Essential Questions: What did the early Portuguese explorers accomplish? How did the voyages of Christopher Columbus influence the world?
I. Portugal�s first explorers
A. Portuguese and Spanish explorers made the first European voyages into
unknown waters
1. Curiosity, religion, and riches drove these men forward
2. The voyages resulted in great advances for these governments
a. They also served as the foundations for future empires
B. Vasco da Gama
1. Sailed eastward across the Indian Ocean
a. He landed in India in 1498
b. He returned to Portugal with valuable goods
-Spices and jewels
c. An overseas trade route from Europe to India was now available
-Ships could carry goods more cheaply than could overland
routes
II. Christopher Columbus
A. Columbus sailed westward across the Atlantic looking for a shorter route to
Asia
1. In October 1492, Columbus landed in what is now called the Bahamas
a. He thought he had discovered islands off the east coast of Africa
b. The islands Columbus discovered in the Americas were new and
unknown to Europeans
B. Impact of Columbus�s voyages
1. In the years following Columbus�s voyages, a massive exchange
(Columbian Exchange) took place between the New World and the
Old World of Europe
a. Plants, animals, and diseases traveled between the Western and
Eastern hemisphere
-For example, gold and silver mined in South America
were shipped to Spain
-Also, American food such as potatoes, tomatoes, and corn
were introduced into Europe
-The Spanish introduced horses to the Americas
III. Other European explorers
A. Ferdinand Magellan
1. He sailed west and made the first round-the-world voyage in 1519
IV. Portuguese expansion
A. After the voyages of Dias and da Gama, the Portuguese dreamed of controlling trade with Asia
1. In 1510, they conquered part of India
2. The Portuguese also gained footholds in China and Japan
3. Finally, they established several armed trading posts on the E. African
coast
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European Colonialism (cont.)
Essential Question: Why did the Atlantic slave trade prosper?
V. Slave Trade
A. Portuguese set up sugar plantations off the coast of Africa
1. To make profits, large numbers of slaves were needed
a. Plantation owners got these slaves from the African mainland
b. Later, the Dutch, English and French became involved with the
slave trade (see map)
B. Triangular trade
1. Slave trade in the Atlantic was part of a system called the triangular
trade
a. Merchants shipped cotton goods, weapons, and liquor to Africa
in exchange for slaves or gold
b. The second state of the journey was called the middle passage
-The shipment of slaves across the Atlantic to the Americas
2. The middle passage was cruel and degrading
a. Traders chained the slaves in the crowded hold of the ship
b. Slaves had little food or water and no sanitary facilities
-Many died before reaching their destination
-However, some 10 million Africans survived the horrible
journey to slavery in the Americas
C. African Kingdoms and Slavery
1. Some of the African kingdoms profited from the slave trade
a. Slaves were sometimes taken in war or during raids on
neighboring tribes
2. Some slaves who lived in the interior helped the Europeans capture and
move slaves
a. In return, they received European-made arms and other goods
3. As demands for slaves increased, population losses had disastrous
effects on Africa�s development and progress