Class 14: Voyages of Exploration

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					Class 14: Voyages of

    Ann T. Orlando
    15 February 2006

   We still can’t get out of 16th C
   Spanish and Portuguese Voyages of
   Economic and Scientific Impact
   How Europeans thought about native peoples

European Voyages of Discovery
   Driven by economics,
     Reduce time and cost of overland spice trade with Orient

     Reduce interactions with Ottoman Turks
     Ottoman is an Arab corruption of the name Osman, a 13th C
       turkish ruler who rebelled against Seljik rule)
   In 16th C Spain and Portugal leading European ‘super powers’
     Most other Western European countries preoccupied with wars
       and Reformation
     Renewed strength after expulsion of Muslims from Portugal and
     Spanish dominance ends with defeat of Spanish Armada, 1588

   No educated person in Europe thought the earth was flat (see ST
    Ia Q1 a1)
   Real question was how to sail all the way to China from Europe

Early Portuguese Voyages

   Early driver for voyages: by-pass Turkish
    control of trade routes to China; spice road
    completely dominated by Ottomans
   Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394-1460)
       Establishes school of maritime studies
       Portuguese sailors circumnavigate Africa,
        establishing trading posts on West and East coast

Portuguese Voyages of Discovery

   Prince Henry the Navigator (d. 1460)
       Encourages exploration of West Africa
       Significantly improves navigation instruments
   Vasco de Gama rounds Cape of Good Hope 1487
       Portuguese explore much of southern Africa, especially
        Congo and Angola
   Early 16th C Portuguese voyages to India, Japan
   Magellan’s expedition circumnavigates globe 1519 -

Spanish Voyages of Discovery
   Columbus’ First Voyage of Discovery October 1492 to Caribbean
       Second voyage he takes Jesuits with him to convert ‘Indians’
   Cortez conquers Mexico, 1519-1521
   Pizarro conquers Peru 1532
   By 1600 Spanish had
       Established footholds in much of North America (California, Arizona, New
        Mexico, Texas, Florida)
       Thriving large communities throughout Mexico, Central and South America
       Santa Fe, New Mexico is oldest capitol city in U.S.
   By comparison,
       Jamestown founded 1607
       Quebec founded 1608
       Plymouth founded 1620
       Montreal founded 1642

Map of Voyages 1340-1600

Role of Church: Pope Alexander VI

   Pope Alexander VI (Borgia)
       Divides ‘world’ between Spain and Portugal down Atlantic
        in 1493
       Known as Line of Demarcation

Voyage of Ferdinand Magellan 1519-1522

   Magellan, although Portuguese, surmised that the
    Line of Demarcation if completed around the world
    meant that most of the Spice Islands would belong
    to Spain
       Charles V eager to claim these lands for Spain
   Entered into Spanish service to claim lands in the
    East (i.e. Spice Islands and Philippines) for Spain
   Magellan killed in Philippines during the voyage
   Comparable to Apollo program in 1960s
       Tremendous national pride in being the first to
        circumnavigate the globe
       Something that only the wealthiest country could
        reasonable undertake

Economics of the Voyages of Discovery

   With discovery of new lands, original motivation of
    spice trade with China and India start to take second
   Western Hemisphere filled with untapped natural
    resources and very sparsely populated
       Unlike Asia or Africa
   Spanish (and Portuguese in Brazil) start to colonize
    Western Hemisphere in order to develop economic
    resources, not as trading posts
   Resources from Western Hemisphere make Spain
    the wealthiest country

Impact on Science and Technology

   Navigation and mapping technologies
    needed to be developed
       Know Latitude by Stars; advances in astronomy
       Know Longitude by what time it is; but how do you
        accurately know what time it is
   Astronomy becomes very important practical
   Mathematicians devote themselves to more
    precise models of celestial movements

Copernicus (1473-1543)

   Born in Poland, studied mathematics
   Attended University of Bologna where he
    became interested in astronomy
   Astronomy was vitally important because it
    was key technology for navigation
   By trying to make epicycles more precise,
    Copernicus came to believe that a simpler
    mathematical model put the sun at center of
    solar system
Copernicus’ Little Commentary 1514
   There is no one centre in the universe.

   The Earth's centre is not the centre of the universe.

   The distance from the Earth to the sun is imperceptible
    compared with the distance to the stars.

   The rotation of the Earth accounts for the apparent daily
    rotation of the stars.

   The apparent annual cycle of movements of the sun is caused
    by the Earth revolving round it.

   The apparent retrograde motion of the planets is caused by the
    motion of the Earth from which one observes.

Another Impact on Science by Voyages of
Discovery: New Plants, Animals, Geology
   Sciences of zoology, botany and geology must
    rethink and expand its classification systems
   Voyages are launched with the purpose of scientific
    exploration; mapping and collecting specimens for
    study in Europe
       Partly to see if some benefit from new species (medicine)
       Partly from national pride
       Partly for joy of discovery
   Note: most famous such voyage was Voyage of
    Beagle, 1831

Anthropology: How to Think About
   Economic advantage
       Trading partners
       Cheap labor, Slaves
   Souls to be saved
   Shining examples of free man in his native
    environment, before corrupted by Christianity

This lecture marks the cross-over

   Marks the cross-over from the Reformation to the
    beginning of the Enlightenment
       Or at least those historical and social factors that will lead
        to the Enlightenment
   Recognition of the importance of empirical
    philosophy (what we now call science)
   Large scale encounters with other cultures leads to
    reconsideration of some aspects of European
       Christianity
       Political structures


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