European Geographic Expansion: Trade, Faith, and Adventure
Grocery Trips
The Command of the World: Geographical Expansion in Europe
Modern times are characterized by the realization of one of the biggest and most important endeavors of humankind, greater even than the arrival of man on the moon. European expansion, carried out during the 15th and 16th centuries, brought together the cultures of the planet, which until then had developed independently, opening a common history.
The Ancient History of the Great Adventure
The process of geographic expansion in Europe, which partly owes its progress to the scientific-technological advances of the modern period and other factors, does not start with the discovery of the Americas at the end of the fifteenth century; this finding and previous attempts crowned earlier labors.
The First Contacts
The blossoming of a cash economy and the enrichment of the bourgeoisie, especially in the cities of northern Italy (Venice and Genoa) and southern France, enabled the first contacts outside Europe’s borders. These were made possible thanks to the combination of sea routes that plied the shores of inland seas (Mediterranean, Black, Baltic) and land routes that joined parts of North Africa and the Near East to China and India. The best-known example of the possibilities offered by these routes is the voyages of the Venetian merchant Marco Polo, who traveled a long road from his hometown to finally arrive in Beijing, a trip that took about 24 years (1271-1295). Trade with Asia allowed Europe to market luxury goods, necessary not only to flavor food but to preserve it for longer. It also spread the compass, gunpowder, fireworks, and the water clock.
The Pioneers
Overseas trips, led by Genoese sailors, were motivated by the desire to seize Saharan gold deposits. Such was the case of the Vivaldi siblings in the 13th century, who crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to circumnavigate Africa. Another bold marine was Lanzarotto Malocello, who arrived in the Canary Islands at the beginning of the 14th century (1310) and then to Madeira (1341). There were other expeditions.
Reason
In the mid-fifteenth century, the advance of the Ottoman Turkish Empire led to the closure of the Mediterranean coast and the occupation of Constantinople, thus closing the only route used until that moment for trade with the Orient. The expensive traffic controlled by intermediaries forced the search for an alternative route to access trade with Asia directly.
Faith, Gold, and Adventure
The ideological nature signals the survival of a medieval crusading spirit, expressed in the order of the Christian monarchs to extend teaching and evangelize infidels. They believed in the existence of a mythical empire, located in Africa, ruled by Prester John, waiting to surprise Islam from the rear. With this, there was a desire to live the adventure so typical of a Renaissance mind.
The Protagonists of the Expansion Process
Because of their geographical position, Spain and Portugal were the last link in the long chain of intermediaries in the trade routes between East and West. But they possessed the best position for seeking an alternate route to the Far East, through the completion of two projects: the circumnavigation of Africa and crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
The Portuguese Enterprise
Portugal and its ports acquired special importance during the fifteenth century as a necessary stop for Italian merchants trading with the merchants of Flanders. This strategic factor, coupled with the search for precious metals and agricultural products, the need to establish trading posts to increase their influence and domains on the Atlantic coast, and a state policy that fueled explorations, led the Lusitanians to lead an ambitious undertaking that aspired to reach the lands of spices by bypassing Africa. The effort undertaken reached a successful conclusion in 1498.
The Stages of the Project
Lusitanian voyages, which received support and endorsement from King Henry the Navigator (1394-1460), started after the capture of Ceuta (1415) on the coast of Morocco. Thus, the Portuguese managed to occupy the islands of Madeira and the Azores. In a second phase, covering the years 1430-1460, the process continued with the inclusion of Cape Bojador, Cape Verde Island, and the Gulf of Guinea on the west coast of Africa. The project to reach India at that time acquired a clearer profile. After passing the line of Ecuador, Bartolomeu Dias arrived at the southernmost tip of the African continent, discovering the Cape of Storms in 1488. This name was changed to the Cape of Good Hope, as it announced access to the desired goal, a task that Vasco da Gama would complete by arriving in Calicut (present-day Kolkata) 10 years later. Portugal later installed a series of colonization posts in Africa, India, and the Moluccan Islands (Sumatra, Java, and Borneo). Upon completion of this undertaking, the Lusitanians looked toward the west. So it was that in 1500, a naval expedition led by Pedro Alvares Cabral reached the coast of Brazil, beginning a long period of colonial rule in the American area.
The Formation of an Ephemeral Empire
The foundations of the Portuguese empire were established by Viceroy Francisco de Almeida and Afonso de Albuquerque between 1504-1515. Strong trading posts and a number of enclaves were established on the coast of Arabia and the Persian Gulf (Aden, Hormuz), the west coast of India (Goa), some islands of the Indies (Socotra), Malacca, and the South China sector (Macao), bringing the spice route under their control. However, this empire began to decline throughout the century because Portugal did not have sufficient human resources to sustain it (Brazil had absorbed much of the Lusitanian migration). That is why, in the 17th century, the Portuguese were replaced in Asia by the Spanish, English, and Dutch.