European Maritime Expansion and the Americas: 15th and 16th Centuries
The Main Objectives of Travel in the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, European commerce with the East was done through Constantinople until the Mediterranean and thence across Central Asia.
Portuguese Expeditions
The Portuguese were the first to venture south along the Atlantic:
- African Route: Sailing west, they reached the islands of Madeira (1418) and the Azores (1431). Later, they followed the African coast to the south and reached the Gulf of Guinea (1460). Further on, Bartolomeu Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope (1488).
- Path of India: An expedition directed by Vasco da Gama reached the coast of India (1498), opening the way towards the Moluccas. The Portuguese held the silk monopoly during part of the 16th century.
The Project of Columbus
Columbus was a mariner of Genoese origin. He believed he could reach Asia by sailing west, without having to go around Africa. He knew the Earth was spherical but thought its diameter was smaller and he was unaware of America. Columbus presented his project to the Catholic Monarchs, Isabel and Ferdinand, who agreed to finance the expedition, signing the Capitulations of Santa Fe (1492). The guidelines included that Columbus would be Admiral of the Ocean Sea and Viceroy of the lands discovered, as well as receiving one-tenth of all benefits earned.
Columbus’ Four Voyages
- First Expedition: Columbus left the port of Palos on August 3, 1492, with one ship (the Santa Maria) and two caravels (the Pinta and the Niña), and 105 sailors. After a stopover in the Canary Islands, they began the Atlantic crossing. On October 12, 1492, they made landfall on the island of Guanahani (San Salvador).
- Second Voyage: This expedition left in September 1493, consisting of 1,500 men and 15 ships. They settled in Hispaniola, where a system of commercial factories was put into place.
- Third Voyage (1498): Columbus reached the island of Trinidad and the mouth of the Orinoco River.
- Fourth Voyage (1502): He covered the coasts of Central America.
Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) to avoid conflicts and to allocate land to colonize.
Pre-Columbian Civilizations
- The Maya: They were widespread in the southern Yucatan Peninsula between the 5th and 15th centuries. They were farmers who lived mainly on the cultivation of corn and were organized into independent city-states. They developed great knowledge of astronomy and mathematics and had a hieroglyphic writing system.
- The Aztecs: They settled in the fertile valley of Mexico between 1200 and the arrival of the Spanish in 1519. They were essentially a warrior people and conquered a great empire. Political power was concentrated in an emperor. Agriculture and commerce were their main economic activities.
- The Incas: They developed in South America in the highlands of the Andes between 1100 and 1532. They created an empire centered in the Cuzco region and extended as far north as Quito and south to Chile. Their population reached more than 12 million inhabitants. They were a farming people and were governed by an emperor who was considered the son of the Sun and received the name of Inca.
Conquest and Organization of the American Empire
The exploration and conquest of the new American territories, which were given the name of the Spanish Indies, was a rapid undertaking for the Crown of Castile. The speed of the conquest was due to the military and scientific superiority of the Spanish, the divisions among the Indigenous peoples, and the eagerness for riches of the conquistadors.
Major Expeditions
- The Conquest of Mexico: Led by Hernan Cortes of Extremadura, the expedition landed in Mexican territory, where he founded the city of Veracruz. He militarily subdued the Aztecs, appropriated their riches, and took their emperor hostage.
- The Conquest of Peru: Francisco Pizarro led the conquest of the Inca Empire. He took advantage of clashes between the Incas to prevail. The following year, after the Battle of Cajamarca, one of the bloodiest, the Inca emperor Atahualpa was executed, and then the Spanish took Cuzco, the capital.
- Further Conquests: Nunez Cabeza de Vaca explored Florida, Texas, and California.