European Expansion and Navigation Advancements

End of Growing Crops

Aragón

The nobility abused the peasants through feudal practices. This situation arose from the crisis in war, and Fernando II stopped it with the Sentencia Arbitral de Guadalupe in 1486. Trade benefited from the incorporation of Italian territories.

The Great Expedition

Navigation Techniques and Explorers

What did the techniques in navigation allow European explorers to do? They allowed European explorers to set off on expeditions across the Atlantic Ocean and along the African coasts.

Results of Explorations

What was the result of these explorations? The result was the discovery of the Americas and the establishment of a shipping route around the coast of Africa to Asia.

Incentives for Exploration

Which were the most important incentives? Economic and ideological incentives.

Impact of Ottoman Control

What happened when the Ottomans closed the trade routes that linked Europe to the Orient? Spices had been traded along these routes and were in great demand. Europeans needed to find a way to re-establish contact with the Orient.

Influence of New Thinking

Do you think that new ways of thinking changed the ideology of the adventures? Yes, because the new ways of thinking increased curiosity and people started individual initiatives.

Economy and Society

Castilla

The most important economic activity is livestock farming. The cañadas reales were controlled by the Honrado Consejo de la Mesta. The monarch wanted to control exportation. Consequences: the development of Spanish textiles, but a decrease in other areas.

True or False Statements

• Only monarchs of Castilla and Portugal began to finance exploratory voyages. F
• The kingdom of Portugal had a prince who was worried about navigation. F
• Henry the Navigator set off to explore the coast of Africa and the Atlantic. F
• Bartolomeu Dias discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1487. F
• The kingdom of Portugal tried to reach India via the eastern route. This expedition was led by Vasco de Gama. F

Vocabulary

• Compass: An instrument containing a magnetized pointer that shows the direction of magnetic north and bearings from it.
• Astrolabe: An instrument used to make astrological measurements, typically of the altitudes of celestial bodies, and in navigation for calculating latitude, before the development of the sextant.
• Portolan Charts: Maps of the coasts showing where the ports were.
• Carracks: Large merchant ships of a kind operating in European waters from the 14th to the 17th century.
• Caravel: A small, fast Spanish or Portuguese sailing ship of the 15th-17th centuries.
• Arquebuses: It’s a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century.
• Musket: A type of gun with a long barrel that was used in the past.