What is this about?
What technologies helped to facilitate changes in trade and travel
Developments that Allowed Europeans to Venture so Far Out
- Magnetic compass (allowed sailors to steer a ship in the right direction; invented in 1100s China)
- Astrolabe (told how far north or south one was from the equator; improved on by Muslim navigators in the 1100s)
- Caravel
- Small sailing ship developed by the Portuguese in 1400s
- Allowed sailors to survive storms at sea better than with previous ships
- Lateen sail (triangle shaped sail)
- Could catch the wind on either side of the ship, allowing it to travel in different directions
- Allowed sailors to travel longer distances and bigger oceans
- Improvements in cartography (map-making) and knowledge of current and wind patterns
Reasons for Exploration
- “Gold, god, glory”
- As population grew, not all workers in Europe could find work or even food
- Primogeniture laws gave all of the estate to the oldest son, so those other sons would get nothing
- Religious minorities wanted a place to live where they wouldn’t be persecuted
Developments of Transoceanic Travel and Trade
- Europeans had access to China but didn’t like how Middle Eastern kingdoms like the Ottoman Empire and Oman were middlemen
- That’s why in the 1400s/1500s Europeans wanted to find a direct route to Asia: so they could avoid the middlemen
- This led to Christopher Columbus’ voyage and the rise of maritime empires
- Maritime empire = empire based on sea travel
- Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, France, and Netherlands became maritime empires
Goods Purchased from Each Area
- From the Americas, Europeans purchased sugar, tobacco, and rum.
- From Africa, Europeans purchased enslaved people.
- From Asia, Europeans purchased silk, spices, and porcelain
Long-Term Results
- Thanks to innovations by both Europeans and non-Europeans, Europeans were able to rapidly expand and play a more important role in global trade
- Introduction of gunpowder, another Chinese invention, aided Europeans in their conquests abroad
- In 1697, Russia’s Peter the Great visited Western Europe to learn more about military and naval technology so that he could build Russia’s military and navy
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