Science and the Englightenment

I. Science and Superstition--exist together, even in the leading scientists of the Age of Enlightenment (and they still exist together in the minds of modern people people, as well)

A. Superstition--exists to explain phenomenon that cannot be readily explained



B. Scientific method--develop thesis, design experiment to test thesis, and make sure the results can be replicated.



C. Copernicus--published study that argued that the earth revolved around the sun; scientific orthodoxy at the time (1543) held just the opposite being true.

1. Heliocentric cosmology--Copernicus was the first European astronomer to argue for the sun being at the center of the universe. This previously had been argued by the Greek astronomer Heracliedes of Pontus and in the medieval period by Nicole Oresme and Nicolas Cusanus

2. Publication--Copernicus published De revolutionibus orbium colestium (On the Revolution of Celestial Spheres) the year that he died at the age of 70.

3. Effect--despite the turmoil in the Roman Catholic world, Copernicus’ work was initially well-received; its calculations regarding the revolution of the earth around the sun became the basis for the gregorian calendar (still in use today).

4. Dispute--Copernicus’ calculations were questioned, even by Galileo Galilei, because the did not work for a round orbit (only for the elliptical orbit, as demonstrated by the mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler)

D. Galileo Galilei

1. Invented the telescope in 1609, which enabled him to see the craters and mountains, and led him to conclude that the material that made up the moon was much like the material that composed the earth.

2. Advanced Copernican notions about the universe, although he claimed that Copernicus’ calculations were inaccurate because he rejected Kepler’s argument about the elliptical orbit of celestial objects



3. Inquistion—one of the most prominent victims of the Inquisition, Galileo was force to recant (take back) his belief in the Copernican system, and he was held under house arrest for the rest of his life.

II. Counter-Reformation

A. Adoption of the Aristotelian model—the belief that everything and everyone had its place in the scheme of things (“God’s plan”)—a fixed hierarchy of the celestial bodies, and a fixed hierarchy for all of the people on earth.



1. Giordono Bruno—burned at the stake for arguing that there were in infinite number of worlds (solar systems)

2. Rene Descartes—the repression suffered by Galileo and especially by Bruno made Descartes suppress his findings that foreshadowed later discoveries by Newton



B. Protestants and literacy—Protestantism appealed to the growing middle class—both merchants and ambitious craftsmen—who looked to use knowledge to better their own lives, even if it was just to read the Bible.

1. Translating the Bible—on of the earliest accomplishments of the Protestant movement was to translate the Bible from Latin to a variety of vernacular languages.

a. King James Bible

2. Gutenberg—is credited with “inventing” moveable type in 1439, but evidence now indicates that this “invention” was in reality an evolutionary process.

a. Gutenberg Bible

b. Using moveable type made printing cheaper, and dropped the cost of books. This coincided with more people becoming literate, and increased the demand for books of all types

3. Protestantism could only spread by challenging the censorship practiced by the Roman Catholic Church, but when this censorship ended it permitted a plethora of voices to be heard—and even voices who questioned whether God existed at all. And if one could question the existence of God, by what right could kings claim to rule?

III. The Enlightenment—the turmoil caused by the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation caused many intellectuals to feel that their societies were deficient, and should be reconstituted according to rational principles, borrowed from the scientific method.

A. Anti-clerical—most Enlightenment thinkers were anti-clerical, meaning that they saw priests and ministers as mis-leaders of the people, perpetrators of the belief in superstition.

1. Edward Gibbon—wrote The Fall of the Roman Empire, where he placed the blame for the decline of Rome on the government’s adoption of Christianity

B. Reformers, not Revolutionaries—these thinkers tended to come from the upper classes, and though of “the people” as little more than sheep to be led.

1. Voltaire—most famous as a satirist, but like most of the men (and they were almost entirely all men) of the Enlightenment he was proficient at a number of things. Perhaps the harshest critic of priests, yet



2. Denis Diderot—the main author of the Encyclopedie, an attempt to present all knowledge in a series of 14 volumes; although the work was highly influential, only 4,000 sets of the volumes was initially sold.



3. Jean-Jacques Rousseau—wrote The Social Contract, which argued that people should be governed by the general will of the populace



4. John Locke—wrote Two Treatise on Government which were important to the development of ideas about how a more representative government could be brought about (particularly influential on the Declaration of Independence)



5. Adam Smith—most famous for The Wealth of Nations, the much-cited if little read justification for the development of capitalism. Smith argued that the “Invisible hand” of the market would best guide political economy, and that it needed no interference from man; we are now living through one of the troughs that Smith did not realize was one of the costs of allowing the Invisible Hand guide the economy.

The English Civil War

I. Protestant Reformation

A. Martin Luther--nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the Church in Wittenberg, Germany, protesting principally the sale of “indulgences”--documents that absolved people of sins and promised them a passport to heaven.

1. Also disputed other theological points--relating to church ceremonies, the role of priests as intermediaries between believers and God, and over the right of the pope to discipline the priesthood.

2. Luther’s challenge to religious orthodoxy could not avoid also challenging the social and political practices of the time, as well. This plunged much of Europe into almost constant warfare or civil strife for much of the next 125 years or so, because of what effectively happened was that the whole construction of medieval society was called into question.

B. Jean (John) Calvin

1. Calvinism

a) Predestination-- in theology, the belief that human action had no effect upon salvation; one was a member of “God’s elect,” or not--and most were not. Any good works that one might undertake had no effect on whether one would be saved, or not.

2. Effects of Calvinist theology--with salvation moved out of the realm of man’s control, and good works now having no effect on that salvation, it became possible to view one’s economic standing as a reflection of God’s will, and undermined the obligations of the better off to assist the less fortunate.

II. Reformation in England

A. Henry VIII

1. Marriage to Catherine of Aragon

a) Related to Spanish monarchy

b) Catherine was married briefly to Henry’s older brother, Arthur, who died shortly after the marriage. Rather than return the considerable dowry, Henry VII proposed Catherine marry his younger son Henry, 5 years here junior--but had to wait until he came of age.

c) Issue of marriage to a close relative (sister-in-law) was raised, but Catherine swore the marriage was never consummated (and the Pope would have probably granted dispensation, anyway)



d) Only one child from this union, Mary (later known as “Bloody Mary,” for reasons that will become obvious) lived past infancy. Henry felt marriage was cursed, no male heir, and attracted to one of his wife’s “ladies in waiting,” asked Pope Clement to annul the marriage

e) Pope’s decision--upset the most powerful monarchy (Spain), displease his “host” (pope was a “guest” of Catherine’s nephew, the king of what was left of the Holy Roman Empire), or anger the monarch of a minor kingdom located on some godforsaken island?

f) In response, Henry declared himself the head of the Church of England (and got English bishops to go along with it), granted himself an annulment, and sold off most of the land the Catholic Church owned in England

2. Edward VI--Henry died when Edward was nine, and he died when he was 15 in 1553--so most of the decisions made by his Regency council.

3. Mary Tudor--despite Edward’s efforts as he was dying to place his cousin Lady Jane Grey on the throne, his older half-sister Mary had the most legitimate claim to the throne. She attempted to return England to the religion of her mother and herself--Roman Catholicism. To make an example, she had 300 people who refused to convert executed--which put something of a dint in her popularity. She had her half-sister Elizabeth thrown in prison, and then under house arrest, because Mary suspected her of aiding her Protestant foes

a) Religious resistance--there was a sizable whose opposition to this directive was a matter of conscience. Those people derisively known as “Puritans,” influenced by John Calvin, had been agitating since the takeover of the Church of England for doing away with most of the ceremonies of the church (beyond the celibate priesthood) and simplifying worship services

b) Economic resistance--Henry had sold off the land held by monastic orders, and purchasers were resistant to being forced to give up these properties.

4. Elizabeth I--child of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, ascended to the throne when her half-sister Mary died in 1558.

a) Re-established Protestantism

b) The “Virgin Queen” left no heirs, never married

B. House of Stuart

1. James IV--named heir on Elizabeth’s death; son of her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, became James I of England (while also retaining Scottish throne)



2. Charles I--his lack of political acumen led to a contentious relationship with Parliament, and his eventual downfall

a) Dismissal of Parliament--as was the king’s prerogative at the time; his decision to attempt to rule without the consent of Parliament was seen as high-handed, however. He raised money by levying new taxes and customs without consent, and by collecting customs on new imports.

b) Scottish rebellion--Calvinists threatened rebellion, which Charles assumed would be easily put down, but he had no money to spend on raising an army, and had to call Parliament back into session

c) House of Commons demands--

(1) Abolition of new taxes, and pardons for those who had resisted paying

(2) Dissolution of special courts

(3) End of king’s power to dissolve Parliament without that body’s consent

(4) Removal of bishops from House of Lords

(5) Amicable peace with Scottish Calvinists

d) King felt this was giving up too much, and attempted to quash dissent by force by raising a body of loyalists (known as the “Cavaliers”) to arrest leading members of Parliament. Those threatened caught wind of this plan, however, and were able to escape into the walled section of London, where the people there protected them.

III. The New Model Army

A. Harnessing popular discontent

1. Cavaliers--largely upper class bullies who gained a well-deserved reputation for despoiling every area they moved through

2. Resentment against the heavy-handed cavaliers led to street protests and the rise of street preachers who spoke against class privileges--as well as the need to work every day.

3. Rise of the Presbyterians--leading Puritans thought that there should be a uniform system of religious doctrine led by church elders--themselves--so that the “rabble” did not create chaos.



4. Oliver Cromwell--led a cavalry outfit he recruited from among his Puritan associates, made up of volunteers from the “middling classes” dedicated to their religious beliefs and bettering themselves by the dint of their hard work.

a) Cromwell realized that he could only motivate these kinds of people by allowing them to give expression to their values and views.



b) Permitted preachers who attached themselves to the New Model Army to proselytize-not only among the NMA, but among the people in the towns and cities they controlled as well.

5. Battle of Naseby 1645--king’s forces was routed, and he fled to Scotland. The Scots decided to turn him over to Parliament. While the debate went on about what to do with the King, he escaped to the Isle of Wight, where recruited a new army--which was defeated, and he was recaptured. Now realizing that he remained a threat to all their lives while alive, Parliament ordered him beheaded.



6. The Putney Debates and the Levelers--a radical democratic faction of the NMA, reacting against the Long Parliament’s seeming intention to deny them back-pay and send them off to Ireland to quell another disturbance, debated making demands on Parliament for the institution of more democratic measure--a wider granting of the franchise, etc.

a) The Levelers--position frightened the “moderates” of the Presbyterian party, who saw this movement as a dangerous development--as people see most developments that they think will undermine their influence.

b) While excluding the most radical elements, the Presbyterians formed a “council of the Army” half made up of rank and file members, and half officers; they relied upon the practice of deference to persuade the rank and file to go along with the officers’ proposals.

The Legend of Vasco da Gama

A. Henry the Navigator--younger son of ruling Aviz family. Became head of the religious military organization Order of Christ in 1420. Portuguese nobility, fired by the long, successful struggle against Islam in the Iberian peninsula, and were looking for allies to extend this struggle to retake Jerusalem from Islamic control--preferably with a partner east of the Holy City.

1. Legend of “Prester John”--a supposed long-lost Christian king, located somewhere in Africa (or maybe Asia--nobody is really sure). Henry’s plan seems to have been to seek out the kingdom of Prester John, and ally with it to “free” the Holy Land.

a) Basis in reality?--there were, of course, Christians in eastern Africa (the Coptic Church in both Egypt and Ethiopia), as well as Christians in the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, and India--none of them called Prester John, of course.

2. Systematic exploration--the Portuguese began a systematic exploration of the African Coast to look for the “western Nile” (apparently the Senegal River) that would take them to the kingdom of Prester John.

B. Benefits of Arab Contact

1. Navigational tools--from their Muslim contact, Portuguese sailors had learned to use an astrolab and a compass, and to build a modified ship they called the caravel, which had a lateran sail that allowed the ship to tack better--necessary to navigate on the open ocean (particularly against the wind)

2. Navigational maps--as the exploration process progressed, Portuguese mapmakers grew more skilled, and gathered more information, to draw more accurate maps. These new maps included not only more accurate depictions of land masses, but also indications of the direction and strength of trade winds and sea currents

3. Knowledge of Arab trade routes--Portuguese were also hoping to tap into some of the wealth the Arabs generated from their trade with Africa and Asia.

II. The Expeditions

A. To the “Western Nile”

1. Cape Bojador--the southernmost point known to Europeans to this time. It was a fairly unattractive place, port along the Atlantic coast with Sahara Desert as its hinterland. It eventually was discovered that sailing well into the Atlantic--out of the sight of land--was a better route.

a) Porto Santo (1419)-- “Discovered” by an expedition that got caught in a storm and blown off course; became an important launching point for future expeditions.

b) Madeira Islands (1420)--became an important source for wood to construct ships (madeira is portuguese for wood); it is colonized, and becomes an important source for industrial agricultural products.

2. Tangiers--Portuguese disasterous attack one this city, held by Berbers. Portuguese army surrounded and forced to surrender; only way to save the army was to send youngest Aviz brother, Prince Fernando, into captivity. He died in captivity four years later. This tragedy seemed to spur Prince Henry on, however.

3. Cabo Branco (Cape Blanco)--an expedition to “make peace” with Africans ended up capturing a number of them, including a chief named Adahu, who provided the Portuguese with much information.

B. The Atlantic Islands and the Development of Slavery--the Portuguese colonized the islands they “discovered” in the Atlantic, probably because they used these as stations during expeditions. Using the model of the islands of the Mediterranean, plantation agriculture using slave labor was quickly developed--particularly the cultivation of sugar cane, which used slave labor; many slaves from Africa were used to cultivate sugar cane in the Mediterranean, and the importation of African slaves to work the plantations on these Atlantic islands seemed a natural progression.

1. Madeira Islands--sugar cane, and grapes (Madeira wine)

2. Azores Island (1427)

3. Cape Verde Islands (1460)

4. Sao Tome (1470)--all these islands were colonized, in contrast to the “factories” that were established on the African coast as trading outposts.

C. Guineas and Gold--Guinea was the name applied to the land south of the Sahara Desert, and to the people living there. It later became applied to a several countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It also became a slang term for the gold coin minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1813, made with gold mined in Guinea--and those coins were often traded for slaves (Guinea slaves)

1. Caravel--in 1441, the first expedition to use the caravel was made, and at a village along the Rio do Ouro several people were kidnapped, taken back to Portugal, and sold as slaves--the beginning of the slave trade in Europe (Arabs had dealt in the African slave trade for hundreds of years to this point).



2. Bay of Arguin (1448)--first Portuguese fort constructed on African coast from which trade was conducted with Africans. The few Portuguese agents in these forts were called “factors,” which is how these establishments became known as “factories.”

3. Cape Verde (1444)--Dinis Dia, inspired by the earlier discovery that the Sahara Desert ended, found the westernmost part of Africa. From this point on, Portuguese merchants became more involved in the exploration process, because of the potential wealth to be gained from establishing trade networks; the Portuguese monarchy was happy to take a cut of the trade proceeds without having to risk anything.

a) Fenao Gomes--one of the merchants who financed their own expeditions. Gomes and his crew “discovered” the Gold Coast (modern Ghana).

D. King Joao II--succeeded his father Afonso V to the throne, he actively supported his own expeditions, and signalled a renewed drive on the part of the Portuguese crown to seek a sea route to Asia; within four years of his gaining the crown, Portuguese expeditions round the Cape of Good Hope.

1. Voyage of Diogo Cao (1482)--Cao discovered that the western coast of the African continent turned south and ran for over a thousand miles before turning again. Cao also became the first European to come into contact with the Kingdom of the Kongo, which became an important trading partner and the first successful effort to convert sub-Saharan Africans to Christianity.

2. Christopher Columbus--was turned down by King Joa in 1484 (and again in 1488).

3. Bartolomeu Dias (1487)--sent on expedition to find the southern cape of Africa. He was successful, but did not at first recognize his feat because his small fleet had been caught in a serious storm as they approached the cape, and passed in the midst of that. He reported back that his fleet had rounded the “Cape of Storms,” but king changed the name to “Cape of Good Hope” because investors would be scared off from an expedition that had to pass by the Cape of Storms.

E. Treaty of Tordesilla (1494)--divided the world outside of Europe into two spheres of influence--Portuguese and Spanish. These spheres were divided by the Pope in a line running north/south from 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands.

1. Spanish proposal--after Columbus’ “discovery,” Spain insisted upon dividing world into two different areas for making claims of surzenity, or control. Spain’s proposal was to demarcate the line 100 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands.

2. Portuguese response--King Jao insisted that the line be drawn at 370 leagues--why? Why not 200, or 300? Did the Portuguese have information about the existence of a large land mass on the other side of the Atlantic?

III. Voyage of Vasco da Gama

A. Arming the caravel--in preparation for sailing into the Indian Ocean--known to be dominated by Islamic traders, a method was devised to put cannons below deck, behind doors built into the bulkhead. This provided da Gama and his successors an immense advantage, because they were the most heavily armed ships in the Indian Ocean.

B. The Voyage


I. Portuguese Age of Exploration 1415-1530

1. da Gama left in 1497. Hoping to avoid the difficulties faces by Dias, Gama used the trade winds of the Atlantic to his advantage--but still almost missed the Cape of Good Hope.

2. After rounding the Cape, the expedition made slow progress up the east coast of Africa, before finding a local pilot knowledgeable of the Indian Ocean, who guided the fleet across to India.



3. Returned to Portugal in 1499.

IV. The Aftermath

A. Spice trade--after reaching India, Portuguese explorers continued to press eastward, eventually reaching the Spice Islands, China, and Japan.

1. As on the coast of Africa, the Portuguese established factories to carry out trade, which allowed them to dominate the spice trade to Europe

2. Asciento system--in the early years of Portuguese dominance, they were able to insist that ships that traded in the Indian Ocean by a license to trade there; as more ships followed the Portuguese example of heavily arming their ships, this became less effective; Portuguese also found it difficult to maintain such a huge empire with fewer than 300 ships and less than 10,000 Portuguese to run it.

3. Succession problems--the fall of the House of Aviz, and the ascension of Philip II of Spain to the throne of Portugal, made the lucrative spice trade a ready target for Philip’s growing list of enemies--particularly the Dutch, who take over much of the Portuguese empire in Asia by 1620.

1421

These are the first seven epidsodes of Gavin Menzies 1421 that are available on YouTube, covering the voyages of Admiral Zheng He's fleet in the Indian Ocean. The epidsodes have a spanish translation of the English narration superimposed on the recording, but it should serve to provide you with a good review of the video presentation in class.



Epidsode 2



Epidsode 3



Episode 4



Episode 5



Episode 6



And, finally, Episode 7

The Renaissance in Asia

I. European “colonies”--because Europe came to dominate much of Africa and Asia in the 19th and 20th centuries, it has been assumed that this was the case in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, as well. Europeans ran small trading outposts on these continents, however, and remained there at the pleasure of their hosts.

A. Asia and the Columbian Exchange--the so-called “Columbian Exchange” proved to be a dietary revolution for all of the world.

1. The cultivation of maize--spread to the rest of the world, increasing the amount of calories available for consumption, which also spurred a boom in population in the rest of the world outside of the Americas (which, due to the exposure to European microbes, saw a precipitous drop in native population).

2. The cultivation of the potato--also spread to much of the world--especially that part of the world that proved too cold for maize, and was a favorite of peasants because it could be stored out of sight of landlords (left in the ground, it would remain good for many months during colder weather).

B. Asian Powers

1. Ottoman Turks--after conquering Constantinople in 1453, the Turks went onto take Cairo in 1517, Hungary in 1526, Algiers in 1528, and besieged Vienna in 1529 and again in 1683.


2. Persian Safavid Empire--established the Shi’a sect of Islam as the state religion, and led a 250-year flowering of Persian culture, particularly poetry, which a number of shah’s wrote.

3. Japan--although Japanese culture appropriated many ideas from China (their system of writing, slightly modified religious practices and beliefs), along with a social organization reminiscent of European feudalism (nobles fighting each other over land with hired hands--the samuri--with guns and swords)

4. Rise of Russia--from the Duchy of Muscovy began the expansion outward which created the modern Russia.

II. China’s Renaissance

A. Zheng He and the Great Fleet


B. Recovery of Agriculture

1. New machines of cultivation

2. Irrigation improvements



3. Industrialization of agriculture--produced crops like cotton, dyes (indigo, etc), vegetable oils, and tobacco (another “benefit” of the Columbian Exchange)

C. Industrial technology

1. Printing press--using wooden blocks, but printing in three and four colors.

a) Led to widespread literacy, dissemination of information, the development of popular literature (in vernacular Chinese, rather than strictly in official Mandarin)

b) China experienced its “renaissance” at the same time as Europe, spurred by the reinvigoration of agriculture (producing a surplus), which freed up a number of other people to practice other trades

2. Silk looms

3. Cotton mills

4. Paper mills

5. Ceramics--all of these industries produced goods that were traded around the world from the 16th and 17th centuries, and spurred the development of a number of domestic industries.

D. Inequality of wealth distribution--the beneficiaries of the surplus were largely landlords and mill owners; farmers and workers received little recompense or reward for their labor.

1. Climatic changes--do play a significant part in tipping the balance fro surplus to subsistence.

2. Inequality--because of the great wealth disparity, however, minor declines in the amount of food harvested meant that those on the bottom of the economic ladder suffered the most.


3. Restriction of trade--while Menzies focuses upon the opportunities lost for the Chinese to get credit for the “discovery” of the Americas due to the jealousies of Confucion clerks, trade was restricted in order to limit the growing influence of merchants--and the threat this posed to the control the emperor maintained.

a) unauthorized trade was labeled “piracy.”


b) Trade was not completely shut off, of course; the Portuguese would arrive in Macau in 1535--but trade with outsiders was restricted to these kinds of encampments.

4. Floods, famine--the population in China had grown from around 70 million in the 14th century to an estimated 170 million by 1650. After a series of devastating floods, followed by periods of drought, the surplus of food was gone.

a) Not all areas of China were affected by famine and floods, but no effort was made by the government to move food from areas of plenty to areas of want.

b) This led to thirty years of peasant riots in various places around the country.

5. Crisis made worse by government structure

a) 45 princes of “first rank” received incomes equal to 600 tons of grain a year (1,200,000 pounds)

b) Burden of making good on these payments fell largely on peasants; for example half of the tax revenues from to provinces (Shansi and Honan) went into paying the allowance for their princes.

E. Political collapse

1. 1644--last Ming emperor committed suicide, peasant who led uprising declared himself emperor in his stead.

2. Manchu invaders from Manchuria invade and capture Beijing



3. Merchants and artisans--the Chinese “bourgoisie” of the period were not able to step up into this vacuum of leadership because their growth had been systematically stunted.

III. Mogul India

A. Islamic rulers

1. 13th Century--a succession of Islamic rulers had overrun northern India. They ruled through a system that made local officials--known as zamindars--responsible for collecting taxes from peasants on the land the zamindars owned--but the zamindars had to turn over a portion to the Islamic rulers.

a) most of the surplus extracted never made it back to the peasants, but went instead into expenses of the imperial court, the state bureaucracy, and maintaining the military; the state, therefore, was the chief exploiter.

2. Indian cities--among the largest and most opulent in the world in the 1500s and 1600s, but little of the wealth created and displayed in these cities made its way back to the countryside.



3. Proto-industries

a) Textiles--exported to Europe

4. Peasant discontent--found expression in the rise of new religious sects, like the Sikhs, but shied away from using the language of outright rebellion. Religions initially taught concepts of humility and resignation, rather than militancy and physical struggle.

a) This outlook changed as conditions worsened; eventually, Sikhs and Marathas combined to defeat the Moguls in the 18th century.

Europe and the "New World"

I. Native Americans

A. Inka civilization

1. The Inka Empire--was the largest empire in the world during its time, stretching nearly the entire west coast of South America; much of the empire was contained within the Andes Mountains, at heights were sustaining civilization is very difficult

2. Inka reign--lasted just over one hundred years before its demise at the hands of Francisco Pizzaro; but as we shall see, like his cousin Cortez, he lucked into attacking an empire that was suffering from internal difficulties that contributed to its downfall.



3. Rise of the Inka--Inka was the name for the people, as well as incorporated into the name of the ruler.

a) Originated near Lake Titicaca, in the Andes along the border of present-day Peru and Bolivia. Move then to area near Cusco (or Qosqo)

b) Inka made enemies of the Chanka people, were suppose to be led into battle by Wiraqocha Inka and his designated heir (the Inka named their successors), Inka Urqon. The fled the Chanka, however, and the Inkas were led into battle by the youngest son, Inka Cusi Yupaki, who led them to victory. After being tipped off to his father’s plans to have him murdered, Yupaki foiled the plot, and his humiliated father fled. Yupaki then renamed himself Pachakuti (“Worldshaker”) in Runa Sumi, the Inkan language.

c) The Hegemonic Empire--Pachakuti formed his empire largely by persuading other peoples to adopt Inka ways of life and Inka protections; then co-opting local rulers to do his bidding.

d) Succession problems--naming the successor worked as long as it was a decisive decision--and the person named outlived the Inka. By the early 1500s, to successive ascensions to the throne were contested, setting off small civil wars in Inkan society; the second was only resolved just before the appearance of Pizzaro.

B. North of the Rio Grande

1. Demise of the Mound Builders

2. Smaller political units

II. Rise of Europe

A. Fall of Contantinople (1453)--the Ottoman Turks finally succeeded in conquering Constantinople in 1453, and this allowed them to control the spice trade through the Levant (today’s Middle East). This gave added impetus to Christian merchants to find alternative sources for this trade

B. Reconquista--since the Islamic conquest of the Iberian peninsula in 712 CE, Christian forces there had worked to reconquer the peninsula--an 800 year struggle, as it turned out.

1. Why so long?--this struggle occurred in fits and starts, and was not fought during the entire 800 year period. The Christian kings, in fact, spent much of the time fighting amongst themselves over land and who would rule over it. By the late 1400s, most of Spain was united by the marriage of Ferdinand of Castille and Isabelle of Aragon, and by early 1492 the last caliph of Granada surrendered to Spanish forces

2. Aftereffects--The Spanish monarchy saw itself as the great proponent or orthodox Catholicism, and moved against anyone who strayed from that orthodoxy.

C. Military culture in Iberia--because of this long military struggle, Spain (and Portugal, to a lesser extent), built up a support system to sustain a large military force; miltary religious orders were an important part of this system. With this development, the military became a means of “proselytizing” religious faith--one gained religious converts at the point of the sword.

1. Reconquista in Portugal--was effectively over by 1250 CE, when Portuguese forces gained control of the Algarve, the southernmost area of today’s Portugal; after Portugal became the first European country to gain a foothold in former Muslim held North Africa (Cueta, 1415), the began explorations in the Atlantic and the African coast.

III. Spanish Conquest of the New World

A. Christopher Columbus--son of a Genoese shopkeeper. Columbus aspired to greatness on the seas; from his early teen years on he gained sailing experience. He developed a theory that one could reach Asia by sailing west from Europe, largely because of a miscalculation.

1. Columbus in Lisbon--Portugal is the westernmost country in Europe, and had sailors sailing the Atlantic long before the rise of Prince Enrique (Henry) the Navigator. With the fall of Constantinople, Lisbon had become the place for seafaring adventurers.

a) Columbus’ proposal (1485)--to Joao (or John) II, that he be outfitted with three ships and a year’s time to make the voyage to Asia and back. King Joao turned this request over to his councilors, who concluded that Columbus had badly miscalculated the circumference of the earth, and that the trip was impractical.

b) Columbus’ proposal (1488)--same sales pitch, same result. Decision was also probably influenced by knowledge that a Portuguese expedition had yet to return from an attempt to round the continent of Africa.

2. Columbus in Cadiz--Columbus had already utilized his Genoese connections to find half the money for the expedition; he had to rely upon a European monarch for the other half of the funding, however.

a) Proposal to Henry VIII of England, who did not decide in favor before Columbus was finally able to persuade the dual monarchs of Spain to take the chance.

b) Ferdinand and Isabella--although the Kingdom of Spain was mostly broke from fighting the final battles to unite their kingdom, they were able to find some money in the treasury (and force contributions from some of their subjects) to fund the expedition

c) Departure--from Palos de la Fronterra on August 3, 1492. The three ships made a stop in the Canary Islands for final repairs, then departed on September 6.

d) Arrival--land was spotted on October 12 (Columbus Day in much of the Spanish-speaking world)

3. Columbus in the New World

a) Caribbean Islands--Columbus’ first encountered a gentle, friendly people the Spanish called the Tainos, who seemed to welcome the strangers

b) Columbus was attracted to their gold jewelry, and attempted to ascertain where they obtained it--but they had great difficulty communicating with each other, since neither party spoke the others’ language.

c) Kidnapped 12 “Indios” to take back to Spain (kind of like specimens); tellingly, all 12 died shortly after their arrival in Spain



d) Columbus made three other voyages, and served for a time as governor of “New Spain” (when he was accused of misusing his power and theft, and briefly thrown in jail), but it is not clear that he ever understood the importance of his “discovery.”

IV. New Spain

A. The Caribbean--Spain quickly overcame natives on most of the islands of Caribbean, mostly through the microbes they introduced directly or through those that came with the livestock they introduced.

1. Pigs--the Spanish place male and female pigs on many of the islands in preparation for their exploration, ensuring they would have a ready food supply when they returned. The pigs, however, carried a number of microbes that readily jumped to human hosts, and promptly killed a number who had never been exposed to them.

B. Hernan Cortes and the Golden City--son of a lesser noble family; evidence suggests that he was a man of extraordinary ambition.

1. Government official on the island of Cuba, then the headquarters for Spanish government in New Spain.

2. Led third expedition to the mainland, which he largely funded himself.

3. His hostile relationship with the appointed governor led to an attempt to stop his expedition. Cortes resisted this attempt, and began writing letters to the Spanish king, claiming he was merely working for the greater glory of his majesty, etc.

4. Dona Mariana (La Malinche)--native woman who acted as translator for Cortes; she spoke both Mayan and Nauhautal.



5. Veracruz--upon landing, Cortes ordered the ships beached, and then burned

C. Moctezuma--fatefully decided to allow the Spanish to enter Tenochtitlan with no resistance and lavished them with many gifts; the gold only made the Spanish want more. Eventually, the Spanish decided to hold Moctezuma hostage in order to get more gold, and finally murdered him when things began to go wrong.

1. Mexica forces expelled Spanish from city--Spanish only escaped because they were getting slaughtered so badly on the causeways that connected the island city of Tenochtitlan to the mainland that they were using the bodies of comrades to fill in the gaps the Aztecs had made.



2. Siege of Tenochtitlan--Cortes had previously returned to the coast to seek more reserves, where he defeated--and converted--yet another force sent to stop him. He returned with these reinforcements and lay siege to Tenochtitlan. The siege, in conjunction with the microbes, finally defeated the Aztec forces.

V. Francisco Pizzaro and the Inka

A. The Conquistadore--cousin of Cortes, of an even lesser noble family (Pizzaro was himself illiterate), but fired by even more ambition than Cortes

1. Early recognizance--Pizzaro made several earlier trips, and caught wind of a supposed fabulously wealthy kingdom.

2. Third expedition--Pizzaro heard of an ongoing civil war, and moved south with 106 foot soldiers and 62 horsemen

3. Cajamarca--this Inka town was largely abandoned because of the civil war. Pizzaro’s men hid themselves about the town, and Pizzaro sent word for the winner of the civil war, Atahualpa, to meet him there. Atahualpa agrees to the meeting; to impress the Spanish, he paraded into town accompanied by 5,000 to 6,000 of his largely unarmed people, leaving his army behind.



4. Spanish massacre--began with firing guns, cannon, attacking the crowd with men on horseback; the huge crowd panics, and most are crushed to death by falling over each other trying to escape.

5. Atahualpa held hostage. He notices Spanish “lust for gold,” agrees to fill two rooms with gold and silver in return for his release. While the valuables are being gathered, Atahualpa arranges for this remaining rivals to be murdered; he himself is garroted by the Spanish.

6. Inka resistance--continued until the Spanish were able to capture and execute the final Inka emperor, Tupac Amura, in 1572.

VI. Conclusion--the “Black Legend”