calculated that the world was 25% smaller than it actually was, influenced by this Columbus misestimated the length of a mile and so believed it was only 5000 miles from Europe to India travelling West with Japan and Canary Islands as pit stops along the way meaning he only had to pack for 1500 miles at a time making the journey to the New World see feasible
Bartolomeau Dias
led Portuguese voyage which passed the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, realised how big Africa was
John Cabot
voyage under English who reached Newfoundland in Canada in 1596
Hernan Cortes
Spanish conquistador who conquered Aztecs in Mexico in 1518 with limited use of guns
Franciso Pizarro
conquered Incas in 1535 with only 180 men and 137 horses
Pagden
voyage across the ocean involved detachment from all that was familiar, journey was terrifying and sometimes fatal
Merry Weisner-Hanks
highlights how domination of sea route was key to power and wealth and thus a large source of conflict
Treaty of Tordesillas
1494 between Spain and Portugal divided up the Atlantic sea giving the west to spain and east to portugal
Dutch East India Company
formed in 1602 and dominated Eastern trade with 4785 ships, 2.5 million tons of trade, in 1619 English and Dutch agree to divide spice trade in Moluccas with English getting 1/3 and Dutch getting 2/3
