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DNL Lesson – « The Age of Discovery
(15th-16th c.) » [CA v2.6]
Note:
correspond à trois chap. du programme : « De Constantinople à Istanbul : un lieu de contacts
entre différentes cultures et religions (chrétiennes, musulmane, juive) » ; « un navigateur européen et ses
voyages de découverte » ; « une cité précolombienne confrontée à la conquête et à la colonisation
européenne ».
Table of Contents
Introduction.........................................................................................................1
1. Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire......................................................2
1.1. A powerful empire.....................................................................................2
1.1.1. A huge and warmongering empire.....................................................2
1.1.2. Constantinople...................................................................................4
1.2. A cosmopolitan empire.............................................................................9
2. The Age of Discovery.....................................................................................12
2.1. The search for new maritime roads........................................................12
2.1.1. The Muslim roadblock......................................................................13
2.1.2. Two Competing Iberian Kingdoms....................................................14
2.1.3. The Treasure Fleets of China's Ming Dynasty...................................23
2.2. Christopher Columbus and the New World.............................................27
3. The New World..............................................................................................31
3.1. The Conquest of the Aztec Empire..........................................................31
3.1.1. The Conquistadors...........................................................................31
3.1.2. The conquest of Tenochtitlan...........................................................32
3.2. The Discovery of New Civilizations.........................................................38
Conclusion.........................................................................................................38
Introduction
The beginning of modern time is an era of growing globalization (the process
through which an increasingly free flow of ideas, people, goods, services, and
capital leads to the integration of economies and societies).
Why and how Europe is starting to conquer the World?
The mighty ottoman empire is blocking direct access to Asia. Europeans will try
to discover new maritime roads to Asia. They will conquer the « New World »
(America).
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1. Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire
1.1.
A powerful empire
1.1.1.
A huge and warmongering empire
Illustration 1: Ottoman Empire c. 1600 [src]
•
The Ottoman Empire (1299-1923) is the link between West and East.
•
The Ottoman (= Turkish) and Muslim (caliph since 1517) sultan is the
sole and absolute head of state. The Grand Vizier is a kind of
government head.
•
The Ottoman Empire is a great military power with his famous elite
troops: the Janissaries (Christian children, enslaved, converted to Islam
and military drilled). It keeps expanding in the 16 th century, especially
under the reign of Suleiman The Magnificent (1520-66). Vienna (today
in Austria) is besieged (without success) in 1529:
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Illustration 2: Vienna, 16th c. [src]
•
This mighty empire is blocking western Europe expansion in the
Mediterranean sea.
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1.1.2.
•
Constantinople
The fall of Constantinople (today Istanbul), in 1453, marks the end
of the Byzantine Empire (or Eastern Roman Empire).
Livre 2nd Hatier, p. 170 doc. 1 =
Illustration 3: French depiction of the
Constantinople in 1453 (1455 manuscript)[src]
•
siege
of
The city is pillaged during three days and the inhabitants are killed or
enslaved after the victory of sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror
(1432-1481):
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Illustration 4: Mehmed II the Conqueror (1432-1481). Oil on canvas by the
Italian painter Gentile Bellini, 1480 (National Gallery, London)[src]
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Illustration 5: Constantinople c. 1572 (Braun, Georg, Civitates Orbis Terrarum,
t. 1, 1572) [src]
•
Constantinople (the official name until 1928) is a rich city, with a lot of
inhabitants (~ 650 000 c. 1550). It's a strategic location: between Europe
and Asia, the Black sea and the Mediterranean sea.
•
Sultans build there their huge (700 000 m²) Topkapi palace (1459) :
Livre 2nd Hatier, p. 171 doc. 3 et 5
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Illustration 6: Topkapı, 2007
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Illustration 7: A part of Topkapi, 2008 [src]
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Illustration 8: Topkapi, fountain in the privy chamber of Murat III (16th c.), 2012
[src]
1.2.
A cosmopolitan empire
•
Mehmed II brings Muslim Turks in Constantinople but also orthodox
Greeks and Slavs from the Balkans. In 1492, Spanish Jews settle in
Constantinople.
•
Constantinople is a cosmopolitan city with many nations and religions:
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Illustration
9:
Gilles,
Pierre
(1490-1555),
Constantinopoleos..., Lyon, Guillaume Rouille,
Constantinople in 1544)[src]
De
1561
topographia
(Gilles visits
Livre 2nd Hatier, p. 171 doc. 4
>100 caravansaries – caravanserai: a roadside inn.
300 mosques
70 Greek orthodox churches
10 catholic churches
7 Armenian churches
30 jewish synagogues
•
Thousands of Italian merchants live in the Galata district.
•
Despite the trading, there is still a religious and strategic conflict
between the Muslims Turks and Christian Europeans. The powerful
ottoman navy is defeated (by the Spanish empire, Venice...) at the battle
of Lepanto (1571):
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Illustration 10: Lepanto, 16th c. (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich,
London) [src]
•
Sultans keep an eye on European discoveries. Piri Reis, a Turkish
admiral, is the author of a famous map (c. 1513) where America is
drawn:
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Illustration 11: Piri Reis map, c. 1513 [src]
•
The ottoman navy cruises in the Indian ocean.
2. The Age of Discovery
2.1.
The search for new maritime roads
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2.1.1.
•
The Muslim roadblock
Asian spices (pepper...), Chinese silk are hugely popular in medieval and
Europe.
Illustration 12: silk roads [src]
•
Europeans also want to evangelize.
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2.1.2.
Two Competing Iberian Kingdoms
•
The Portuguese prince Henri the Navigator (1394-1460) is famous for the
voyages of discovery southward along the western coast of Africa that he
organized and financed (Madeira Islands, Azores...).
•
In 1488, the Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias sails around one of
the southernmost tip of Africa (the Cape of Good Hope):
Livre 2nd Hatier, p. 148-149 map
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Illustration 13: Travel of Bartolomeu Dias (1487-88) [src]
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Illustration 14: Cape of Good Hope, 2008 [src] [panorama 3D]
•
In 1492, the Genovese (Genoa is in north-west Italy) Christopher
Columbus (1451-1506) discovers America for Spain.
•
In June 1494, Spain and Portugal divide, by the Treaty of Tordesillas, the
newly discovered lands along a meridian:
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Illustration 15: Treaty of Tordesillas, fol. 6 (National Library, Lisbon)
[src]
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Illustration 16: Colonial demarcation lines between
Castile/Spain and Portugal in the 15th and 16th Centuries
[src]
•
In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama sails from Europe to
India. This discovery paves the way for the Portuguese to establish a
long-lasting colonial empire in Asia with a commercial monopoly on
spices (pepper, cinnamon…):
Livre 2nd Hatier, p. 148-149 carte
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Illustration 17: The route followed in Vasco da Gama's first voyage (1497–99)
[src]
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Illustration 18: Vasco da Gama
lands at Calicut, May 20, 1498
[src, c.1880]
•
In 1507, the word "America" appears on a map: it's a derivation from the
Latin version of the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci's first name.
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Illustration 19: Waldseemüller map, 1507 (Library of Congress, Washington)
[src]
Livre 2nd Hatier, p. 150 map 1
•
In 1519-22, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521),
serving the King of Spain, organizes the first circumnavigation of the
Earth:
Livre 2nd Hatier, p. 148-149 map + p. 154-155
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Illustration 20: Map of the first world circumnavigation of Ferdinand Magellan
and Juan Sebastián Elcano, from 1519 to 1522 [src]
Illustration 21: Replica of the Victoria, the first ship to successfully
circumnavigate the world (Punta Arenas, Chile)[src] ; picture of 1590.
•
Later, England (John Cabot, 1498) and France (Jacques Cartier claims
what is now Canada for France in 1534) explore North America.
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Livre 2nd Hatier, p. 148-149 map
2.1.3.
•
The Treasure Fleets of China's Ming Dynasty
From 1405 to 1433, Chinese admiral Zheng He (1371-1433) commands
seven expeditionary voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle
East, and East Africa:
Illustration 22: Zheng He [src] ;
statue
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Illustration 23: Journeys of Zheng He, 1405-33 [src]; other maps: here and here
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Illustration 24: Zheng He's ship and Columbus's Santa Maria [src]
Illustration 25: A display in a Mall in Dubai compares the size
of ships used by Zheng He and by Christopher Columbus [src]
Bow: the foremost end of the ship.
Anchor: ancre.
Midship: the middle part of the ship.
Main deck: pont principal.
Stern: is the aftermost end of the ship. Mast: mât
[vocabulary]
Sail: voile.
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Illustration 26: A full-size model of a "middle-sized treasure boat" (63
m long) of the Zheng He fleet. Build ca. 2005, Nanjing (China) [src];
another source
•
Traditional accounts of Zheng He's voyages describe a great fleet of 62
gigantic ships: if the accounts can be taken as factual, treasure ships
were mammoth ships with nine masts, four decks, and were capable of
accommodating more than 500 passengers, as well as a massive amount
of cargo:
•
State-sponsored naval efforts decline dramatically after Zheng's death:
China experiences increasing pressure from the Mongols and embarks
upon a massive expansion of the Great Wall of China. Funding for naval
expeditions is simply no more available.
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2.2.
Christopher Columbus and the New World
Illustration 27: Columbus World (1492) [src]
•
The Genovese Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) wants to reach the
East Indies by sailing westward.
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Illustration 28: Columbus, c.1520 (Il Padiglione del
Mare e della Navigazione, Genoa) [src]
•
In 1485 and 1488, Columbus presents his plans to the King of Portugal
and his experts, who reject them considering that Columbus' estimation
of a travel distance of 3,860 km is, in fact, far too low.
•
In 1492, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile accept the
proposed venture (about half of the financing is to come from private
Italian investors).
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Illustration 29: The Niña, the Pinta and the Santa-Maria (middle) [src].
•
On the evening of 3 August 1492, Columbus departs from Spain with
three ships and 87 men. On the morning of 12 October 1492, he
discovers San Salvador (Bahamas):
Livre 2nd Hatier, p. 148-149 maps
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Illustration 30: Columbus four travels [src]
Illustration 31: Columbus Beach, San Salvador, Bahamas [src]
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3. The New World
3.1.
The Conquest of the Aztec Empire
3.1.1.
•
The Conquistadors
They are Spanish and Portuguese adventurers and soldiers. They yearn
for gold and paradise:
Illustration 32: The conquistadors pray before entry to
Tenochtitlan in 1521 [src, 1909]
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• Conquistadors are helped by:
- Old World Epidemic diseases: the American natives lack immunity and
resistance to European infections (ex.: smallpox = variole).
- Indian political and social unrest => Indian allies
- Their armors, horses and guns unknown to Indians
3.1.2.
•
The conquest of Tenochtitlan
In 1519, Hernan Cortés (1485-1547) [Livre 2nd Hatier, p. 164 biogr.]
begins the conquest of the Aztec Empire (1428-1521) (~ today
Mexico) with 600 mens and 15 horses:
Illustration 33: Cortés [src]
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Illustration 34: Aztec Empire c.1519
Livre 2nd Hatier, p. 151 doc. 2 =
Illustration 35: Spanish progress, 1519-21
Livre 2nd Hatier, p. 162-163
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•
Tenochtitlan (today Mexico City) is successfully besieged in 1521:
Illustration 36: Tenochtitlan
Texcoco lake [src]
and
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Illustration 37: The Conquest of Tenochtitlán (“The Night of Sadness”, Mexico,
second half of 17th c., oil on canvas) [src]
Illustration 38: Aztec Warriors, circa 1500 [src]
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•
Peopled by ~ 200.000 inhabitants (it's five times the size of the
contemporary London of King of England Henry VIII), it's the capital city
of an Empire of ~ 17 million residents:
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Illustration 39: Tenochtitlan, Spanish map, 1524
Illustration 40: Reconstruction of Tenochtitlan (National Museum
Anthropology of Mexico City), 2006 [src]; another reconstruction, 1951
Grid plan: plan à damier.
Pyramid: pyramide.
Place, square: place (publique).
Relief map: plan en relief.
of
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•
In 1533, Francisco Pizarro captures Cuzco the capital city of the Inca
empire (~ modern-day Peru).
•
In the Spanish encomienda system, Indians are forced to work in mines
and fields.
.
3.2.
The Discovery of New Civilizations
•
The conquerors bring back goods (ex.: Tomato, Maize...) and Indians to
Europe.
•
Spain's colonization and conquest of the Americas inspire an intellectual
debate especially regarding the compulsory Christianization of the
Indians. The Valladolid debate (1550–1551) concerns the treatment of
natives of the New World. Dominican friar Bartolomé de las Casas argues
that the Amerindians are free men. Opposing him is scholar Juan Ginés
de Sepúlveda, who insists that the Indians should be reduced to serfdom.
Conclusion
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