South America

The Age of Exploration

The Geographic Growth of Civilization

Where were we? Civilization originated in the geographic area of Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Civilization then spread South to the Nile River Valley where it divided toward East and West.

The Great Divide

The Eastern branch of Civilization spread to India and, then China. The Western branch stepped from Egypt to Crete and flowered into the cultures of Greece and Rome. The Roman Empire collapsed, though, and left Western branch in turmoil during the Middle Ages.

The Middle Ages

The turmoil of the Middle Ages involved the development of Spain, France and England with pieces of Greco-Roman culture and the religious conflict between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The religious conflict culminated in The Crusades.

The Geographic Consequences of the Crusades

The Crusades were a complete military failure for Christian Europe in terms of re-capturing the Holy Land from Islam. However, Europe was reintroduced to spices, silk and the Greco-Roman knowledge of the Muslims. Trade was revived, but was extremely costly to Western Europe. Italy grew rich as the middle man country and flowered into the Renaissance. Portugal, Spain, France and England began looking to cut out the middle man by launching THE AGE OF EXPLORATION!!!

Christopher Columbus

Columbus was an Italian middle man navigator, but also a religious zealot that believed he was on a mission from God to find an all water route to the spices, silks and riches of Asia. He pitched his idea to the Portuguese, but they thought he was ridiculous due to the GEOGRAPHY (circumference). So he went to Spain who also thought he was ridiculous, but feared Portugal would reach India around Africa.

Christopher Columbus

Columbus, of course, made the greatest geographic discovery of all time!!! In four voyages looking for the Asian mainland he found a few islandsand hit the mainland once, but didnt know it. However, he should be given credit for the discovery of North and South America because civilization, in the form of Greco-Roman culture followed him.

Amerigo Vespucci

Vespucci, another Italian middleman navigator like Columbus but working for Portugal, picked up the search for the Asian mainland. He concluded that the mainland was a NEW continent, back-dated his reports to precede Columbus, and wrote letters to his powerful Italian Renaissance friends to gain fame before Columbus. Thus, we live in the Americas instead of the Columbias. He did discover the Amazon and Brazil area, though.

Vasco Balboa, a failed pig farmer in Nunez de Cuba stowed away to the mainland to escape debt. After Balboa

gaining the favor of an officer, Francisco Pizarro, he became Governor of a colony. Indian rumors of another great sea led him to cross the Isthmus of Panama and discover the Pacific Ocean. Like Columbus, his discovery made him popular and powerful. Columbus died poor, Balboa got his head chopped off. He did prove that Columbus discovered at New World, which launched the next great adventure!!

Ferdinand Magellan

Magellan was tapped by Spain to finish Columbuss work by circumnavigating the world. He had to feel his way down the entire coast of South America, navigate the treacherous Straits of Magellan and then sail across the entire Pacific Ocean. He departed with 5 ships/237 men. Three years later 1 ship/18 men returned. However, the 2nd greatest geographic feat was completed. Beyond all doubt a New World had been discovered.

Hernan Cortes

Cortes conquered Mexico 600 soldiers against an Aztec civilization of a million. He made the New World profitable for Spain. Shiploads upon shiploads of gold were taken to Spain. Mexico is still a leading producer of silver in the world. The Spanish brutally killed Indians, but later established a policy of assimilating through marriage more than the English of North America would.

Francisco Pizarro

Pizarro, inspired by Cortes, conquered the Incan Empire with 200 soldiers. The Incans were enslaved, drugged and forced to work in silver mines such as Potosi. Latin America would remain under Spanish rule until Mexico revolted in 1810. One by one countries revolted until all Spain had left in 1898 was Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and scattered Pacific Islands. The US declared war in 1898 and took most of the remains.