World History Journal WEEK 2

Iberian Societies and Expansion

History 111 – World History since 1500 Spring 2022 Jorge Minella ([email protected])

Introduction – Lecture Parts

 Portugal and Spain.

 Maritime expansion.  Accumulate wealth.  Gain power against rivals.  Spread Christianity.

 Route to Asia.

 Atlantic World.

Spain and Portugal, 15th century

 Urban centers.

 Estate society. (low social mobility)  Commoners (peasants, artisans, professionals).  Clergy.  Nobility.

 God-parentage and patron-client relations essential to maintenance of the social fabric.

Iberian Reconquista

 Medieval Iberia. 711-1492, intermittent conflict between

Christians and Muslims.

 “Plunder mentality,” territorial conquest.

 Rise of Christian religious intolerance.

Caliphate of Córdoba, c. 1000 ce.

Maritime Expansion

Europe and the Greater Mediterranean

 1453, still showing the Kingdom of Granada, in southern Iberia.

 Ottomans in Turkey and the Balkans.

 Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt and the Middle East.

 New routes to Asia: silk, spices, dyes, luxury goods.

Portuguese Maritime Expansion – 15th and 16th centuries

Portuguese Maritime Expansion

 Trade - gold, spices, slaves.

 Lisbon - cosmopolitan city, experienced merchants.

 Geography - position and favorable currents.

 Politics - early state formation; most of society benefitted.

Cross-Cultural Seafaring Expertise

 Ship-building and operation techniques from the Arabs and Northern Europeans.

 Navigation instruments perfected from Chinese and Arab technologies.

 Guns: China and the Ottomans.

Portuguese carracks. Painting attributed to Gregório Lopes or Cornelis Antoniszoon, c. 1540

Concluding Remarks

 Expansion started from Portugal and Spain.

 Wealth, power, Christianity.

 Expansion shaped by previous experiences.

 Eventually resulted in the colonization of the Americas.