UNIT 7 EXPANSION AND DISCOVERIES ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGE Economic and demographic growth The 15 th century is considered to be a period of transition between the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. European government, society and the economy were all very different in 1500 compared to 1400. Rapid economic and demographic growth were essential factors in causing this transformation: - Agriculture improved as technical innovations were made and new land was cultivated. There was a greater demand for food. - Demographic growth was made possible by the increase in agricultural production. The quality of food improved and there were fewer epidemics. As the population increased, cities became bigger. - Economic growth created a rise in the activity of craftsmen. The invention of new financial practices and the expansion of credit helped trade to grow. New trade routes were created. Several great cities, like Venice, Florence and Antwerp, became prosperous commercial centres that connected long-distance trade routes. Social change Economic and demographic growth produced significant social changes in the 15 th century, although the division of society into estates was maintained. - The nobility came under greater royal control. But together with the clergy, they kept their highly privileged position in society. The nobility and the clergy still owned most of the land, held important official positions and did not pay taxes. - Many bankers and merchants became very wealthy through their commercial activities. They formed a powerful bourgeoisie that played a key role in many parts of Europe, and their sons and daughters married into noble families. Important banking families, like the Medici in Italy and the Fuggers in Germany, acquired great influence. 1
- There were also changes at lower levels of society. Feudal obligations weakened in Western Europe. Peasants were no longer serfs even though their lives were still difficult. There were many more artisans in European cities. POLITICAL CHANGE The rise of the monarchies In the 15 th and 16 th centuries, European monarchs greatly strengthened their authority. Their kingdoms became more like modern states compared to the feudal monarchies of the Middle Ages. They imposed their authority in several ways: - They unified the territories of their kingdoms, which were considered to belong to the royal family. - They established a bureaucracy of royal officials at their service. - They created a taxation system which brought them a regular income. - They set up a permanent army, under the control of generals. This reduced the monarchs reliance on the nobility, who had previously lent them their private armies in times of conflict. - They created a diplomatic service so that ambassadors represented them in other countries. In this way, power became concentrated in the hands of the monarchs and their advisers. In the Middle Ages, the monarch s court was not in a single place, and it moved around wherever the king went. But during the Early Modern period monarchs established their courts in cities that became the political capitals of their kingdoms. The great European monarchies In about 1500, several kingdoms consolidated their power and expanded their territory through matrimonial alliances or conquest. Most of Europe was now controlled by a small group of important kingdoms. - France: After the Hundred Years War finished in 1453, the English no longer held any significant territory in France. Kings Louis XI and François I strengthened the power of the monarchy throughout French territory. - Spain: There had been many small kingdoms in Spain in the Middle Ages. But the Catholic Monarchs (Reyes Católicos), Isabel and Fernando, united most of 2
the Iberian Peninsula. Their occupation of Granada in 1492 completed the Reconquest. - Russia: Ivan III the Great, the ruler of Moscow, conquered vast territories. He defeated the Republic of Novgorod in Northern Russia and adopted the title of Tsar (meaning Caesar or Emperor). - England: In England, the Tudor Dynasty took power after a long civil war between the rivals for the throne, which ended in 1485. The Tudors created a new bureaucracy of royal officials that greatly reinforced royal authority. - Holy Roman Empire: The territories of the Habsburg Dynasty stretched across Central Europe. But many of the states that owed allegiance to the Holy Roman Emperor were actually independent. In some parts of Europe, like France or England, these monarchies were the direct precursors of modern European states. But in other countries, like Germany and Italy, there were many small states and national unification only happened much later, in the 19 th century. THE CATHOLIC MONARCHS Dynastic union The marriage of Isabel of Castilla and Fernando of Aragón was celebrated in 1469. Just a few years later, Isabel and Fernando both became monarchs. Isabel became Queen Isabel I of Castilla when her brother Enrique IV died (1476), while Fernando became King Fernando II of Aragón on the death of his father Juan II (1479). In this way the Crowns of Castilla and Aragón were united, and the two monarchs agreed to be joint and equal rulers of both kingdoms. However, each kingdom kept its own laws and institutions under this dynastic union. Isabel and Fernando were later given the title of the Catholic Monarchs by the Pope, and created one of the most powerful monarchies in Early Modern Europe. Territorial expansion on the Iberian Peninsula The Catholic Monarchs brought the other peninsular kingdoms under their rule or influence by a combination of conquest and matrimonial alliances. Consequently, by the 16 th century their kingdoms occupied territory that was similar to that of modern Spain. 3
- Granada: The Nasrid kingdom of Granada was captured in 1492 after a series of military campaigns. Granada was the very last Muslim territory on the Iberian Peninsula so the Reconquest that had begun many centuries earlier came to an end. - Navarra: Fernando s claim that a Navarra-France alliance threatened Castilla was an excuse to invade Navarra in 1512. Three years later, Navarra was made part of the Crown of Castilla, although it kept its traditional institutions. - Portugal: The Catholic Monarchs created links with the Portuguese monarchy through royal marriages. But Portugal only became part of the monarchy later on, during the reign of Felipe II. International expansion The Crowns of Castilla and Aragón each had their own territorial objectives. Castilla wanted to bring the Reconquest to an end, expand across the Atlantic and protect its trade with Flanders. Aragón was mainly concerned with its Mediterranean interests, especially in Italy. Consequently, the Catholic Monarchs became involved in many different regions: - There was territorial expansion in North Africa. Several coastal areas were taken, including Melilla (1497). - In the Atlantic, the Catholic Monarchs concluded the occupation of the Canary Islands. This archipelago later became an important base for expeditions to America on behalf of the Crown of Castilla. - Gonzalo de Córdoba, known as the Great Captain, successfully defeated the French in Italy. This confirmed that Naples was an Aragonese possession, like Sicily and Sardinia. - Through skilful diplomacy, the Catholic Monarchs established matrimonial alliances with two other important monarchies, Austria and England. THE BEGINNING OF A MODERN STATE Administration The Catholic monarchs developed an authoritarian monarchy, especially in Castilla which had a greater tradition of centralised power than Aragón. They imposed royal authority through a range of institutions. There were several Councils advising the monarchs, including the Council of Castilla, the Council of Aragón, and the Council of 4
War. In the Crown of Aragón, a Viceroy was the monarch s representative in each kingdom. Religious unity During the Middle Ages there had been three religions on the Iberian Peninsula: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. This ended under the Catholic Monarchs who imposed religious unity throughout their territories. - The Inquisition had existed since the 12 th century, and in 1478 it was introduced into Spain. The Spanish Inquisition tried heretics, people who did not follow Christian morality or secretly practised another religion. - Expulsion of the Jews: In 1492 a decree ordered all Jews to leave the country unless they became Christians. Many Jews left the country, but some or those who remained privately went on practising Judaism. - For a few years after the fall of Granada in 1492, the Muslims were allowed to practise their religion. But through decrees in 1499 and 1502, the leading Cardinal Cisneros imposed Christianity on the Muslims who became known as moriscos. The imposition of royal authority In 15 th century Castilla and Aragón, the nobility often fought with monarchs and with each other. One of the main aims of the Catholic Monarchs was to make the monarchy the one real source of power in their kingdoms. - They asserted royal authority over the nobility. But in return the nobles kept their privileges and passed their great estates on to their descendents through a system called mayorazgo. At the same time, they brought the Military Orders under control by having Fernando appointed their head. - In the cities, the administrative and judicial figure of the Corregidor played a key role in imposing royal authority. The Santa Hermandad was a precursor of a police force in both the cities and the countryside. - Other reforms also strengthened royal authority. A new Court of Justice in Granada joined an existing one in Valladolid. The monarchy managed to guarantee a regular income by creating new taxes and establishing a central tax office called the Contaduría Real de Hacienda. 5
- Finally, the Catholic Monarchs created a permanent and professional army so that they were no longer dependent on feudal armies. THE AGE OF DISCOVERY Why did the Portuguese and Castilians make their journeys? Up to the 15 th century, Eurpeans did not know much about the world s geography. They only had direct knowledge of Europe, the Mediterranean region and parts of the Middle East. They also knew a little about the Far East because of the narratives of merchants and travellers like Marco Polo. But this situation changed dramatically when Portuguese expeditions revealed the size of Africa and Castilian expeditions demonstrated the existence of a completely unknown continent: America. There were a number of reasons for their discoveries: - In 1453 the Turks conquered Constantinople and ended the Byzantine Empire. Byzantium had been a key channel for trade between Europe and Asia. Now the Europeans needed to find alternative trade routes to Asia. - Technical advances made it possible to navigate over longer distances. Cartography was of far higher quality than in the Middle Ages. Caravels were quick, mobile sailing ships. There were also greatly improved navigational instruments like the compass and the mariner s astrolabe, which measured latitude by the position of the Sun. - There was also an ideological side to these expeditions. After the Reconquest had ended in Granada in 1492, the Atlantic expeditions represented another type of victorious expansion. The Portuguese expeditions A series of Portuguese expeditions explored the coast of Africa in the search for new routes to India. Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal played an essential role in promoting them. The earliest expeditions explored the Atlantic coast and discovered Madeira and the Azores. In 1460 the Portuguese reached the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. After Bartolomé Diaz s expeditions went round the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, the Portuguese had reached the Indian Ocean. Vasco de Gama s expedition reached India in 1498. 6
Columbus voyages The Genoan navigator Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón) was convinced that he could reach Asia by sailing west. After refusing several times, the Catholic Monarchs finally agreed to finance his voyage in 1492. The Capitulaciones of Santa Fe granted Columbus many privileges if he was successful. Columbus expedition left Huelva in three ships on 3 rd August, 1492. After a stay in the Canary Islands they sailed into the Atlantic and reached the Bahamas on 12 th October 1492. Columbus had discovered a new continent. But even after three more voyages to the West Indies and Central America, Christopher Columbus still believed that he had reached Asia. Columbus discovery was a challenge to Portuguese domination of the Atlantic. In 1494 the Treaty of Tordesillas established that all territory more than 370 leagues west of Cape Verde belonged to Spain. In fact, the coast of Brazil was east of this line and was later colonised by Portugal. The first voyage around the world In 1519 an expedition led by the Portuguese Fernando de Magallanes left Sevilla to look for a route between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. In 1520 the expedition successfully navigated the southern tip of South America, which is called the Strait of Magellan today. 7
Magallanes died in the Philippines. After that, Juan Sebastián Elcano led the expedition which completed the very first voyage around the world. AMERICA BEFORE COLUMBUS The Native Americans The native inhabitants of America were descended from people who crossed over from Asia to North America many thousands of years before. Native Americans then lost contact with the rest of the world, but they independently made similar innovations. For example, they invented writing and astronomy, discovered agriculture and made ceramics, although they did not discovered the wheel. There were many types of society in America. In some regions people lived in small clans led by chieftains. But there were also many notable civilisations like the great Maya civilisation which had declined many centuries before the arrival of the Spaniards. Two important empires, the Aztecs in present-day Mexico, and the Incas, in present-day Peru, existed when the Europeans advanced into America in the early 16 th century. The Mayas The Mayas lived in Central America, in present-day countries of Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and southern Mexico. Their civilisation reached its peak between the 3 rd and the 9 th centuries AD, and then declined. Maya civilisation was hierarchical. It was based on important cities like Tikal and Palenque, where palaces and temples were built. The Mayas most famous monuments were their great stepped pyramids, but they also created fine carvings and reliefs. They learned to use writing from other pre-hispanic cultures, and wrote hieroglyphic inscriptions on stone monuments listing their rulers. Maya agriculture included the cultivation of corn and other crops. They were fine craftsmen and traded with other civilisations in Mexico, Panama and the Caribbean. Classic Maya civilisation declined after about the 9 th century. According to some theories, its collapse was connected to natural disasters and climate change. 8
The Aztecs The Aztecs were from central Mexico and created a great empire which still existed when the Spaniards reached the region. Its capital was at Tenochtitlan, presentday Mexico City. The Aztecs had a hierarchical society, which was dominated by noble warriors and priests. It was organised for war and practised human sacrifice. Some conquered peoples, who paid tribute to the Aztecs, later rebelled during the Spanish conquest. In agriculture, the Aztecs grew crops on raised land in lakes and terraces and made land flat in mountainous areas. Precious stones, cotton and other products were carried long distance by specialised merchants, called pochteca, and exchanged in markets. The Aztecs were polytheists, and worshipped Huitzilopochtli, the god of war and the Sun. They had a form of pictorial writing. The Incas Inca civilisation began in the highlands of Peru in the 13 th century. In the 14 th and early 15 th centuries, the Incas created a great empire that controlled most of present-day Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, and parts of Chile and Argentina. Its capital was in Cuzco. The Incas had a hierarchical society and were polytheistic. Their emperor was both a leader and a god. They built a very good road system to control their vast empire and tax and census records were kept on knotted strings called quipu. The Inca economy was based on agriculture. The region is very mountainous so they built terraces to create flat agricultural land where they grew corn and potatoes. Inca architecture was especially remarkable, and they built great stone temples. The Incas spread the Quechua language through their empire and it is still spoken by many people in the Andes today. 9