We are still looking at how the Europeans started to go out to conquer the rest of the world
the next question will be how did they succeed
Five developments were necessary before Europeans would cross the oceans in large numbers (these inventions did not cause exploration but came as a result of early attempts at exploration):
1. a strong desire to undertake imperialistic
adventures overseas (mostly for the sake of wealth)
2. improved ships
3. improved techniques for navigation
4. weapons that would be effective from on board a ship
5. a source of energy--the technology and knowledge to effectively use the wind
In this case the cause and
effect are not what you would expect--exploration comes
first, the technology to make it relatively safe comes later2. improved ships
3. improved techniques for navigation
4. weapons that would be effective from on board a ship
5. a source of energy--the technology and knowledge to effectively use the wind
the full rigged ship (about 1500--only one of Columbus's ships was the new design)
- multiple masts and
more than one sail on each mast
- rudder permanently
attached to a stern post instead of a steering oar (video)
- rounded shape
- the technology needed to use
the wind was the lateen sail, or some kind of triangular
sail, which allows a ship to sail closer to the wind (simple
explanation, more
scientific
explanation)
According to Crosby the bottleneck was knowledge of wind patterns
- the Indian ocean was
easy, the wind patterns were governed by the monsoon--blows
one
way in summer and the other way in winter
- the voyage to the Canary Islands was discovered to have predictable winds, the trade wind pattern, but how do you get back into the wind?
- European sailors
discovered that if they went further north they would
find a wind going in the direction they needed
Navigation:
- Compass allows you to tell what direction you are going in
- But that isn't much use if you don't know where you are
- astrolabe measures how high the north star is above the horizon to determine latitude (image of use)
- But they had no way to determine longitude
- More accurate maps were therefore very important
- sail north or south
to the right latitude then sail east or west until
you hit land
- That plus
knowing the wind patterns was the approach to
navigation on which early colonization was based
only then did Europeans have an advantage in naval warfare
depended on developing metallurgy good enough so the cannon would not explode too often
- gunpowder was
invented by the Chinese
- Europeans developed primitive cannon about 1325 used carved stone balls and the whole cannon exploded a lot
- iron cannonballs introduced 1350, corned gunpowder (made into even pellets) for more even explosion (to shoot out the cannon ball) about 1420
- better iron for cannon making
- cannon became safe enough to use on a ship about 1500
- very quickly warships began carrying large numbers of cannon--England rose to power partly because they were more successful in making iron cannon (because they happened to have high-phosphorous iron ore)
Technologies gave the
Europeans an advantage
but they didn't have the technologies to start, they developed them because they needed them
Definition of technology--ways human beings modify (or work with) the environment for our own uses
knowledge of how to use the winds is a technology
changing relationship with the environment--getting better and better at using it (and protect ourselves from it)
some technologies have an ongoing effect on the environment
when we use technology to modify the environment what effect do we have
but they didn't have the technologies to start, they developed them because they needed them
Definition of technology--ways human beings modify (or work with) the environment for our own uses
knowledge of how to use the winds is a technology
changing relationship with the environment--getting better and better at using it (and protect ourselves from it)
some technologies have an ongoing effect on the environment
when we use technology to modify the environment what effect do we have