The Age of Exploration: Crash Course European History #4

Summary

This Crash Course episode explores the pivotal moment in 1453 when the Ottomans captured Constantinople, prompting European kingdoms to seek alternative trade routes. It highlights Prince Henry of Portugal's navigational advancements and the Portuguese exploration along the African coast, leading to the discovery of new markets and the establishment of trading posts. The episode also discusses the Spanish empire's colonial approach, starting with Columbus's voyages, and the subsequent conquests of the Aztec and Inca empires by Cortés and Pizarro. It touches on the technological and navigational innovations that enabled these explorations and the profound impact of colonization and disease on indigenous populations, ultimately reshaping global power dynamics.

Takeaways

• 🏰 The fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453 was a pivotal event that led to European explorations for alternative trade routes.
• 🛳️ The Ottomans' control over southeastern Europe prompted the establishment of a navy and influenced European kingdoms to seek new Afroeurasian trade paths.
• 🧭 Prince Henry of Portugal, known as The Navigator, funded exploration and navigation studies, which led to increased travels along the African coast.
• 🌍 Africa's wealth in resources like food, salt, gold, and slaves attracted the Portuguese, who sought to emulate the riches of Mansa Musa, the Malian king.
• 🏝️ The Portuguese established coastal fortresses and trading stations in Africa, where European men often partnered with African women, crucial for local trade networks.
• 🚢 Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, opening up further exploration into the Indian Ocean for the Portuguese.
• 🛍️ The Portuguese discovered a variety of goods in Southeast Asia and China, such as cottons, porcelain, and tea, which Europeans desired.
• 💰 The Portuguese initially focused on a trading empire, controlling shipping routes, unlike the Spanish who aimed to control land and people for wealth extraction.
• 🌊 Christopher Columbus's voyages were backed by the Catholic monarchs of Spain, who sought to expand their empire and spread Christianity.
• 🛑 Colonization led to significant impoverishment for indigenous communities, including loss of land, life, and cultural heritage.
• 🚢 Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe from 1519-22 demonstrated global transportation and exchange possibilities but also introduced global slavery and warfare.

Q & A

What significant event occurred in May of 1453 that had a profound impact on world history?

In May of 1453, the Ottomans captured Constantinople, smashed its thick walls, and beheaded the Byzantine emperor, which led to the Ottoman control over southeastern Europe and the establishment of a navy.

Why did European kingdoms and empires need to find new paths to Afroeurasian trading routes?

Ottoman domination of southeastern Europe forced European kingdoms and empires to seek alternative routes for trade to bypass the Ottoman-controlled territories.

What was the role of Prince Henry of Portugal in the exploration of new sea routes?

Prince Henry, also known as The Navigator, funded and encouraged exploration, the study of navigation, and the development of new tools to aid in navigation, which contributed to the Portuguese exploration along the Mediterranean's southern shore and the Atlantic coast of Africa.

Why were the Portuguese interested in venturing southward along the Atlantic coast of Africa?

The Portuguese ventured southward along the Atlantic coast of Africa in search of vast wealth, including food, salt, gold, and slaves, which were abundant in Africa at the time.

Who was Mansa Musa and how did he inspire the Portuguese explorers?

Mansa Musa was a Malian king who made a spectacular hajj to Mecca in 1324-1325 with an entourage of 60,000 people, including 12,000 slaves and large quantities of gold. His wealth and grandeur served as an inspiration for the Portuguese to seek similar riches in Africa.

What was the significance of the Canaries in the context of Portuguese exploration?

The Canaries were island clusters located along the African coast where the Portuguese made their way, kidnapping local people to sell into European slave markets and establishing stone fortresses that also functioned as trading stations.

How did the presence of European men and African women in trading stations contribute to European trade networks?

Many European men partnered with African women, who were often traders themselves, to start families. These women played a crucial role in local markets and regional trade networks, providing essential connections to trade for European nations.

What was the outcome of Bartolomeu Dias rounding the Cape of Good Hope in 1488?

Bartolomeu Dias's rounding of the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 allowed the Portuguese to venture further afield into the Indian Ocean, opening up new trade opportunities and routes.

What were the differences between the Portuguese and Spanish empires in terms of their approach to exploration and colonization?

The Portuguese empire was initially a trading empire, focusing on controlling shipping and trading routes with small and agile ships known as caravels. In contrast, the Spanish empire, beginning with Christopher Columbus's voyages, was based on colonies, controlling the land and people to extract wealth.

How did the Iberian explorers' Catholic faith influence their colonization efforts?

The Iberian explorers' Catholic faith provided an incentive to set sail, and their colonization model included the idea that colonies existed for the benefit and enrichment of the colonizers and, secondarily, to convert human souls to Christianity.

What was the significance of the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494?

The Treaty of Tordesillas, sponsored by the Church, provided a permanent line of demarcation to settle disputes between Spain and Portugal over the territories they were claiming, effectively dividing the New World between the two powers.

What were the long-term impacts of European colonization on indigenous populations in the Americas?

European colonization led to the death of a significant portion of the indigenous American population due to violence, enslavement, and European diseases like smallpox and measles. It also resulted in the loss of land, life, religious beliefs, and community assets.

How did the influx of wealth from colonization reshape the power dynamics in Europe?

The influx of wealth from colonization transformed Spain and Portugal from poor kingdoms to astonishingly rich ones, reshaping power dynamics in Europe and impacting life everywhere with the global reach of microbes, ideas, and other elements.

Outlines

00:00

🏰 The Fall of Constantinople and the Rise of Iberian Exploration

The video begins with a reference to the pivotal event in 1453 when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, which had significant implications for European trade routes. This led to a shift in perspective for European kingdoms, particularly Portugal, which was economically disadvantaged by Ottoman control over trade. Prince Henry, known as The Navigator, played a crucial role in fostering exploration and navigation techniques. The Portuguese ventured south along the African coast in search of wealth, establishing trading posts and forming relationships with local African women, who were instrumental in facilitating trade. The narrative also touches on the legendary wealth of Mansa Musa, the Malian king, who inspired the Portuguese to seek similar riches in Africa.

05:04

🛶 The Iberian Empires: Trade and Colonization

This paragraph delves into the contrasting approaches of the Portuguese and Spanish empires in the 15th century. The Portuguese focused on establishing a trading empire with small, agile ships called caravels, aiming to control shipping and trading routes, similar to the Ottomans' strategy in the eastern Mediterranean. In contrast, the Spanish, under the influence of Christopher Columbus, pursued a colonization model that involved controlling land and extracting wealth from the people living there. The Spanish were motivated by religious fervor, the pursuit of gold, and the desire for glory. Columbus's voyages led to the discovery of the Caribbean and the subsequent exploitation of its resources and people. The paragraph also highlights the brutal reality of colonization, which often involved the enslavement and forced labor of indigenous populations.

10:06

🌐 The Global Impact of Iberian Exploration and Conquest

The final paragraph discusses the broader implications of Iberian exploration and conquest on a global scale. It mentions the circumnavigation of the globe by Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, which opened up new possibilities for global transportation, exchange, and settlement. The Spanish, under leaders like Hernan Cortés and Francisco Pizarro, were astonished by the wealth and sophistication of the Aztec and Inca civilizations they encountered. However, their conquests led to significant violence, enslavement, and the spread of European diseases, which decimated indigenous populations. The Iberian kingdoms' newfound wealth reshaped European power dynamics and had far-reaching effects on global trade and cultural exchange. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the interconnectedness of global history and the importance of considering multiple perspectives when studying the past.

Keywords

💡Ottomans

The Ottomans were a powerful empire that existed from the 13th to the early 20th century. In the context of this video, their capture of Constantinople in 1453 marked a significant shift in world history, as it forced European kingdoms to seek alternative trade routes, which in turn spurred exploration and the Age of Discovery.

💡Prince Henry the Navigator

Prince Henry of Portugal, known as the Navigator, was instrumental in the Age of Exploration. He funded expeditions and advancements in navigation and cartography. His efforts led to increased Portuguese exploration along the African coast, contributing to the discovery of new trade routes and the establishment of a Portuguese maritime empire.

💡Mansa Musa

Mansa Musa was the emperor of the Mali Empire in the 14th century, known for his immense wealth, particularly in gold. His famous pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324-1325, which showcased his wealth, inspired European explorers, including the Portuguese, to seek similar riches in Africa.

💡Caravels

Caravels were a type of sailing ship developed in the 15th century and used extensively by the Portuguese during the Age of Exploration. These small, agile, and highly maneuverable ships allowed for efficient travel and trade along coastal regions, playing a crucial role in the expansion of the Portuguese empire.

💡Vasco De Gama

Vasco De Gama was a Portuguese explorer who became the first European to reach India by sea, opening a direct sea route between Europe and Asia. His 1498 voyage marked a significant moment in the history of global trade and established Portugal as a dominant power in maritime commerce.

💡Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, opening the way for widespread European exploration and the eventual conquest of the Americas. His 1492 expedition, sponsored by Spain, led to the discovery of the Caribbean islands and set the stage for the colonization of the New World.

💡Hernan Cortés

Hernan Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire in modern-day Mexico. His arrival in 1519 and subsequent conquest had profound effects on the indigenous people, leading to significant cultural and demographic changes in the region.

💡Francisco Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador who captured the Inca Emperor Atahualpa and led the conquest of the Inca Empire in the 1530s. His actions resulted in the collapse of the Inca civilization and the establishment of Spanish rule in western South America.

💡Treaty of Tordesillas

The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494, was an agreement between Spain and Portugal that divided the New World between them along a line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands. This treaty was a response to disputes over newly discovered lands and set the stage for further colonization and exploration by both nations.

💡Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who organized the first expedition to circumnavigate the Earth, although he did not survive the entire journey. His voyage from 1519 to 1522, which was funded by Spain, demonstrated the feasibility of global travel and had a profound impact on the understanding of the world's geography.

💡Portolan charts

Portolan charts are detailed nautical maps that were used by sailors during the Age of Exploration. They provided valuable information about coastal landmarks, harbors, and navigational hazards. In the video, these charts are mentioned as an example of the navigational technology that facilitated European exploration and trade.

Highlights

The fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453 led to significant changes in world history.

The Ottoman navy's establishment impacted European trade routes, prompting exploration.

Portugal's economic struggles due to Ottoman control over trade routes.

Prince Henry the Navigator's role in funding and encouraging exploration and navigation.

Portuguese ventures along the African coast and the establishment of trading posts.

The influence of Mansa Musa's wealth on Portuguese exploration ambitions.

Portuguese explorers' interactions with African women, forming families and trade connections.

Bartolomeu Dias rounding the Cape of Good Hope in 1488.

Vasco De Gama's arrival in India and the encounter with the Indian Ocean commerce.

The Portuguese discovery of valuable goods in Southeast Asia and China.

The contrast between the Portuguese trading empire and the Spanish colonial empire.

Christopher Columbus's voyages and the discovery of the Americas.

The impact of colonization on indigenous populations and the European enrichment.

Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe and its historical significance.

Hernan Cortés's conquest of the Aztec empire and the exploitation of its wealth.

Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire and the use of local rivalries.

The technological advancements in navigation and the importance of timekeeping.

The Treaty of Tordesillas and its role in dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal.

The devastating impact of European diseases on the indigenous American population.

The transformation of Spain and Portugal into wealthy powers through colonization.

Transcripts

Hi I’m John Green and this is Crash Course European History.

So, remember back in May of 1453 when the Ottomans smashed the thick walls of Constantinople,

captured the city, and beheaded the Byzantine emperor?

You probably don’t remember May of 1453, come to think of it, but you remember learning

about it.

It was a bit of a footnote in our first episode, but you never know when the footnotes are

going to be very important, but that one really did change the world.

With the Ottomans now also controlling much of southeastern Europe, they established a

navy, which they used in the Black, Adriatic, and other seas in the region.

Ottoman domination meant that European kingdoms and empires needed to find different paths

to Afroeurasian trading routes--which ultimately helped spark the voyages of explorers from

the Iberian peninsula.

INTRO So we’ve talked already in this series about

the importance of shifting perspective when looking at history, and today we’re going

to ask you to shift perspective several times, but let’s begin with the perspective of

the Portuguese.

In the fifteenth century, Portugal was poor, and it became more so as the Ottomans contested

their access to overland trade.

But luckily for Portugal, the fourth son of their king was Prince Henry, who came to be

called The Navigator because he funded and encouraged exploration, the study of navigation,

and the development of new tools to aid in navigation.

The Portuguese began to increase their travels along the Mediterranean’s southern shore.

And by the mid-15th century, they were venturing southward along the Atlantic coast of Africa,

where they expected to find vast wealth.

In those days, Africa was rich in food, salt, gold, and slaves.

Mansa Musa, the Malian king who made a spectacular hajj to Mecca in 1324-1325, was legendary

and very inspiring to the Portuguese.

He had an entourage of 60,000 people including 12,000 slaves and huge quantities of gold.

He seemed like the model of what the Portuguese hoped to become by traveling to Africa: that

is, rich beyond imagining.

In this pursuit of food, slaves, and gold, the Portuguese gradually made their way down

the African coast, locating island clusters like the Canaries.

And they kidnapped local people to sell into European slave markets and began dotting the

coast with stone fortresses that doubled as trading stations.

And there, many European men partnered with African women and started families.

These women were often themselves traders and would be crucial for all European nations;

because they were the main force behind local markets and regional trade networks, and they

provided essential connections to trade.

Again, most of the Portuguese explorers were poor, and many of these female traders were

wealthy and successful.

From their perspective, Portuguese traders offered them access to new markets and access

to new goods.

I know we’re all very accustomed to thinking of Europe as rich and Africa as poor, but

that frame is both relatively new and way too essentializing--the truth as always resists

simplicity.

So in 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, or, as it was called at the

time, the Cape of Storms.

And then the Portuguese ventured further afield into the Indian Ocean.

When we talk about explorers and exploring, we often conjure up images of intrepid groups

wearing hats trekking through empty lands in search of hidden treasures, but that was

certainly not the reality when, for instance, Vasco De Gama reached India in 1498 and found

a highly developed Indian Ocean commerce with trading posts run by sophisticated Muslim

merchants.

Da Gama’s instincts were to menace and fight them and he did.

And when the Portuguese reached Southeast Asia and China, they found a cornucopia of

goods that Europeans came to crave and about whose production they hadn’t the slightest

knowledge: colorful, washable cottons, and finely crafted porcelain, also tea.

Where would we be without Tea?

Well, I’d be fine, actually.

I’d just drink coffee.

What’s that?

Oh, Stan informs me that coffee also isn’t from Europe.

By the seventeenth century, the Portuguese were importing millions of pieces of porcelain

into Europe along with lots of delicious spices.

And spices were not only important for flavouring, but also for food preservation.

Which I suppose is a kind of flavouring if you like your food not-mouldy tasting.

Let’s go to the Thought Bubble.

The Portuguese “empire” was, at first anyway, a trading empire,

with small and agile ships known as caravels patrolling ports and collecting large fees.

The wealth would be extracted from controlling shipping and trading routes,

as the Ottomans were doing in the eastern Mediterranean.

In contrast, the Spanish empire, which began in 1492 with the exploratory voyages of Genoese

ship captain Christopher Columbus, was based on colonies--

that is, rather than controlling trade routes, the empire would control the land itself and

the people who lived there, and extract wealth from them to enrich the

empire.

Columbus was a student of geography and maps and he’d lobbied the Portuguese king to

back his voyages.

But when that didn’t go to plan, he headed for Spain to petition its devoutly Catholic

rulers, Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand

of Aragon.

These two monarchs were finishing up the drive to expel Muslims from Spain

and to force Spanish Jews to convert to Christianity.

But religious persecution wasn’t cheap.

The motto of the Iberian pathfinders—God, gold, and glory—perfectly described their

ambitions.

Although perhaps not in that order.

Hopping the islands along the African coast and using the trade winds,

Columbus’s ships made it to the Caribbean islands,

and his crews, which tellingly included both clergy and bankers,

found signs of gold but not great quantities of it.

However, they did find people to enslave, and because no one knew the size or shape

of the Americas, there was the perpetual hope that gold or

other riches might lie just on the other side of this river,

or that mountain.

Thanks Thought Bubble.

So I want to stop here to shift perspective: From the perspective of European explorers,

these lands were new, and potentially very lucrative, and the colonization model that

Spain adopted, and that Portugal began using in Brazil, and that the rest of Europe’s

empires would eventually use, was built on the idea that colonies existed for the benefit

and enrichment of the colonizers--and secondarily to convert human souls to Christianity.

Much of the wealth that was generated by these empires was done so by claiming human beings

as a form of property--both through the slave trade and through forcing colonized people

to work.

And the systems that were built to support the colonies--from roads and bridges to churches--were

built to extract wealth and convert people to Christianity.

So from the perspective of indigenous people living in colonized communities, colonization

meant impoverishment in many forms--the loss of land for use, the loss of life itself at

an unprecedented scale, the loss of long-held religious beliefs, and the loss of all sorts

of community assets.

But from the colonziers’ perspective, it meant the possibility of getting rich, and

so waves of ambitious sailors followed Columbus, searching both North and South America for

extractable wealth.

OK.

Another breakthrough occurred in 1519-22, when Ferdinand Magellan’s Spanish ships

circumnavigated the globe.

Magellan had alienated members of the Portuguese court and like Columbus he found no backing

for his proposed trip there.

Also like Columbus, he went to Spain to fund his voyage.

If you were going to be somewhere between 1519 and 1522, on one of Magellan’s ships

was not necessarily the best place.The conditions and Magellan’s no-nonsense discipline caused

mutinies and other problems which Magellan also handled harshly, executing or marooning

mutineering captains in the fleet.

But after finding the straits at the tip of South America, the fleet set out across the

Pacific, eventually returning to Spain despite Magellan’s death at the hands of local leaders

in the Philippines in 1521.

Of the 237 original voyagers and five ships, only eighteen men and one ship returned to

Spain in 1522.

But, the voyage arranged and headed by Magellan was a revelation, it opened the world up to

global transportation, exchange, settlement, and yes, global slavery, warfare, pandemics,

and conquest.

The Spanish could now stock their new world settlements with Chinese and Indian luxuries

by crossing the Pacific and fill their coffers from profits in New World goods by crossing

the Atlantic.

In 1519, Spanish invader Hernan Cortés came in contact with indigenous people in present-day

Mexico, landing on its Mayan eastern coast with several hundred soldiers and making his

way inland, starting battles and forging alliances.

He eventually reached the center of the Aztec empire at Tenochtitlan, the Spaniards were

astonished at the wealth of this civilization and Cortes bowed before its king, Montezuma

II, who led a vast empire that stretched to present-day Honduras and Nicaragua.

The capital had tens of thousands of inhabitants, perhaps hundreds of thousands.

Markets overflowed with luscious produce and crafts, and the city had a sophistication

that, like the wealth itself, was foreign to Europeans, even if the Aztec practice of

human sacrifice was also foreign.

A similar awe filled Francisco Pizarro when he saw the superb textiles and silver and

gold objects crafted by the Incas, who’d also created thousands of miles of roads and

efficient institutions to hold their vast empire together along the west coast of present-day

South America.

Both Pizarro and Cortes relied on help from rival indigenous communities to help them

take control from the Incas and Aztecs.

The conquerors also married the princesses and other noble women they had raped as a

ritual of domination.

And marriage gave them access to insider information, local networks, and the wealth that such women

possessed—including wealth in enslaved peoples.

So, Iberians were incentivized to set sail by their poverty and by their Catholic faith,

but they were disadvantaged by a comparative lack of manufacturing skills when it came

to trade.

What they did have, at least at first, was sailing prowess and weaponry on their side.

Iberian caravels were nimble and they could be loaded with cannons.

The Portuguese borrowed the use of triangular sails from the Arabs, often combining them

with square-rigged ones to make better use of the winds.

And Iberians also employed a range of navigational instruments—technology generally taken from

other cultures—in determining latitude, while their on-board cartographers created

portolan charts--literally, charts related to ports--indicating coastal dangers, good

harbors, and other details important to seafarers.

Astrolabes, quadrants, compasses, and other instruments gave good indications of location

and direction but you know what you really needed?

A clock.

That’s right, there’s a clock in the center of the world.

This six dollar clock is an astonishing piece of technology.

Stan would like me to point out that it was actually eight dollars.

Thank you for your support on Patreon.com/crashcourse it wasn’t until the eighteenth century development

of the chronometer that sailors could chart longitudinal location, and even now, GPS relies

on an extremely precise knowledge of the time.

In short when it comes to history and also everything else, it’s not just a question

of where you are, it’s a question of when you are.

Early European explorers almost always had to enlist local people to advise them how

to navigate the seas, especially the Indian ocean, and local, non-European traders served

as intermediaries for the artisans in porcelain, cotton, and other crafted products.

Through them, Europeans slowly learned about trading procedures, sources of goods, and

the means of judging quality, as initially the Iberians were not well acquainted with

the goods available in these trading ports.

And there were other go-betweens, like translators, connecting Europeans and local people.

One example is Malinche (or Doña Maria, as the Spanish called her).

She facilitated the passage of Hernan Cortes and his small army across Mexico and into

the capital of the Aztec empire, gathering allies for him and warning him of impending

danger along the way.

Because of the hostility among different groups, go-betweens who knew about the animosities

and warfare among them could help mobilize support for the Europeans, so that one local

group would lead the charge against another.

That happened in the conquest of both Central America in the 1520s and the Inca Empire in

the 1530s.

In Europe meanwhile, all of this voyaging and conquering produced chaos between the

Iberian kingdoms--what land would be Spain’s, and what land would be Portugal’s?

A treaty sponsored by the Church eventually settled disputes between Spain and Portugal

over territory that each was claiming.

I mean, who do you call about property disputes, if not the pope?

The Treaty of Tordesillas, which was signed in 1494, provided a permanent line of demarcation

370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands off the Atlantic coast of Africa.

In 1529, another treaty set bounds for each country in the Indian Ocean and Pacific regions.

But treaties of course did not prevent the death at the hands of European weaponry and

diseases that contact entailed.

In the Western Hemisphere, the local inhabitants’ lack of resistance to European diseases was

probably a more important factor than in conquest than weaponry was.

In the long run, violence, enslavement, and European diseases like smallpox and measles

led to the death of perhaps as much as ninety percent of the indigenous American population.

Diseases spread and killed so quickly that entire communities ceased to exist almost

--- at once, and with them their traditions, stories, and values.

Meanwhile, colonization proved extremely lucrative for Spain and Portugal, which within a century

went from being poor kingdoms to astonishingly rich ones, especially after 1545, when the

Spanish uncovered a huge deposit of silver in Potosi, in present day Bolivia, and began

conscripting indigenous people to do the most dangerous work in the mines.

Migration to both regions swelled, and ships now criss-crossed both Atlantic and the Pacific.

And this huge influx of wealth to Spain and Portugal would reshape power in Europe and

also life everywhere else, as everything from microbes to ideas suddenly had a truly global

reach.

Thanks for watching.

I’ll see you next time.