The Globe of Discoveries & Spices
Discover global news that is sure to spice up your life!
International News
The Line of Demarcation & its Potential Impact
Line of Demarcation
Technology
Advances in Maps, Ships, and Resources
We have been making quite tremendous advances in our technology and tools. Hundreds mapmakers have found more accurate ways, with the help of navigators, to find better locations and measure distances. Advances in shipbuilding consist of improved sail designs, stronger hulls, and sleeker lines. Seamen can now sail through the wind and withstand the rough impact of the Atlantic waters. Also, new ship designs cut sailing time in half with their new ability to sail faster. Goods have also increased in value. The beautiful silk and gold that Asia provides is far superior to the textiles and metalwork that the Europeans supply. Explorers everywhere are discovering new and resourceful lands. Therefore, new and easier trade routes are being found. These routes are safer, faster, and more efficient than past ones. New nautical maps have been created so future sailors can sail out of sight of land. Explorers are able to gather more information and gain more knowledge on areas that they have discovered.
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Exclusive Interview with a Former Asante Citizen
How Colonization Changed My Life
A: Yes I would prefer that as well thank you.
Q: So my first question is, what began the slave trade within the Asante kingdom?
A: Well it began when Osei Tutu, won control of the trading capital, Kumasi. To unify his new kingdom, he decided to make people think that he ruled from heaven and that all his people were spiritually bonded somehow.
Q: Did this way of thinking work out for Osei Tutu and his empire?
A: Yes it worked out quite well. Government officials began to be chosen by merit rather than birthright which gave to way to many successes in the gold mining industry and the slave trade. Things in industry were becoming so big that monopolies were started to aid production further.
Q: Where were slaves and gold sold to and how did that benefit the Asante Empire?
A: Slaves and gold were mostly sold to Europe in exchange for firearms. They also created disputes between buying rival European countries in the hope of protecting themselves. This clever strategy helped them to build a very stable government and a powerful, wealthy state.
Q: Were things always prosperous in the Asante Kingdom?
A: No. Sadly, as European countries began to colonize our kingdom, many of us were sold into slavery including myself.
Q: How are you able to be with us today?
A: I managed to escape.
Q: When were you shipped to Europe and how did you deal with this hardship?
A: I was shipped off close to the beginning of the Asante Kingdom's rise to power. They separated me from my wife and family to travel for months on a dirty, rat invested ship. I wondered how they could do this to human beings and then I realized that to them we were just objects of money.
Q: I am so sorry that you had to go through that. What happened when you reached your destination?
A: When we all arrived in England, we were brought to several auctions so that buyers could inspect us. I ended up with a wealthy family who used me as a butler. Luckily, I was never made into a farm slave, and brought to the Americas.
Q: Thank you for answering these questions. I wish you well. Is there anything else you would like the readers to know?
A: Prosperity is a blessing, but an even greater blessing is one's independence. Thank you very much. I hope this interview informed the readers of this paper about the effects of colonization and the harsh conditions of slavery.
Business
African Slaves Sold for a Profit
Slave Trade Brings Prosperity to Some but Suffering to Others
Slavery has existed in Africa since ancient times. But during the 1500s and 1600s, Europeans took slavery as the most important thing of the African trade. Europeans bought many slaves so they could work on their plantations, or large estates. Other Europeans bought slaves to work as household slaves. African traders or rulers would actually get captives and bring them to trading posts. Slaves were traded for rum, metalwork, textiles, weapons, gunpowder, and tobacco. The slave trade grew into a profitable business over the next 300 years. Tens of thousands of Africans were sent over the Atlantic sea to work in the Americas on plantations. Some African leaders, such as Affonso I, tried to stop the slave trade, but never succeeded.
The triangular trade is an international trade network, and the Atlantic Slave Trade makes up one third of it. Ships bring European goods such as guns, cloth, and cash to Africa, on the first leg. In the second leg, goods are traded for slaves in Africa. Finally, the third leg consists of merchants who carry American goods, such as sugar, molasses, cotton, run, furs and salt fish, to Europe. In Europe, the goods were traded for a profit that the merchants needed so they could get back to Africa. The triangular trade thrived. Many merchants and businesses gained tons of money. Even though there was a few risks, the businesses and people that participated in it, grew wealthy.
The Africans that were enslaved were forced to walk far distances to the coast. They were chained or roped together, some were forced to carry heavy loads, and even chained at the neck. They were then put into holding pens or warehouses until the Europeans showed up at the ships. Once they were bought they were put under the deck of the ship, usually chained. The ship ride ranged from three weeks to three months. Africans usually committed suicide because they believed that when they died, they returned to their communities.
The slave trade brings wealth to merchants and traders, but African societies and states were ripped apart. Many African lives were cut short. About 2,000 Africans were sent to the Americas each year in the 1500s. At the peak of the slave trade, that number increased to 80,000 Africans. When the over seas slave trade ended, in the mid 1800s, about 11 million Africans reached the Americas to be slaves. About 2 million Africans probably died from the horrible conditions of the ship ride between Africa and the Americas. While merchants enjoy the profit created by the slave trade, many Africans continue to be sold into suffering.
Sales
Years
Increasing Sales
Travel
The Moluccas and the Philippines
This weeks addition of travel will be featuring the newly discovered Moluccas Islands or
the "Spice Islands". These islands meet the standards of the high demand of the spice trade in Europe. The Moluccas have suddenly grown in popularity lately because of the high demand for spices in the trading world. Spices are highly coveted internationally because of how they season, preserve, and add flavor to many meats and other perishable foods. There are five islands that make up the Moluccas: Ternate, Tidore, Moti, Makian, and Bacan, all of volcanic origin. If you are looking for a destination to spice up your vacation, try visiting the beautiful "Spice Islands".
Also big in the travel industry, the Philippines have been recently conquered by the Spanish. These islands were recently taken over by the Spanish King Phillip II. This victory came about so easily because the people of the Philippines are not very united as a country. These are currently being used as a storage ground for Spain. Spanish goods are shipped there, and then they are sold to places like China and other Asian countries. If you are searching for Spanish goods high and low, the Philippines is the place you should go!
Obituaries
Prince Henry the Navigator
Prince Henry the Navigator died suddenly on November 13, 1460 in Sagres, Portugal of unknown causes. He was born on March 4, 1394 in Porto, Portugal to the late King John I and Philippa of Lancaster.
Predeceased by his parents, his sister, Beatrice (Countess of Arundel) and his brothers, King Edward of Portugal, Ferdinand the Holy Prince, Peter (Duke of Coimbra), and John (Constable of Portugal), Prince Henry is survived by his sister, Isabella of Portugal (Duchess of Burgundy), and his brother, Afonso (Duke of Braganza). He will be missed by many other family members, friends, members of the nobility, and admirers.
Prince Henry led a military force that captured the Muslim outpost of Ceuta in 1415. He founded the Institute at Sagres in 1417 and gathered some of Europe's leading geographers, cartographers, astronomers, and mathematicians to work there. This group of experts redesigned ships, prepared maps, and trained captains and crews for long voyages. Henry led the way in sponsoring exploration in Portugal and discovered the Madeira and Azores islands, which he claimed for Portugal. He saw great promise in Africa and believed that he would find sources of riches in Africa that the Muslim traders controlled. Henry's ships made their way south to explore the western coast of Africa. The Portuguese continue Henry's quest.
Prince Henry's notable life and acheivements will be celebrated at the Batalha Monastery in Batalha, Portugal on November 16, 1460 at 7:00 A.M.
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan died on April 27, 1521 after being murdered by natives in Mactan, Philippines during his long voyage around the world. He was born around the year 1480. The exact day of his birth is unknown. He was born in either Sabrosa or Porto, Portugal to the late Pedro Ruy de Magalhaes and Alda de Mezquita, who were members of the Portuguese nobility.
Predeceased my his parents in about 1490, Ferdinand is survived by his wife, Beatriz, his children, Carlos and Rodrigo, his brother, Diego de Sosa, his sister Isabella de Magalhaes, his brother-in-law, Jaoa de Silva Telles, and his nephew, Luiz da Silva. He will be missed by many other relatives and friends.
Ferdinand was a Portuguese nobleman. He studied at Queen Leonora's School of Pages in Lisbon. When he was in his mid-twenties he joined a Portuguese fleet and sailed to East Africa. He fought in the Battle of Diu. Ferdinand explored Malacca and may have even traveled to the Spice Islands (Moluccas). He was injured while serving in Morocco and spent the rest of his life walking with a limp. In 1517, he moved to Seville, Spain after being falsely accused of illegally trading with the Moors in Portugal. On September 20, 1519, he set out on a voyage with five ships to find the Pacific Ocean. He explored the bays of South America and in November 1520, he found a passage that lead to Balboa's South Sea, which he renamed the Pacific. He insisted that the voyage should continue, but he underestimated the Earth's size. Although he died before completing the voyage, his surviving crew members became the first people to circumnavigate the world.
A celebration of Ferdinand's life will be held at the Catedral de Santa Maria de la Sede de Sevilla in Seville, Spain on Tuesday, May 15, 1521 at 10:00 A.M.
Vasco de Gama
Vasco de Gama died on December 24, 1524 in Cochin, India after presumably overworking himself. He was born around the year 1460 in Sines, Portugal. He was born into a noble family and was the son of the late Estêvão de Gama and Isabel Sobre.
Predeceased by his parents, Vasco de Gama is survived by his wife, Catalina de Ataide, his six sons, Francisco de Gama, Paulo de Gama, Cristovao de Gama, Pedro de Silva de Gama, and Alvaro de Ataide, and his daughter, Isabel de Ataide de Gama. He will be missed by many other relatives and friends.
Vasco de Gama was a Portuguese navigator. He was commissioned in 1497. On July 8, 1497, he lead four ships around the Cape of Good Hope in search of a route to India and the East. He reached Calicut, India on May 20, 1498. In India, he had acquired many spices that he brought home and sold resulting in an enormous profit. He lead a new fleet and in 1502, he forced a treaty upon the ruler of Calicut. In 1524, King John III gave Vasco de Gama the title of viceroy in India. In other words, he exercised authority on behalf of Portugal. Vasco de Gama greatly contributed to Portugal's status as a world power.
Vasco de Gama's outstanding life will be celebrated on Friday, December 30, 1524 at the parish church in Sines, Portugal at 9:00 A.M.
Age of Discovery Crossword Puzzle
Across
2. A person that makes maps
3. An island off the coast of India, Portugal seized it in 1510
4. Northern invaders who pushed through the Great Wall of China, they ruled the region Manchuria
5. An Indian soldier who served in an army that was created by French or English trading companies
6. To sail around the world
7. A person sent to do religious work in another country
8. He was an Italian navigator, sailed west on the Pinta, the Niña, and the Santa Maria in 1492
11. A prince that sponsored exploration for Portugal, hoped to convert Africans to Christianity, to find resources that the Muslims controlled, and to find a better way to reach Asia
12. A coastal city on the island of Kyushu, in August 1945 the second atomic bomb was dropped here
13. Exclusive control over a business or industry
Down
1. A trading company established in the Netherlands in 1602 to protect and expand its trade in Asia
4. A Jesuit priest that made a strong impression on the Netherlands
8. The first Dutch colony in Africa, legislative capital of South Africa and is a seaport city
9. A large area of land, run by an owner, where crops are grown
10. The grandson of Kangxi, he expanded the borders of China to rule the largest area in the nation's history
14. A distant military station or remote settlement
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Answers for Crossword
Across:
2. Cartographer
3. Goa
4. Manchus
5. Sepoy
6. Circumnavigate
7. Missionary
8. Christopher Columbus
11. Prince Henry
12. Nagasaki
13. Monopoly
Down:
1. Dutch East India company
4. Matteo Ricci
8. Cape Town
9. Plantation
10. Qianlong
14. Outpost