Europeans sought direct routes to the Indies to bypass Muslim and Italian merchants, driven by the desire for wealth and a mission to spread Christianity. Advances in technology, such as the astrolabe and the caravel, facilitated sea exploration, leading to significant voyages by explorers from Portugal and Spain. These explorations were marked by the intention to dominate trade, which resulted in warfare, colonization, and the exploitation of native populations.

1. S E C T I O N 1 4 . 1
THE SEARCH FOR SPICES

2. MOTIVATIONS
Why did Europeans desire a direct route to “the
Indies”?
1. To eliminate Muslim and Italian merchants who
boost the prices and increase their profits.
2. The Spirit of the Crusades inspired others to bring
Christianity to the rest of the world.

3. TECHNOLOGIES
What new technologies made sea
exploration possible?
1. Cartographers
• Map-makers used
tools based on
the position of the
stars to help them
calculate
location and
draw charts
accordingly.

4. TECHNOLOGIES
What new technologies made sea
exploration possible?
2. Astrolabe
• Tool used to determine
latitude based on
one’s relative position
to the north star.
• Developed by Ancient
Greeks but perfected
by Arabs

5. TECHNOLOGIES
What new technologies made sea
exploration possible?
3. Caravel
New type of boat, larger with a combination of sails
• Square sail for catching more wind to increase
speed
• Triangle lateen sail to help steer a ship in a
direction other than the direction of the wind
• Deeper keel to maintain stability balancing the
force of the wind in the sails
• Rudders allowed the ship to be steered despite the
direction of the wind

6. CARAVEL
Square
Sails
Triangle
Lateen
Sails
Deep
Keel
Rudder

7. EXPLORERS - PORTUGAL
1. Prince Henry “the
Navigator”
• inspired by stories
of wealth, he was
motivated to
develop sea routes
to distant lands
• He opened a
school for
navigators

8. EXPLORERS - PORTUGAL
2. Bartholomeu Dias
• 1488 rounded the
Cape of Good
Hope at the
southern tip of
Africa
• Returned after his
crew protested
traveling farther

9. EXPLORERS - PORTUGAL
3. Vasco da Gama
• 1497 led a voyage
of 4 ships around
the Cape of Good
Hope to Calicut in
India
• He returned with
goods that sold for
a 3000% profit

10. EXPLORERS - PORTUGAL
hegemony: influence or authority over others
• Portuguese sailors seized key ports around the
Indian Ocean to create a vast trading empire

11. EXPLORERS - SPAIN
1. Christopher Columbus
• after seeking backing
from several nations,
Spain finally backed
him.
• Columbus believed
that he could reach
the Spice Islands by
sailing west across the
Atlantic Ocean.
• in 1492 he accidentally
reached the “New
World” thus opening it
for exploitation by
Europe

12. EXPLORERS - SPAIN
2. Vasco Núñez de
Balboa
• 1513 reached the
Pacific Ocean
crossing Panama by
land
• he named it the
Pacific Ocean

13. EXPLORERS - SPAIN
3. Ferdinand
Magellan
• 1520 undertook a
voyage to
circumnavigated
the globe,
though his boats
made it, he did
not
• Only 18 survived
to reach Spain

14. MAIN IDEA #1: EUROPEAN MERCHANTS
AND MONARCHS SOUGHT NEW
SOURCES OF WEALTH.
• The writings of
Marco Polo inspired
curiosity in the
Chinese culture and
prosperity.

15. MAIN IDEA #1: EUROPEAN MERCHANTS
AND MONARCHS SOUGHT NEW
SOURCES OF WEALTH.
• Mansa Musa’s hajj
brought attention
to West Africa
sparking an
interest in the
rumors of gold.

16. MAIN IDEA #1: EUROPEAN MERCHANTS
AND MONARCHS SOUGHT NEW
SOURCES OF WEALTH.
• A direct route to “the Indies” would eliminate the
price mark-up by the Italian merchants and Muslim
traders.
• Ever since the Crusades, European interest in Asian
trade had been growing.
• The fall of feudalism saw a rebound in population as
well as increased size and wealth of a new middle
that demanded more Asian luxuries (such as
porcelain, silk and spices).

17. MAIN IDEA #2: EUROPEAN NATIONS BELIEVED THAT
THEY HAD A SACRED DUTY TO CONVERT NON-
CHRISTIANS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
• Spain, on the heels of the Reconquista (Spanish
Crusade), set out to bring God to the world.
• Competing denominations of Christianity felt the
need to sway people around the world to their
individual religion as competition in Europe
“heated-up.”
• The Catholic Reformation gave Catholics a
mandate from the pope to convert and teach
people around the world.

18. MAIN IDEA #3: THE LINE OF DEMARCATION OPENS
THE WORLD FOR EXPLORATION AND
COLONIZATION BY THE EUROPEANS.
• The Church
acknowledges the
world to be open to
any Christian who
claims it by marking a
line on the map.
• Since the pope
decided the world is
to be open to
colonization by
Europeans, Christians
saw it as a mandate
to convert the world.

19. MAIN IDEA #4: TRADE AND
EXPLORATION LEADS TO
WARFARE AND CONQUEST.
• Beginning with the
Portuguese,
Europeans set out to
not only trade with
Asia, but to dominate
and control it by
attacking trade ports.
• Europeans forced
Native Americans to
work their settlements
as a form of slavery.

20. MAIN IDEA #4: TRADE AND
EXPLORATION LEADS TO
WARFARE AND CONQUEST.
• West Africa will be
decimated by the
slave trade.
• A sense of superiority,
stemmed by what
Europeans believed
to be the Word of
God, led explorers to
dominate the world
in God’s name
resulting in slavery
and conflict.