Lawrence River Valley. Prior to the establishment of the Sovereign Council, the territories of New France were developed as mercantile colonies. It was only after that France gave its American colonies the proper means to develop population colonies comparable to that of the British. However, there was relatively little interest in colonialism in France, which concentrated on dominance within Europe, and for most of its history, New France was far behind the British North American colonies in both population and economic development.
Acadia itself was lost to the British in In , French territorial claims in North America expanded still further, with the foundation of Louisiana in the basin of the Mississippi River.
The extensive trading network throughout the region connected to Canada through the Great Lakes, was maintained through a vast system of fortifications, many of them centered in the Illinois Country and in present-day Arkansas. As the French empire in North America grew, the French also began to build a smaller but more profitable empire in the West Indies.
Settlement along the South American coast in what is today French Guiana began in , and a colony was founded on Saint Kitts in Colonies in Guadeloupe and Martinique were founded in and on Saint Lucia in The food-producing plantations of these colonies were built and sustained through slavery, with the supply of slaves dependent on the African slave trade. Local resistance by the indigenous peoples resulted in the Carib Expulsion of In the 18th century, Saint-Domingue grew to be the richest sugar colony in the Caribbean.
In the middle of the 18th century, a series of colonial conflicts began between France and Britain, which ultimately resulted in the destruction of most of the first French colonial empire and the near complete expulsion of France from the Americas.
In Senegal in West Africa, the French began to establish trading posts along the coast in In , the French East India Company was established to compete for trade in the east. While the French never rebuilt its American gains, their influence in Africa and Asia expanded significantly over the course of the 19th century. Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. The Age of Enlightenment. Search for:. The Age of Discovery. Key Takeaways Key Points European medieval knowledge about Asia beyond the reach of Byzantine Empire was sourced in partial reports, often obscured by legends.
In , Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi created what would be known as the Tabula Rogeriana — a description of the world and world map. It contains maps showing the Eurasian continent in its entirety, but only the northern part of the African continent. It remained the most accurate world map for the next three centuries. Between and , the Yongle Emperor of Ming China sponsored a series of long range tributary missions.
Christian embassies were sent as far as Karakorum during the Mongol invasions of Syria. Although he was not the first European to reach China, he was the first to leave a detailed chronicle of his experience. The book inspired Christopher Columbus and many other travelers in the following Age of Discovery. Key Terms Tabula Rogeriana : A book containing a description of the world and world map created by the Arab geographer, Muhammad al-Idrisi, in Written in Arabic, it is divided into seven climate zones and contains maps showing the Eurasian continent in its entirety, but only the northern part of the African continent.
The map is oriented with the North at the bottom. Pax Mongolica : A historiographical term, modeled after the original phrase Pax Romana, which describes the stabilizing effects of the conquests of the Mongol Empire on the social, cultural, and economic life of the inhabitants of the vast Eurasian territory that the Mongols conquered in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Maritime republics : City-states that flourished in Italy and across the Mediterranean. From the 10th to the 13th centuries, they built fleets of ships both for their own protection and to support extensive trade networks across the Mediterranean, giving them an essential role in the Crusades. Portuguese Explorers During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese explorers were at the forefront of European overseas exploration, which led them to reach India, establish multiple trading posts in Asia and Africa, and settle what would become Brazil, creating one of the most powerful empires.
Key Takeaways Key Points Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European overseas exploration, discovering and mapping the coasts of Africa, Asia, and Brazil. As early as , King Denis made an agreement with Genoese merchant sailor Manuel Pessanha, laying the basis for the Portuguese Navy and the establishment of a powerful Genoese merchant community in Portugal.
In , the city of Ceuta was occupied by the Portuguese in an effort to control navigation of the African coast. Henry the Navigator, aware of profit possibilities in the Saharan trade routes, invested in sponsoring voyages that, within two decades of exploration, allowed Portuguese ships to bypass the Sahara. The Portuguese goal of finding a sea route to Asia was finally achieved in a ground-breaking voyage commanded by Vasco da Gama, who reached Calicut in western India in , becoming the first European to reach India.
While following the same south-westerly route as Gama across the Atlantic Ocean, Cabral made landfall on the Brazilian coast— the territory that he recommended Portugal settle.
Key Terms Vasco da Gama : A Portuguese explorer and one of the most famous and celebrated explorers from the Age of Discovery; the first European to reach India by sea. Cape of Good Hope : A rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, named because of the great optimism engendered by the opening of a sea route to India and the East.
Spanish Exploration The voyages of Christopher Columbus initiated the European exploration and colonization of the American continents that eventually turned Spain into the most powerful European empire. Learning Objectives Outline the successes and failures of Christopher Columbus during his four voyages to the Americas. Key Takeaways Key Points Only late in the 15th century did an emerging modern Spain become fully committed to the search for new trade routes overseas.
A division of influence became necessary to avoid conflict between the Spanish and Portuguese. An agreement was reached in , with the Treaty of Tordesillas dividing the world between the two powers. The Spanish forces, in addition to significant armament and equestrian advantages, exploited the rivalries between competing indigenous peoples, tribes, and nations. In , the first permanent Spanish settlement in the Philippines was founded, which added a critical Asian post to the empire.
Key Terms reconquista : A period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula, spanning approximately years, between the initial Umayyad conquest of Hispania in the s, and the fall of the Emirate of Granada, the last Islamic state on the peninsula, to expanding Christian kingdoms in The conflict sprang in , when the expeditions of both kingdoms reached the Pacific Ocean, since there was not a set limit to the east. Treaty of Tordesillas : A treaty that divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Portugal and the Crown of Castile, along a meridian leagues west of the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa.
Christopher Columbus : An Italian explorer, navigator, and colonizer who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean under the monarchy of Spain, which led to general European awareness of the American continents. England and the High Seas Throughout the 17th century, the British established numerous successful American colonies and dominated the Atlantic slave trade, which eventually led to creating the most powerful European empire.
Learning Objectives Explain why England was interested in establishing a maritime empire. Cabot sailed in and he successfully made landfall on the coast of Newfoundland but did not establish a colony. Drake carried out the second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from to In , he claimed the harbor of Newfoundland for England, but no settlers were left behind. Gilbert did not survive the return journey to England, and was succeeded by his half-brother, Walter Raleigh, who founded the colony of Roanoke, the first but failed British settlement.
The introduction of the Navigation Acts led to war with the Dutch Republic, which was the first war fought largely, on the English side, by purpose-built, state-owned warships.
The colonization of the Americas and the participation in the Atlantic slave trade allowed the British to gradually build the most powerful European empire. It followed several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke.
The settlement served as the capital of the colony and at its height, it occupied most of the southeastern portion of the modern state of Massachusetts. The colony was founded by Sir Walter Raleigh.
The colonists disappeared during the Anglo-Spanish War, three years after the last shipment of supplies from England. Navigation Acts : A series of English laws that restricted the use of foreign ships for trade between every country except England.
They were first enacted in , and were repealed nearly years later in They reflected the policy of mercantilism, which sought to keep all the benefits of trade inside the empire, and minimize the loss of gold and silver to foreigners.
Caused by disputes over trade, the war began with English attacks on Dutch merchant shipping, but expanded to vast fleet actions. Ultimately, it resulted in the English Navy gaining control of the seas around England, and forced the Dutch to accept an English monopoly on trade with England and her colonies. French Explorers France established colonies in North America, the Caribbean, and India in the 17th century, and while it lost most of its American holdings to Spain and Great Britain before the end of the 18th century, it eventually expanded its Asian and African territories in the 19th century.
Learning Objectives Describe some of the discoveries made by French explorers. In , he sent Italian-born Giovanni da Verrazzano to explore the region between Florida and Newfoundland for a route to the Pacific Ocean. Cartier attempted to create the first permanent European settlement in North America at Cap-Rouge Quebec City in , but the settlement was abandoned the next year. List of subjects Sources Feedback. The mountain ranges of Europe and Asia. When the great land masses of Africa and India collide with Europe and Asia , about million years ago, they cause the crust of the earth to crumple upwards in a long almost continuous ridge of high ground - from the Alps, through Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan to the Himalayas.
This barrier will have a profound influence on human history. To the south and east of the mountain range are various fertile regions, watered by great rivers flowing from the mountains. By contrast, north of the mountain range is a continuous strip of less fertile grasslands - the steppes, on which a horseman can ride almost without interruption from Mongolia to Moscow.
This unbroken stretch of land north of the mountains, reaching from the Pacific in the east to the Atlantic in the west, means that the boundary between Asia and Europe is a somewhat vague concept. Indeed Europe is really the western peninsula of the much larger mass of Asia. In the south there is a natural barrier, long accepted as a dividing line - formed by the waters of the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Black Sea.
North from here the boundary is notional. In recent times it has been accepted as passing east from the Black Sea to the Caspian and then stretching north from the Caspian along the eastern slopes of the Ural mountains.
The first Europeans: , - 10, years ago. Early man - of the species Homo erectus - penetrates to the western extremity of Europe by about , years ago. Fossil remains from this time are known as far west as England. From about , years ago the human inhabitants of Europe, descendants of Homo erectus , are sufficiently different in brain size and physique to be classed as an early form of Homo sapiens.
Known as Neanderthal man , this species prospers for many thousands of years. But the Neanderthalers leave little trace of themselves other than their stone tools, their bones and the bones of their animal prey though a recently discovered Neanderthal flute suggests some cultural life. They are extinct by about 35, years ago. The fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in was a pivotal reason for European exploration, as trade throughout the Ottoman Empire was difficult and unreliable.
Trade for luxuries such as spices and silk inspired European explorers to seek new routes to Asia. Portugal, under the leadership of Prince Henry the Navigator, attempted to send ships around the continent of Africa, and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain hired Christopher Columbus to find a route to the East by going west.
As strong supporters of the Catholic church, they sought to bring Christianity to the East and any newly found lands, and hoped to find sources of wealth.
It was against this backdrop that Christopher Columbus, a Castilian navigator and admiral, submitted his plans for sailing around the world to Asia. After several approaches to the Italian, English, and Portuguese monarchies, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain finally decided to give Columbus a chance, despite the counsel of their advisers.
King Ferdinand thought Columbus might find something that could give the Spanish an opportunity to compete with their neighbor and rival Portugal. Columbus set out on his first of four voyages on August 3, Riding the trade winds westward across the Atlantic Ocean with the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, Columbus landed on an island he called San Salvador, in the present-day Bahamas, five weeks after embarking from Spain.
During this voyage, Columbus also explored the northeast coast of Cuba and the northern coast of Hispaniola, where he established the settlement of La Navidad. Upon his return to Spain, news of the discovered lands spread throughout Europe. Columbus made three more voyages to the New World between and These three subsequent voyages were made to explore and exploit the riches and resources of the indigenous peoples in the Americas.
Columbus had been granted authority by the Spanish monarchy to claim land for Spain, begin a settlement, trade for valuable goods or gold, and explore. He was also made governor of all the lands which he found and he proved to be a savage and brutal governor. Columbus enslaved and stole from the indigenous people, at one point threatening to cut off the hands of any person who failed to give him gold.
His brutal reign would foreshadow the arrival of the Conquistadors—Spanish warriors who would plunder and destroy the large and wealthy Aztec, Incan, and Mayan civilizations. Driven by the desire for raw materials, new trading outlets, and cheap labor, Europeans initiated an extensive slave trade out of West Africa. By , slaves were being brought from Africa to work on the sugar plantations of the Madeira Islands, off the coast of modern day Morocco.
The slave trade then expanded greatly as European colonies in the New World demanded an ever-increasing number of workers for the extensive plantations growing tobacco, sugar, and eventually rice and cotton. Upon discovering new lands through their naval explorations, Europeans soon began to migrate to and settle in lands outside their native continent.
In the 15th century, the Spanish invaded and colonized the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa under the direction of the Kingdom of Castille. They also captured indigenous Canary Islanders to use as slaves both on the Islands and across the Christian Mediterranean.
In the 16th century, the Portuguese settlers found that the Canary Islands were ideal for growing sugar, and they forcefully converted much of the land to the production of wine and sugar.
Sugar growing is a labor-intensive undertaking, and Portuguese settlers were difficult to attract due to the heat, lack of infrastructure, and hard life.
To cultivate the sugar, the Portuguese turned to large numbers of enslaved Africans. Elmina Castle on the Gold Coast, originally built by African labor for the Portuguese in to control the gold trade, became an important depot for slaves that were to be transported to the New World.
Using the Canary Islands as a naval base, they performed raids to capture slaves and sell them in the Mediterranean. Although initially successful in this venture, Portuguese raiding ships soon met with resistance from African naval forces.
The crews of several European ships were killed by African sailors whose boats were better equipped at traversing the West African coasts and river systems. Many African peoples already practiced various forms of slavery all of which differed significantly from the racial slavery that would ultimately develop in the New World , and eventually, deals were struck with some peoples of Africa to participate in the enslavement and subsequent trade for profit.
The alarming death rate experienced by the indigenous population had spurred the first royal Spanish laws protecting them, and consequently, the first enslaved Africans arrived in Hispaniola in
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