Before Columbus Main Points

1. Europe wasnt large, rich or stable

2. Portugal took advantage of the Crusades to further trade
3. Sugar helped spur trade in slaves (and profit)
4. Religious solidarity prohibited open competition
5. Spain and Columbus
a. Bypassed religious issues to gain wealth
6. New World
a. Indians served as slaves in a burgeoning world trade market
b. Encomienda & Requerimento to justify enslavement
c. Columbian Exchange
7. Old World rivalries prompted further Spanish expansion into North
America
BEFORE COLUMBUS
The modern world was just awakening to its potential
 The World in
1500

China, India, Africathen

Europe

By many accounts the

empires of South America
were greater than Europe
Middle Ages and
the Crusades

War captives served as

slaves for a burgeoning world
labor market

Accelerated after the

discovery of sugar in
Europe in the 11th century
and the Black Plague in 1347
 Europes Wars

When Europeans werent fighting

the infidels they fought each other

Hundred Years War (England &

France)

Holy Roman Empire

Russia & Eastern Europe

 Prince Henry of
Portugal
(1394-1460)

Portugal attacked Ceuta in

1415 45,000 Portuguese
men on 200 ships suffered
only 8 casualties

And launched Portugal into

the slave trade and
exploration

Sextants / Caravals /
Rudders Sails / Maps
 Portugal

The Crusades left a trade

and power vacuum which
the Portuguese filled

They sought the wealth of

the Indies and got lucky
when it came to the gold,
slaves, ivory, and other
trade goods from West
Africa
And then theres
Spain

Portugal handsomely supplied the

Catholic Church with wealth from its
African trade and the Church
decreed the Portuguese trade
routes were protected

Christopher Columbus sought a

new route to the wealth of the
Indies

He just needed a patron

Isabella of Castile agreed

 Arawak Indians

The Taino are a subclass of the

Arawak Indians in the Caribbean

Their name means noble

Columbus believed they would

make good and intelligent
servants

Then he murdered, raped, and

enslaved them
 Encomienda
System

A remnant from the Reconquista in Spain

it allowed a Christian military leader to
commandeer the labor of the Muslim
villages he conquered

When the Reconquista ended in Spain this

avenue of generating wealth went with it
until it was transferred into the New World

Allowed massive acquisition of wealth

Indians were supposed to be well treated

and retain their lands

Quickly lost favor with the crown

 Columbian
Exchange

Plants, animals, people,

and disease

As much as 90% of the indigenous

population perished because of the
conquistadores
 Devastation of
the Native People

Fr. Antonio de
Montesinos You are in
mortal sin (1511)

Bartolomeo de Las
Casas unpardonable
offenses against man and Columbus treatment was so
God. (1550) inhuman the crown had
Francisco de Bobadilla
investigate. However, he died
Despite (failed) attempts before he could present his
by the crown to protect findings
the Indians the (48 pages worth all damning)
All added to the wealth of Spainbut in a few
years she would begin to lose her dominance
to the most powerful thing on earth

You know what that is dont you?

 Questions to Consider
1. What events in Europe allowed for the colonization of the New World?
2. How did the Spanish (and later other Europeans) treat the Indians
they encountered?
3. Who was Prince Henry and what impact did he have on exploration?
4. What happened in Ceuta?
1. How would that impact what would happen in America?
5. What allowed Portugal to race ahead of other European nations in
colonization and the extension of trade?
1. How was the Catholic Church involved?
6. What was the encomienda system?
7. What precedent was the encomienda system based on?
1. How would that impact how Europeans dealt with the Indians they
encountered?
8. What is the Columbian Exchange?
1. What impact did it have on the indigenous population?
9. What influence did sugar have on the conquest and colonization of
the New World?
10.Who was Francisco de Bodadilla what did he have to say about
Columbus?