Elizabethan revision resource (AQA GCSE)

Elizabethan exploration

Trade with the East:

At the start of the fifteenth century, much of the world was yet to be discovered by Europeans

It was believed the world was flat and that the Mediterranean lay at its centre

However, there were trade links as there was high demand for luxury goods from the East.

It could take two-three years for the goods to reach Genoa and Venice (trading centres)

In 1453, however, the Ottomans took Constantinople. Now in control of the sole spice trade route that existed at the time, the Ottoman Empire was in a favourable position to charge hefty taxes on merchandise bound for the west.

The Western Europeans set about to find an alternate sea route around Africa.

New ideas and new inventions:

This was the age of the Renaissance, which encouraged the learning/a spirit of adventure.

There was a growing belief in intellectual circles that the world was round

Inventions & developments like the printing press (maps/geographical literature), the astrolabe (plotting of a ship's position), the magnetic compass and developments in ship design (invention of the rudder/use of the triangular lateen sail) prompted the growth in exploration.

European explorers and the New World

To the East (China/India)

1487 Bartholomew Diaz (Portuguese) was the first to sail around the southern tip of Africa, proving that ships could sail around Africa without falling off.

1498 Vasco da Gama (Portuguese) followed Diaz's route, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, but carried on further, eventually reaching India. The wealth of India was now open for the Europeans to explore (they could avoid the Ottoman empire overland route).

To the West (The Americas)

1492: Christopher Columbus (Spanish) was the first to inadvertently discover the 'New World' (early name for the Americas). He was sailing westward across the Atlantic Ocean in search of an alternative route to India, Columbus landed in the Caribbean, calling the islands he discovered the West Indies.

1497: John Cabot (English, funded by Henry VII) discovered the coast of North America - the first European exploration of the mainland of North America since the Norse (11th century).

The European Empires

Spain and Portugal clearly dominated the world of exploration at this point, becoming enormously rich and powerful as a result

Both established overseas empires and oversaw the start of the Atlantic slave trade.

The Spanish dominated in Central & S. America (Silver/gold, tobacco, potatoes)

The Portuguese colonised coastal areas of West Africa, India and Brazil. Slaves from West Africa worked the sugar and cotton plantations in Brazil.

The English join in

Before Elizabeth, England was not significant in exploration. However, once Elizabeth was Queen, Spain annoyed the English by only letting England trade with Spanish New World colonies if they got special (and hard to obtain) licences. This made England keen to join the exploration game.

Privateers

The Spanish monopoly on New World goods angered the English and led to lots of English pirates robbing Spanish treasure ships/ports. However, not all of the acts were illegal. Privateers were licensed by Elizabeth's government to commit such acts against any ships belonging to England's enemies. So private merchants were given permission by the government to steal New World treasures from Spanish galleons.