A Time of Exploration

1. The World in the 1400s

a. The Americas

i. Some groups of Native Americans established powerful empires – a collection of lands ruled by the nation that conquered them

ii. Incas of South America – one of the largest & richest

1. Covered 3,000 miles of western coast of S. America

2. Expanded their empire by using force to take over other people’s land

3. Ruled as many as 12 million people – most lived in villages along the coast, Andes Mountains, and in the rain forest along the Amazon River

4. Capital city was Cuzco (now Peru) – system of roads connected Cuzco to all areas of the empire – two major roads, one along the coast and through the Andes Mts which led to great cities whose grand buildings were made of stone

a. Stones were cut by hand to fit together – buildings are still around today in the ruins of the Inca city Machu Picchu

5. Kept records on groups of colored, knotted strings called quipus a. Different colored knots stood for words or ideas – yellow meant gold; white string stood for peace

iii. Mexicas – tribe known as the Aztecs

1. Moved from place to place in search of food – about 1200A.D., settled in the valley of Mexico

2. Taken control of central and southern Mexico – empire covered about 200,00 0 sq. miles with over 5 million people

3. Tenochtitlan – capital city built on two islands in the middle of Lake Texcoco – capital of Mexico , Mexico City, stands on this same spot

a. Very center of city were huge flat, topped pyramids where the great stone temples were built to honor the gods

b. Past the temples was a large open area for a daily market

The Temple of the Sun at Teotihuacan, the largest pyramid in the world http://www.theancientweb.com/explore/content.aspx?content_id=19

a. Recorded information by using pictures of objects and symbols to represent words and syllables to make calendars and kept records i. System of communication made the Aztec Empire one of the most advanced civilizations at that time

b. Europe

i. Many changes in Europe, many separate land areas joined to form countries, Portugal, Spain, France, England other European countries 1. Ruled by monarchs, or kings and queens ii. Improvements in science and technology 1. Renaissance (meaning rebirth) – an age of thought, learning , art and science – people explored unknown lands a. Johannes Gutenberg – help to spread knowledge of the Renaissance – invented a new way to print books that was easier and less costly – more books printed such as the Bible, most popular, The Travels of Marco Polo i. Described what Marco polo saw on his journey to Asia in the late 1200s – Marco, his father, Nicolo, and his uncle, Maffeo reached Cathay, now China – traveled to Indies, Mynamar (Burma), India, and SW Asia ii. Amazed by Chinese inventions, gunpowder and the compass – an instrument for finding direction – held paper money and saw the palace of Kublai Khan (China’s ruler) b. As a result of reading Marco Polo’s accounts, Europeans more interested in the lands and wanted to share in the great wealth he described and buy the Asian goods such as silks and spices i. Traders were traveling the long, difficult routes that connected Europe and Asia http://myadventureinchina.blogspot.com/2007/11/map-of-marco-polos-travels.html

c. Asia

i. Asian countries began to explore the world by sailing the oceans ii. Yong Le, a Chinese ruler, paid for the ocean voyages of Admiral Zheng He 1. Made seven voyages in vessels called junks (Chinese wooded boats with four sails) between 1405 and 1433 – sailed to SE Asia, present Sri Lanka, ports along the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and eastern coast of Africa

Zheng He (far right) and his crew made many ocean voyages for the Chinese emperor on junks like this one (above).

iii. After Yon Le’s death, Asia decided to keep China apart from other civilizations 1. Stopped all ocean voyages, limited trading outside of China’s borders 2. Ordered that records of Zheng He’s voyages be destroyed iv. Other places in Asia, (India, Korea, Japan) continued to develop trading centers 1. Vijayanagar, India became an important trading center for Asia and Europe a. Known for its art, writing, and buildings

d. Africa i. For centuries, traded with one another and in time trading centers grew ii. Ghana in western Africa become a great African empire from a small town to a grand walled city with palaces and market centers 1. Kumbi Saleh, capital of Ghana, a large market center now a desert region of Senegal iii. Powerful trading centers of Ghana moved east to cities of Gao, Timbuktu, and Jenne’ 1. Great city of Mali formed from these growing market cities – by 1300, became one of the most powerful empires in Africa iv. 1400s, market centers broke away from Mali rule, Gao became the head of the new empire, Songhay 1. Controlled many of the market cities 2. Gave Soninkes, people of Songhay control of the trade across the Sahara to the north to trade gold for European goods 3. Sunni Ali, one of the leaders of the Soninkes, stretched the empire more than 1,000 miles, encouraged trade which helped Songhay remain a strong empire until the end of the 1500s v. Western Africa, kingdom of Benin (located in Southern Nigeria near the mouth of the Niger River) 1. An artistic center where sculptors carved ivory and worked with brass and bronze Benin was known for its brass and bronze sculptures Timbuktu became a center of learning as well as a trading center. vi. Groups of people called the Swalhili, lived on the eastern coast of Africa in city-states 1. Included a city and a surrounding area grew into trading centers where Arab settlers started ports along the coast a. Trade centered around gold and ivory which were exchanged for goods from China, India and SW Asia