Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading…
Transcript

Important Locations In The 15th Century

England

Asia

Europe

After the Hundred Years War from the 1300s to the 1400s, Europe was left devastated.

The population was decreasing, the church was weak, the harvests were poor, and most of Europe was starving. The famine made the population more prone to disease, and when Bubonic plague arrived in Italy on merchant ships, about one-third of the western European population was dying. Europe did not recover for a century, and meanwhile, there was a high demand for laborers. Serfs insisted on rights such as higher pay and more freedom, beginning to centralize power.

North America

Venice

Portugal

Constantinople

The Silk Road

Located in Europe near the Mediterranean Sea, Venice was an important city of trade during the 13th and 14th centuries. Venice established a relationship with Egypt and exchanged wool, metal, and textiles for spices, silks, and carpets. Meanwhile, Genoa, a nearby city, dominated black sea trade routes to exchange with Persia and the Far East.

The two cities fought for control of Mediterranean sea trade routes and Venice won, gaining 100 years of trade supremacy. Eventually, the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople and cut off Venetian access to Eurasian trade allowing the Ottomans to have control over trade routes and circulate new technology..

Constantinople was a powerful city located near the Black Sea that controlled Eurasian trade during the 15th century. After the Ottomans had conquered Constantinople, they revived the fallen city with their commerce industry. The city connected Asia and Europe as well as the Black Sea and Mediterranean. The Ottomans cut off Europe’s access to Eurasian transaction, and Europe’s was forced to discover new lands and resources such as the silver of the New World. Because of Constantinople’s great location, the Ottoman Empire was able to dominate the Eurasian trade world.

On the western coast of the Iberian Peninsula, during the 15th century Portugal was not able to access Asian trade. However, Portugal did know the Atlantic ocean relatively well, and they also knew other skills such as how to sail against the wind. Prince Henry supported the study of geography and exploration. With all of their expertise and support, Portugal was able to send ships south along the coast of Africa. The Portuguese established trading ports in the gold-rich Guinea Coast. By the 16th century, Portugal controlled most African gold going to Europe. Because Portugal was forced to sail into the Atlantic, new routes to wealthy regions such as the western coast of Africa were discovered and used.

The Silk Road was a network of trade routes that stretched from the Black Sea across to East Asia. From 115 BCE to the 15th century many goods such as silk, spices, gunpowder, compasses, horses, and other luxury items were being traded throughout the route. The Silk Road circulated many new goods and ideas, and there was an increasing demand for many new items. Eventually the demand was so great that people were looking for sea routes to access the goods faster. Sea routes to the east were faster, safer, and could transport more cargo. By the 15th and 16th centuries the Silk Road’s use was declining; however, its movement of goods, people, and ideas, encouraged many of the new explorations of trade routes.

Atlantic

ocean

Manila

Timbuktu

During the 1500s Manila, A small island in the Philippines, served as a trading outpost for Spain. The Ming dynasty had great demand for Spanish silver. Spanish galleons sailing from Mexico brought huge quantities of silver through Manila in return for Chinese silk, porcelain, pearls, and precious gems. By the In January, Spanish fleets sailing with the trade winds could reach Manila in 80 days. The ships would be loaded with goods from China and Southeast Asia. By June, the Ships would sail North to the Marianas Islands and then east to California. At the end of the 16th century, the Spanish figured out an efficient system to trade with East Asia and China with voyages that lasted as few as six months.

Located inland in North Africa, Timbuktu started as a camp for nomads. By the beginning of the 14th century, gold trade helped Timbuktu become an important location. The city’s proximity to the Niger River allowed for trade by water. In Timbuktu’s markets, luxury items such as salt and cloth from North Africa were traded for gold, slaves, ivory, copper and horses. The city grew in political stability shown in a phase of monumental building during the late 14th century. Many mosques, such as the Sankore and Djinguereber were built, along with the Madougou, a royal palace. Timbuktu was a bridge between Islamic North Africa and West African civilizations. Many merchants, scholars, and students travelled to Timbuktu.

Africa

Pacific

ocean

South America

The Spice Islands

The Spice Islands, a small archipelago in Indonesia, was visited by the Europeans in the 16th century. At this time, spices such as pepper, nutmeg, cloves, mace, ginger, and cinnamon had a high demand from the Portuguese and Spanish. Soon a Portuguese trading post was built on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. However, the Spanish expedition of Ferdinand Magellan reached the Spice Islands later and challenged the treaty that divided their land. In the end, Spain dropped the argument to focus exploration on the Americas where they did find resources.

Inca Empire

The Inca developed an advanced empire on most of the western coast of South America during the 15th century. They built on past civilizations and expanded throughout the region of the west of South America. Because their Empire became so vast, The Incas used an efficient network of roads for soldiers and runners. The empire was assembled by a powerful army and a brutal warlord. By the 1500s, the local people did not like the empire’s control of the Inca leadership; the revolt caused a decline in culture and trade. Because of the rebellions, the Spanish could easily form alliances with conquered tribes. During Spain’s conquests, many new goods, such as horses, firearms, and cannons, as well as ideas, were brought to South America.

Bibliography

Cunningham, Jon, and Carl Waldman. "Spice Islands." Encyclopedia of Exploration, Vol. 2. Facts On File, 2004. Accessed September 25, 2016. http://online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/213293?q=Spice%20Islands.

Davis, R. Hunt, and Willie Page F. "Timbuktu." Encyclopedia of African History and Culture, Vol. 2, Revised Edition. Facts On File, 2013. Accessed September 22, 2016. http://online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/220110?q=timbuktu.

Goforth, Sean H. "Columbus, Christopher." Encyclopedia of Latin America, Vol. 1. Facts On File, 2013. Accessed September 22, 2016. http://online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/215916?q=columbus.

"Inca Empire". 2002. In Greenwood Encyclopedia of International Relations, Cathal J. Nolan. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/abcintrel/inca_empire/0

"Mali Empire: Economy." Encyclopedia of African History. London: Routledge, 2004. September 13, 2007. Accessed September 22, 2016. http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/routafricanhistory/mali_empire_economy/0.

"Timbuktu." In Africa: An Encyclopedia for Students, edited by John Middleton, 90. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. Accessed September 22, 2016. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=s0936&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE|CX3400100412&asid=1d8215c845b3ce08a894552c369f46ef.

Vail, Martha. "Conquista Espiritual: The Spanish in the Pacific." Exploring the Pacific. Chelsea House, 2005. Accessed September 22, 2016. http://online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/396833?q=manila.

ZARINEBAF, FARIBA. "Constantinople." In Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World, edited by Jonathan Dewald, 40-45. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. Accessed September 22, 2016. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=s0936&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE|CX3404900260&asid=cf4d35ac0c2dff1eb73b2b71ba2d4535.

Strait of Magellan

After passing through the strait at the southern tip of South America, Magellan’s fleet were able to circumnavigate the globe. Magellan was looking for a way to the Pacific Ocean from Spain, and in 1519 Magellan left Spain with a crew of 250 men. After sailing south down the African coast, west across the Atlantic ocean, and finally south to Argentina, the crew stayed there for five months to repair the ships. Once at the strait, it took weeks to find the safest way through. One ship eventually returned to Spain in 1522. The hardships that Magellan and his sailors faced helped Spain focus expeditions on other areas and goods such as Spanish American silver.

Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi