The Age of Exploration
By: Katelynn Greatorex and Destiney Bunker
Summary
In the 1500s though the 1800s the Portuguese and the Spanish were the leaders of the quest for "God, Glory and Gold". Porutgal had headed East claiming the total control over the Spice Islands. While in the West, both Portugal and Spain claimed new areas of America. But near the end of the sixteenth century more countries such as the Dutch, the French and the English, had entered the competitive search for riches and new land.
Important Terms
Encomienda - The right of landowners to use Native Americans as laborers
Cape of Good Hope - The Southern tip of Africa
East India Company - Competed with the English and Portuguese for the Indian ocean trade
Columbian Exchange - The exchange of plants and animals between Europe and the America's
Conquistadors - Spanish conquerors of the America's
Treaty of Tordesillas - Between Spain and Portugal to resolve their conserns of either country claimin their newly discovered land
Montezuma - An Aztec monarch
Melaka - Spice trade port
Important People and Countries
People:
Christopher Columbus - Persuaded Queen Isabella of Spain to finance his exploration, he believed he could reach Asia by sailing West instead of East around Africa
Hernan Cortez - Spanish conqueror of Mexico
Vasco de Gama - Went around the Cape of Good Hope and cut across the Indian Ocean to the coast of India
Fransisco Pizarro - Landed on Pacific coast of South America
Marco Polo - Traveled with his father and uncle and ended up writing a book about his journy called The Travels
Amerigo Vespucci - Went on several voyages and wrote letters to describe what he saw on them
Ferdinand Magellan - He persuaded the king of Spain to finance his voyage to Asia through the Western Hemisphere
John Cabot - Explored New England coastline for England
Bartholomeu Dias - The first to round the tip of The Cape of Good Hope
Countires:
Portugal - Took the lead in European exploration
Cuba-Cristopher Conlumbus expolored
Important Events
1420- Portugese fleets began traveling Southwards along the West coast of Africa were they discovered a new source of gold
1488- Bartholomeu Dias founded the Cape of Good Hope
1492 - Christopher Columbs reached America and explored the island of Hispaniola and the coastline of Cuba
1494 - Treaty of Tordesillas was signed
1509 - The Portuguese warships defeated a combined fleet of Turkish and Indian ships off the coast of India
1519 - Hernan Cortez and his crew landed at Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico
1519 -Magellan sailed down the coast of South America in search of a sea passage through America
1520 - Magellan passed through a water way (later called The Straight of Magellan) into the Pacific Ocean, later Magellan was killed by Native people
1530- Fransisco Pizarro landed in South America on the Pacific coast
1535 - Pizzaro established a new capital at a placed called Lima just fo the Spanish Empire
1538 - Only 500 Native Americans had survived due to diseases
1550 - Almost all territory in Mexico, Central America and South America had been put under Spanish control
1595- The first Dutch fleet arrived in India and formed the East India company
1660 - Rivalry between the French and the English caused the Dutch commercial empire to fall
1664 - English seized the colony of New Netherlands from the Dutch and renamed it New York