MMW 13 Lecture 14: May 9 2018
16 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Long-Distance Oceanic Empires (1400-1500)
● Geographers very important in Renaissance government as people were looking for new
trade routes and ways across the Atlantic
● Catalan Atlas (1375)
○ Produced in Europe
○ Cut off at certain points where Europeans weren’t really going
■ East and South Africa
■ Parts of Asia
● Conquest of Ceuta (1415)
○ Portugal wants to engage in Mediterranean trade, but they are blocked by Spain,
Italy, and the Ottomans
■ They start moving W and S
○ Ceuta is a place in Morocco and becomes Portugal’s first foothold in the
Mediterranean
■ Allows them to trade with Africa and the Mediterranean
● Prince Henry the Navigator
○ Lesser Portuguese prince
○ Instrumental in the Conquest of Ceuta
■ Wanted to use Morocco as a way to get into the sub Saharan gold trade
○ He wants to get to the gold in Africa by going down the coast rather than through
the desert
● Fra Mauro Map (1459)
○ Mapmaker was Venetian
■ Map is centered at Venice
○ One of the first European scientific maps
○ Two versions: Venetian and Portuguese
○ Has some semblance of Africa, but it is inaccurate as they haven’t made it all the
way down the coast
● Portugal begins to align itself with Venice and Genoa to begin to explore the world
● Valued commodities become gold, spices, and slaves
○ African exploration by Europeans lead to the African slave trade
○ Europeans stop seeing Africans as people and more as commodities
● Atlantic African Colonialism
○ Arose from necessity and innovation
○ Globalized two medieval resettlement/trade models: reconquest and fort
○ Disrupted the balance of power among African kingdoms
○ Led to the rise of trans-Atlantic slavery
■ Chattel slavery
● Spice Routes
○ Power with the Ottoman Empire
○ Genoese disadvantaged
○ Venetians
■ Negotiate to continue trading in Black Sea
■ Sugar exporter
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Document Summary
Geographers very important in renaissance government as people were looking for new trade routes and ways across the atlantic. Cut off at certain points where europeans weren"t really going. Portugal wants to engage in mediterranean trade, but they are blocked by spain, Ceuta is a place in morocco and becomes portugal"s first foothold in the. Allows them to trade with africa and the mediterranean. Wanted to use morocco as a way to get into the sub saharan gold trade. He wants to get to the gold in africa by going down the coast rather than through the desert. One of the first european scientific maps. Has some semblance of africa, but it is inaccurate as they haven"t made it all the way down the coast. Portugal begins to align itself with venice and genoa to begin to explore the world. Valued commodities become gold, spices, and slaves. African exploration by europeans lead to the african slave trade.
