City of Tenochtitlan established on Lake Texcoco in what is modern-day Mexico City.
1492
Columbus lands on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas.
1325 1368
Ming Dynasty established in China.
1455
Gutenberg Bible printed in Germany.
1368 1455 1490 1495
1497 Vasco De Gama discovers a sea route to India from Europe.
1500 1505
1
The La Peregrina Pearl was found near Panama during the time of the Spanish conquests. It weighed over 11 grams and became part of the actress Elizabeth Taylor’s jewellery collection. When she died it was sold in 2011 for $11.8 million!
2
Between 1505 and 1870, at least 10 million African slaves were taken over to the Americas in chains.
3
Tenochtitlan was thought to be
four times the size of Seville – the biggest city in Spain at that time.
As you work through this chapter, you will: 1. Understand the causes of the Portuguese and Spanish desire to find new trading routes to the East. 2. Examine the navigational methods used by Europeans to sail across oceans. 3. Identify the key personalities involved in the ‘discovery’ and conquest of these ‘new’ lands. 4. Consider the impact of conquest and colonisation on the native populations.
5. Evaluate the legacies of the ‘discovery’ of these new lands on European and South American society.