Lecture 1.ppt

Lecture One: Europe The State of Europe Europe in 1450 After 150 really rotten years, things were looking up There was more money in circulation Jobs were available Serfdom was decreasing War was decreasing Late Medieval Europe 1450, continued Towns and cities Printing The power of the Church New items Cool stuff New items New foods Rice and sugar New inventions Some were even more exotic Spices To people who had no refrigeration, food was a bit of a gamble Spices Boiled meat is pretty blah ? you need to put spices in it to make it taste good Spices were VERY expensive A pound of pepper could cost the equivalent of $1000 An ounce of saffron was worth more than its weight in gold Cloth Wool: Itchy! Linen: Wrinkly! Cotton: Nice, but pricy! Linsey-woolsey: nasty! Other New Goodies Paper Forks Spinning wheels Horizontal looms Overshot water wheels Exploring Nations Portugal Spain France England Netherlands And why others didn?t Portugal Internally stable Not at war with anyone else Seacoast No access to Mediterranean Trade with Arabs Prince Henry Portugal Canary Islands Azores Africa Slaves and plantations Gold Ivory An Aside on Slavery Common African practice Arab slave traders Male versus female slavery Islamic law on slaves European slavery in the 14th century Spain Internal divisions Unification in 1492 Expulsion of Arabs Persecution of Jews Jealousy of Portugal Geography is Mediterranean oriented Columbus Looking for a shortcut ?Indies? Four voyages ?Discovery? of New World Columbian Exchange Expansion into North and South America Mercantilism: Theory Fixed amount of money in the world National control of hard currency Exports vs. imports Increase in specie supply Upset of balance of power Treaty of Tordesilla Papal decision Demarcation line Spain and Portugal 1494 Brazil in Western Hemisphere Portugal in Asia France Hundred Years War National consolidation Reformation More internal conflict Huguenot settlements New France England Hundred Years War War of the Roses Alliance with Spain Reformation Creation of Anglican Church Religious strife Netherlands Early Religious conversion Struggle against Spanish overlords High level of commercial development Trade expeditions Commercial development over settlement ?Germany? Not unified Wracked by religious warfare in 16th century Internal struggles Lack of national capital Italy Not unified Papal states Territory controlled by foreigners Venetian control of eastern Mediterranean Russia Actually did colonize, but not until later than most other European nations Outlook was east, not west Northern colonization and trade Other Countries Sweden and Demark would try to form colonies that would be relatively unsuccessful Nations don?t have national support for capital expenditure necessary for colonial development Nations expanding within Europe