Lecture 4

• The arrival of the Spanish in the Philippines was a part of the Age of Discovery and Exploration which lasted from the 15th to the 17th century.
• The period was characterized by extensive maritime explorations and the drive to explore the terra incognita.
• Terra incognita - uncharted parts of the world
• Old world - Europe, Northern Africa, Anatolia
• Anatolia - now known as Turkey
• The age led to an unprecedented rise in geographic knowledge and increased connections among different populations (Europe, Asia, and Africa)
• Historians describe the age as Age of Imperialism due to its inherently bad connections because they are used to colonize countries.
• Colonization - result of the Age of Discovery and Exploration
• People attempted to go to places na wala pa sa mapa.
• Mercantilism - also called bulionism
• Mercantilism - dominant economic theory of the period, which measures country's wealth using gold and silver
• Gold and silver were used as currency
• The more gold and silver a country has, the richer it is
• Europeans were looking for spices
• Moluccas - place which Europeans believed where spices come from
• Moluccas - present-day Indonesia
• Europeans were obsessed in spices for flavoring and preservation
• Patronato real - agreement guiding Spain and Portugal to maintain their special relations with the Vatican
• Patronato real was strengthened in the 16th century as a response to the Reformation.
• The patronato real led to a new set of religion called Protestants
• Martin Luther started the Protestant movement
• Under the patronato: Monarchs could tap the resources of the Roman Catholic Church and were allowed to pick the missionaries to be assigned in their territories
• Under the patronato: They were given the title real patron
• Under the patronato: They had to make sure that their newly-acquired colonies would become Catholic in exchange
• In 1453, Sultan Mehmed of the Ottoman Empire attacked the Byzantine Empire which led to the fall of Constantinople
• Constantinople - capital of Byzantine Empire, present-day Istanbul
• The siege of Constantinople resulted in the “closing” of the Silk Road.
• Indirect factors that facilitated the emergence of the Age of Discovery and Exploration: The invention of more accurate navigational tools
• Indirect factors that facilitated the emergence of the Age of Discovery and Exploration: Development of the European version of the printing press which improved cartography
• Cartography: map-making
• Indirect factors that facilitated the emergence of the Age of Discovery and Exploration: Rise of banking families which gave capital to explorers
• Ferdinand Magellan invested in Fugger family banking
• Spain and Portugal’s geographic and historical contexts allowed them to spearhead the earliest expeditions.
• Why did Spain and Portugal spearhead the earliest expeditions? (1) both face the Atlantic Ocean, (2) had a long colonial experience under the Muslims from Africa
• Bartolomeu Diaz reached the Cape of Good Hope in 1488.
• Cape of Good Hope - present-day South Africa
• Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut (India) which established a complete sea route from Europe to Asia called the Carreira da India.
• Carreira de India - complete sea route from Europe to Asia
• Afonso de Albuquerque eventually colonized Goa (India) and Malacca (Malaysia) in 1510 and 1511, respectively.
• Christopher Columbus was a Genoese who led the first Spanish attempt at exploration