Prester John The Travels of John Mandeville-- the author spoke of realms (that he had never seen) filled

with precious stones and gold; was a part of the attraction of fantastic lands that urged Europeans to take such dangerous voyages Marco Polo-wrote Travels which was most informative description of Asia by medieval European travelers; Christopher Columbus had a copy during his voyage "God, glory, and gold"- primary motives of making dangerous voyages to unknown lands portolani-or charts made by medieval navigators and mathematicians were more useful than symbolic medieval maps; but took no account of curvature; little use for longer overseas voyages Ptolemy's Geography-- had not become available to Europeans until the late 15 th century; scholars quickly accepted it as the most accurate map of its time; map contained in the Latin translation of Ptolemys Geography; Ptolemys map showed the world as spherical with three major land massesEurope, Asia, and Africa, and only two oceans; Ptolemys map greatly underestimated the circumference of the world lateen sails and square rigs- with the efficient use of these innovations, they could construct ships with more cargo load, tolerance with winds, and able to be in naval warfare compass and astrolabe- assisted the exploration of the high seas with confidence Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal-founded a school for navigators on the southwest coast of Portugal; fleets began moving southwards along western coast of Africa in search of gold; ships reached Senegal river and annually started to ship African slaves back to Europe; kept traveling southwards and came in contact with Bakongo, Zaire; started annual trade in gold, ivory, and slaves; the Gold Coast- southern coast of the hump of West Africa; known to Europeans as the Gold Coast because the Portuguese discovered a new source of gold along this area Bartholomeu Dias- after hearing reports of a route to India around the southern tip of Africa, Bartholomeu took advantage of westerly winds in the south Atlantic to rounds the Cape of Good Hope but feared resistance from his crew and returned Vasco da Gama (include Calicut)- his Portuguese fleet crossed the Arabian Sea and reached the port of Calicut, on the southwestern coast of India; on arriving in Calicut, da Gama announced to his surprised hosts that he had come in search of Christians and spices; da Gamas remaining ships returned to Europe with their holds filled with ginger and cinnamon Alfonso de Albuquerque- set up a port facility at Goa; became headquarters for Portuguese operations in the entire region; still conducted raids against Arab shippers Malacca-transformed by its Muslim rulers into a thriving port and a major stopping point for the spice trade; For Albuquerque, control of Malacca served two purposes: it could help destroy the Arab spice trade and also provide the Portuguese with a way station on the route to the Moluccas, known as the spice islands; after a short bloody battle, the Portuguese seized the city; from Malacca, the Portuguese launched expeditions farther east to China and the Spice Islands

Spice Islands- also known as Moluccas; Portuguese wanted control of Malacca to provide a way station on the route to the spice islands; signed a treaty with the local rulers for the purchasing and exporting of cloves Christopher Columbus-important figure in Spanish exploration; Columbus felt that Asia could be reached by sailing west instead of around Africa; after being rejected by the Portuguese he persuaded Queen Isabella of Spain to finance his exploratory expedition; three ships- Santa Maria, Nina, Pinta; reached the Bahamas and then went on to explore the coastline of Cuba and the northern shores of Hispaniola (present day Haiti and Dominican Republic) although he thought he reached Asia; landed on all the major island of the Caribbean and the mainland of Central America, still convinced he reached the Indies in Asia; assured Isabella and Ferdinand not only would he find gold but also had a golden opportunity to convert the natives John Cabot- A Venetian seaman; explored the New England coastline under a license from King Henry VII of England; Amerigo Vespucci-a Florentine accompanied several voyages and wrote a series of letters describing the geography of the New World; the publication of these letters led to the use of the name America for the new lands Vasco Nunez de Balboa- a Spanish explorer led an expedition across the Isthmus of Panama and reached Pacific Ocean in 1513 Ferdinand Magellan- first two decades of the 16th century witnessed numerous overseas voyages that explored the eastern coasts of both North and South America; most dramatic of all these expeditions was the journey of Ferdinand Magellan in 1519; he sailed across the Pacific Ocean and reached the Philippines, where he met his death at the hands of the natives; only on of his original five ships returned to Spain, Magellans name is still associated with the first known circumnavigation of the earth; Europeans referred to newly discovered territories as the New World Treaty of Tordesillas- divided up newly discovered world into separate Portuguese and Spanish sphere; most of South America fell in Spanish sphere Conquistadors-Spanish Conquistadors were not motivated by glory, greed, and religious zeal; these groups were financed and outfitted privately, not by the government; their superior weapons, orgizational skills, and determination brought them incredible success; they also benefited from rivalries among the native peoples and the decimation of the native peoples by European diseases Hernan Corts-led the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1519; brought small pox to Tenochtitlan which led to his victory Moctezuma- Aztec monarch; Spaniards took him hostage and proceeded to pillage the city of Tenochtitlan; one year after Cortes had arrived, the local population revolted and drove the invaders from the city, but the Aztecs experience new disasters; great sickness, the small pox arrived and many Aztecs died; Cortes received fresh soldiers from his new allies (Tlaxcala) and entered the city and won great victory; Spanish gained control of northern Mexico the Aztecs (include Tenochtitlan)- oppressive rulers; monarch=Moctezuma; capital=Tenochtitlan

the Inca (include Pachakuti)- in the late 14th century, the Inca were a small community in the area of Cuzco, Peru; In the 1440s under the leadership of their powerful leader, Pachakuti, the Inca launched a campaign of conquest that eventually brought the entire region under their control; Under Pachakuti and his immediate successors the boundaries of the Inca empire was extended as far as Ecuador, central Chile, and the edge of the Amazon basin; Pachakuti created a highly centralized state; divided his realm into 4 quarters each ruled by a governor, at the top of the entire system was the emperor; Inca were great builders Francisco Pizarro-landed of the Pacific coast of South America in 1530; came for the conquest of the Inca empire; small pox also ruined the Inca communities; established a new capital at Lima for a new colony of the Spanish empire Encomienda-- a system that permitted the conquering Spaniards to collect tribute from the natives and use them as laborors; the holders of an encomienda were supposed to protect the Indians, pay them wages, and supervise their spiritual needs, but did no such thing; instituted when Queen Isabella declared the natives to be subjects of Castile the viceroy and audiencias- Spanish developed an administrative system based on viceroys; 2 major administrative units: New Spain and Peru; governed by a viceroy in Lima; viceroy served as kings chief civil and military officer and aided by advisory groups called audiencias Boers (include Capetown)- Dutch farmers; settled in areas outside the city of Capetown, Africa (17 th century) African slave trade- Europeans discovered that profits could be made in Africa; as trade increased, thousands and eventually millions of Africans were taken and forced to work in the New World triangular trade (include Middle Passage)- trade in slaves grew dramatically and became part of the triangular trade connecting Europe, Africa, and the American continents; European merchant ships (Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Dutch) carried European manufactured goods to Africa where they traded for a cargo of slaves; Altogether as many as 10 million African slaves were transported between the 16th and 19th centuries; half transported in British ships, the other half divided between French, Dutch, Portuguese, Danish, and later American ships; the journey of slaves from Africa became known as the Middle Passage (middle leg of the triangular trade route) "sugar factories"- after discovering Cane sugar, Portuguese set up sugar plantations worked by Africans on an island off the central coast of Africa; growing of sugar cane demanded large quantities of labor; Africans began to be shipped to Brazil and Caribbean to work on plantations Dutch East India Company- a trading company established under government sponsorship set up a settlement in south Africa at the Cape Good Hope which was meant to serve as a base to provide food and other provisions to Dutch ships en route to the Spice Islands; eventually it developed to be a permanent colony Batavia- established a fort at Batavia on the island of Java in 1619; Dutch found that it was necessary to bring the inland regions under their control to protect their position; Dutch succeeded Mughal Empire- greatest Indian empire since the Mauryan dynasty nearly 2000 years earlier; founders were not natives of India but came from the mountainous region north of the Ganges river valley British East India Company- by the 1st of 17th century, British presence in India steadily increased; British established trading ports all within the Indian region; created rivalries between Dutch and French

Robert Clive- British were saved from the French by the military genius of Sir Robert Clive, and aggressive British Empire-builder who eventually became the chief representative of the East India company in India "Black Hole of Calcutta"- local ruler at the Bay of Bengal attached Fort William and British; imprisoned local British population; small group of British soldiers defeated Mughals and had victory; held them for taxes after Ming dynasty of China- Rule from 1369-1644; under a series of strong rulers China extended its rule into Mongolia and central Asia, but in the 1630s a major epidemic devastated the population in many areas; the suffering caused by the epidemic helped spark a peasant revolt led by Li Zicheng; Zicheng and his forces occupied the capital of Beijing Qing dynasty of China-the Manchus conquered Beijing and Zichengs army fell; the victorious Manchus then declared the creation of a new dynasty named Qing; the Qing were blessed with a series of strong early rulers who pacified the country, corrected the most serious social and economic ills, and restored peace and prosperity; the 2 Qing monarchs ruled from the middle of the 17th century to the end of the 18th and were responsible for much of the greatness of Manchu China Lord Macartney- a British mission under Lord Macartney visited Beijing to press for liberalization of trade restrictions; Emperor Quianlong expressed no interest in British products Emperor Qianlong- leader of one of two Qing monarchs in China; expressed no interest in British products Tokugawa shoguns of Japan- a powerful individual who helped achieve the unification of Japan; most powerful and long lasting of all the Japanese shoguns Nagasaki and the Dutch- Japanese government closed the two major foreign trading posts on the island of Hirado and Nagasaki; only a small Dutch community in Nagasaki was allowed to remain in Japan; the Dutch, unlike Spain and Portugal, had not aloud missionary activities to interfere with their trade interests Britain's Navigation ActsSamuel de Champlain- established a settlement at Quebec in 1608; the French began to take a more serious interest in Canada as a colony the asiento- the privilege of transporting 4500 slaves a year into Spanish Latin America; this came after Britains entry into Spanish American markets in 1713 inflation (include price revolution)- a major economic problem in the 16th and early 17th centuries; the price revolution was a Europe-wide phenomenon; foodstuffs were most subject to price increases; as a result of the price revolution, wages failed to keep up with price increases joint-stock trading companies- the commercial expansion of the 16th and 17th centuries was made easier by new forms of commercial organization especially the joint-stock company; individuals bought shares in a company and received dividends on their investments while a board of directors ran the company and made the important business decisions; investors received 30% on their money from the Dutch East India Company which opened the Spice Islands and Southeast Asia to Dutch activity

House of Fugger- one of the wealthiest banking firms of the 16 th century; head of the house was Jacob Fugger the Rich; Jacob Fugger was given a monopoly over silver, copper, and mercury mines in the Habsburg possessions of central Europe that produced profits in excess of 50% each year; the House of Fugger went bankrupt at the end of the 16th century when the Habsburgs defaulted on their loans Mercantilism- the name historians use to identify a set of economic tendencies that came to dominate economic practices in the 17th century; fundamental belief- the total volume of trade was unchangeable; since one nation could expand its trade at the expense of another, economic activity was carried on by peaceful means; according to mercantilists the prosperity of a nation depended on a plentiful supply of Bullion (gold and silver); it was desirable for exported goods to be of greater value than those imported promoting an influx of gold and silver payments that would increase the quantity of Bullion mestizos- offspring of Native Americans and white Europeans; originated in Latin America mulattoes- offspring of Africans and white Europeans; originated in Latin America missions- attempts to convert natives (non-Catholics) to Catholicism Jesuit missionaries (Be sure to address their activities around the globe!)- Most active and most effective Christian missionaries in China; Francis Xavier was among the first Jesuits to convert natives to Christianity the Columbian Exchange- the exportation of plants and animals between Europe and the Americas; Europeans were bringing horses, cattle, and wheat to the New World and were receiving potatoes, chocolate, corn, tomatoes, and tobacco; lifestyle was greatly affected by new products from abroad Gerardus Mercator (include Mercator projection)- most famous of a more realistic portrayal of the world, Mercator projection, was created by Gerardus Mercator; it attempts to show the true shape of land masses, but only of a limited area; shapes of lands near the equator are quite accurate but the further away from the equator they lie, the more exaggerated their size becomes; ship captains were very grateful to Mercator