Topic 4.1 Flashcards
Technological Innovations (19 cards)
What was the astrolabe?
Improved by Muslim navigators in the 12th century let sailors find out how far north or south they were from the equator
What was the magnetic compass?
Helped a ship in the right direction, as described by Alexander Neckham
What was the caravel?
A small three mastered sailing ship developed by the Portuguese in the 15th century, allowed sailors to survive storms at sea better than earlier designed ships
What was cartography?
Mapmaking, and knowledge of the current and wind patterns also improved navigation
What did religious minorities want to accomplish with exploration?
Gold, Glory, and God
What were primogeniture laws?
Rich men gave their estate to their eldest son, leaving nothing to very little to the younger sons.
- They had to make a name for themselves by their lonesome, mostly by joining the military
What did the Europeans want by becoming active in the Indian Ocean Trade?
With hopes of finding wealth and new converts as their twin motives
- They wanted all the water-routes
What competition did Europeans face from the Middle East?
Competition from Middle Eastern traders based in kingdoms such as Oman.
- Caused the Omani-European Rivalry
How did Omani-European Rivalry influence Europeans?
- One of the reasons for Christopher Columbus’ search for a new route to India
- The voyages by Columbus connected people across the Atlantic Ocean European traders became go-betweens linking Afro-Eurasia and the Americas
How did extensive trade transform Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, France, and Holland?
- From the Americas: sugar, tobacco and rum
- From Africa: they purchased enslaved people
- From Asia: they purchased silk, spices, and rhubarb
- They transformed these empires into maritime empires, meaning empires based on sea-travel
What did Western European countries begin to develop?
Naval Technology
The accomplishments of Prince Henry the Navigator?
- He never sailed far enough out to sea to lose sight of land, he strongly supported exploration
- He financed expeditions along Africa’s Atlantic Coast and around the Cape of Good Hope
- With his backing, Portugal explored African coastal communities and kingdoms before other European powers
How did Newton’s discovery of gravitation help sailing?
Sailors could reliably predict when the depth of water near a shore would be decreasing, thereby exposing dangerous rocks
What is an astronomical chart? How did people rely on these?
Map of the stars and galaxies
- Mariners relied on these maps to guide ships’ direction, especially before the introduction of the compass, using the skies to help them determine their location
What were lanteen sails?
- In the shape of a triangle
- Used with the wind, they could allow the ship to travel in different directions
What were the three new types of ships?
Carrack, Caravel, Fluyt
What was the result of combining techniques from different cultures?
A rapid expansion of exploration and global trade
How did gunpowder impact Europe?
- Aided Europeans in their conquest abroad
- Soon enough, however, pirates began using it
What did the growth of the Abbasid Empire result in?
- As a result, Islam spread rapidly
- It was also a result of the activities of Muslim merchants centered in Baghdad
