European powers like Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and England explored trade routes to Asia in the 1400s and 1500s motivated by desires for wealth, resources, and spreading Christianity ("God, glory, and gold"). Portugal led the way by establishing trading posts along the west African coast and sending explorers like Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama, who found routes around Africa and to India. Spain also sought routes to Asia but Columbus landed in the Americas instead, opening that region to colonization. Conflicts between Portugal and Spain over claims in newly discovered lands led the Pope to establish boundaries with the Treaty of Tordesillas. Over time, the Portuguese trading empire gave way to competition from other European powers

1. 19.1 EUROPEANS EXPLORE THE
EAST
Surya, Josh, Matthew, Hannah

2. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
 What European countries were competing for Asian
trade during the Age of Exploration?
 What were the motives behind European
exploration in the 1400s?

3. FOR “GOD, GLORY AND GOLD”
New Trade Routes
 During the 1400s, the desire to grow rich and
spread Christianity spurred an Age if Exploration.
 The desire for wealth and resources was the main
reason for exploration.
 During the Crusades Europeans were introduced to
spices. After the Crusades they still demanded for
it.
 Italians and Muslims controlled the trade route to
the east. Europeans couldn’t get the resources from
the trade at a reasonable price so they devised a
plan to find a direct route to Asia.

4. FOR “GOD, GLORY AND GOLD”
Spread of Christianity
 Christians wanted to fight the Muslims and convert
their religion to Christianity.
 Christians believed that it was a sacred duty
 Bartolomeu Dias
 Portuguese Explorer “To serve God and His Majesty, to
give light to those who were in darkness and to grow
rich as all men desire to do.”

5. FOR “GOD, GLORY AND GOLD”
Technology Makes Exploration Possible
 Caravel (A long ship that had triangular sails that
helped to sail effectively against the wind. It was
sturdy)
 Astrolabe (A brass circle with adjusted rims marked
off with degrees. Used to calculate latitude)
 Magnetic Compass

6. PORTUGAL LEADS THE WAY
The Portuguese Explore Africa
 Prince Henry
 Son of Portugal’s King, he was the most enthusiastic
supporter of exploration. He started a Navigation
School.
 Henry’s ships established a series of trading posts
along the west coast of Africa.
 From there they plotted their next move, a sea
route to Asia.

7. PORTUGAL LEADS THE WAY
Portuguese Sailors Reach Asia
 The Portuguese believed that they have to sail
around the tip of Africa to reach Asia.
 In 1488 Portuguese captain Bartolomeu Dias
ventured far down the coast of Africa until the tip.
 Due to a storm and low food supplies, they return
home.
 Vasco da Gama
 In 1498 he reached the port Calicut in the south western
coast of India.

8. PORTUGAL LEADS THE WAY
Portuguese Sailors Reach Asia (Continued)
 The Portuguese sailors returned home with spices.
 This voyage provided a direct sea route to India.

9. SPAIN ALSO MAKES CLAIMS
 The Spanish envied the Portuguese. The Spanish
monarchs also desired a direct sea route to Asia.
 In 1492, Christopher Columbus voyaged to the
west hoping to find eastern Asia. Instead, he
reached an island in the Caribbean. His mistake
opened the way for European colonization in the
Americas.
 The Portuguese thought Spain had reached Asia
and also believed that Spain had claimed the land
that Portuguese reached first.
 Because of the tension, Pope Alexander VI stepped
in to keep peace between the two nations.

10. SPAIN ALSO MAKES CLAIMS
 He devised The Line of Demarcation in which all
lands west of the line would be Spain’s and all east
would be Portugal’s.
 The line was moved to include Brazil for the
Portuguese.
 In 1494, Spain and Portugal signed The Treaty of
Tordesillas. In which they agreed to honor the line.

11. TRADING EMPIRES IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
Portugal’s Trading Empire
 Portugal established control over the spice trade
thanks to cannons in their ships and a fort at
Hormuz.
 The Portuguese conquered cities all the way to the
East Indies and broke the trade pattern between
Italy and the Muslims, lowering spice prices.

12. TRADING EMPIRES IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
Other Nations Challenge the Portuguese
 After the Dutch (Netherlands) declared their
independence from Spain, they became a leading
sea power.
 They eroded Portuguese control over Asian trade
with the help of the English.
 Dutch East India Company
 A company founded by the Dutch in the 17th century and
directed Asian trade

13. TRADING EMPIRES IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
Dutch Trading Outposts
 Headquarters in Asia.
 Conquered Spice Islands from Portugal and
controlled Indian Ocean Trade.
 Outposts in Asia and Cape of Africa.
British and French Trades
 English East India Company established outposts
in India and a successful Indian cloth trade.
 The French East India Company failed.

14. THE END