Key Factors and Impacts of the Age of Exploration

1. Maritime Innovations in the 15th and 16th Centuries

The compass, astrolabe, triangular sails, sextant, and caravel provided the essential tools for sea travel, enabling the discovery of alternative trade routes and the settlement of new lands.

2. Understanding Mercantilism in Colonial Systems

Mercantilism involved shipping raw materials to Europe to be manufactured into finished goods, with the primary goal of maintaining a favorable balance of trade by selling more than you buy.

3. Influences Behind the Age of Exploration

The Age of Exploration was driven by a desire for new trade routes, technological advancements, and the pursuit of wealth and resources.

4. The Encomienda System

This system was based on the assumption that Europeans had the right to demand labor from local indigenous populations, forcing them to work under colonial rule.

5. The Establishment of New France

The primary motive for the establishment of New France was the lucrative fur trade.

6. Defining the Middle Passage

The Middle Passage was the central leg of the triangular trade, representing the brutal journey of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to the Americas.

7. The Shift in Commercial Activity

Commercial activity shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic due to the establishment of new, more efficient maritime trade routes.

8. Destinations of Enslaved Africans

The largest number of enslaved Africans were transported to the Caribbean, as well as South and Central America.

9. Cultural Impact in the Americas

The high concentration of enslaved people sent to Central and South America resulted in a lasting and strong African cultural influence in those regions.

10. Characteristics of Incan Society

A defining feature of the Incan Empire was its extensive network of roads that linked the entire civilization.

11. Factors in the Spanish Defeat of the Aztecs

The Spanish victory over the Aztecs was achieved through three main factors: utilizing the enemies of the Aztecs, superior weaponry, and the introduction of disease.

12. Disease Spread in the Incan Empire

The very roads that linked the Incan Empire and facilitated communication also allowed diseases to spread rapidly, decimating the population.

13. Technological Achievements of Ancient Civilizations

The Incan, Aztec, and Mayan civilizations developed advanced technologies that allowed them to construct complex and enduring structures.

14. Advancements Enabling Longer Voyages

Explorers in the 16th century were able to undertake longer journeys due to better ship designs (such as caravels with triangular sails), improved navigational tools (compass, sextant), and increased financial backing.

15. The Impact of the Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange fundamentally altered lives on both sides of the Atlantic as the introduction of new products and ideas promoted global economic growth.