HIST 1534:

A Brief History of the Whole World

Unit 2:
Exploration, exchange, and exploitation
Unit 2: Exploration, exchange, and
exploitation
• In this unit, we will focus on the themes of exploration, exchange, and
exploitation around the world.
• The aim is to show how people have been on the move for many years and
explored the world around them, exchanging ideas and things with others,
and how these interactions impacted on the development of relationships
between different societies.
• Ultimately, we will see how no society developed in isolation. Throughout
time, we have all been (and still are) inter-connected.
• This unit will focus on:
• Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
• The Silk Roads
• European exploration and colonialism
• Slavery
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
• Technically, humans have been explorers ever since we could walk
upright from about 2 million years ago.
• Humans’ need to survive bred a sense of curiosity and adventure,
resulting in our exploration of the world over thousands of years,
and ultimately, adapting to and settling into every corner of the
globe.
• Throughout the history of human civilization, we were explorers.
This is evident in our contact with other groups living around us, the
establishment of international trade links, growing competition for
and conflict over resources, the desire to explore the unexplored,
etc.
• To show how and why humans across the globe have historically
explored the world around them, we’ll look at selected examples
from ancient and medieval times:
• Early Pacific voyages
• Alexander the Great
• Genghis Khan
• Vikings
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
• Archeological evidence suggests that small groups of
humans have migrated to and inhabited some islands in
the Pacific ocean as far back as roughly 30 000 years
ago.
• However, concerted efforts to explore the Pacific ocean
world were undertaken from about 5000 years ago
(3000 BCE).
• This is referred to ‘Austronesian expansion’.
• Its origins lie mainly among the farmers of southern
China and Taiwan, who were looking for more physical
resources and arable lands to settle. There were also
other factors, such as the development of maritime
technology (e.g., boats, navigation), population growth,
and the desire to benefit from trade between island
communities.
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
• These Pacific voyages of Austronesian expansion
happened mainly in two phases.
• First phase:
• Started from roughly 2000-1000 BCE
• People travelled from mainland China and Taiwan southwards
through the Philippines, Indonesia, and New Guinea.
• Reached Tonga (900 BCE) and Samoa (800 BCE) (picture right:
Samoan traditional clothing)
• Here they cultivated food crops like yam, taro root, bananas, and
coconuts, and domesticated animals like pigs, chickens, and dogs.
• Second phase:
• Northwards to the Hawaiian islands (900 CE), eastward to Society
Islands (700 CE) and Easter Island (700 CE), and south-westwards
to New Zealand (1200 CE).
• People also travelled as far as Madagascar (500 CE).
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
• Complex societies were established where
these Austronesian people settled.
• The Rapa Nui people who inhabited the
remote Easter Island erected the famous
‘Moai’ statues between 1250-1500 CE.
• More than 900 statues all over the island, some
being 10 meters tall and weighing up to 80 tons.
• It’s believed that it represents the faces of
ancestors that became gods. They represent
religious and political authority.
• The statues face away from the ocean and
towards the villages as if watching over the
people.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KljZ28SXz0c
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
• These Pacific voyages were made possible
by complex technologies:
• Carpentry and boat-building skills from ancient
China, where evidence of canoes and paddles
date back as far as 6000 BCE.
• Rope skills and lashing techniques that
resembles the funeral boats of ancient Egypt
from around 2500 BCE.
• Navigation skills based on the stars, winds,
swells, etc.
• This indicates the existence of a widespread
body of shared human knowledge across
thousands of years, suggesting the inter-
connectedness of humans all over the
world.
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
• These ancient explorations were not only journeys of
discovery in search of new lands. In the case of Alexander
the Great, it was a journey of conquest and empire
building.
• Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) was a king of the Greek
kingdom of Macedonia.
• As a young boy, he was taught by the philosopher Aristotle,
who sparked his interest in literature, science, medicine,
and philosophy.
• After becoming king at the age of 20, he started a series of
military campaigns that eventually led him and his
thousands of loyal soldiers through the Middle East, Egypt,
Persia, all the way to India and back to Mesopotamia.
• Before he could conquer Arabia, he died in 323 BCE.
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
• Alexander’s exploration was motivated by the desire
to expand his empire and influence, acquire wealth
and resources, and satisfy personal ambitions for
glory.
• Everywhere he went, all the battles he won, and all
the people he conquered, became part of the Greek
empire, leaving an enduring legacy:
• The empire Alexander created resulted in greater
contact between the East and the West, facilitating
future trade and interaction between the two regions.
• He founded many cities which were often named after
him, e.g., Alexandria (Egypt, right), Iskenderun (Turkey),
Iskandariya (Iraq) and Kandahar (Afghanistan).
• These cities became important hubs of trade and were
characterized by Greek communities having lived there
for many years, who spread the Greek language,
culture, architecture, etc.
• He also built many Greek temples across his vast empire
in honour of Greek gods such as Zeus and Athena.
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
• The desire to explore and conquer other nations is not unique to
Europe. There were similar cases all over the world throughout history.
• Another example of this is Genghis Khan (1162-1227 CE), the founder
and leader of the Mongol Empire (a.k.a. ‘Chinggis Khan’).
• He was born as Temujin and was a member of the Borjigin people, one
of many semi-nomadic tribes living on the Mongolian steppe.
• After building up a reputation as a fierce soldier, he united the
Mongolian tribes by 1205.
• As leader of the Mongols, Genghis Khan introduced several customs
that went against tradition, such as:
• The abolishment of inherited titles (competence, and not family ties,
determined who got leadership positions).
• Forbidding the selling and kidnapping of women.
• Banning the enslavement of any Mongol, and he made livestock theft
punishable by death.
• He also ordered the adoption of a writing system, conducted a regular census,
and allowed freedom of religion.
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
• In 1206, Genghis Khan set out to create an
empire:
• He first invaded China to the east, conquering the
region in phases.
• He then attacked the Khwarezm Empire to the west
(present-day Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan
and Iran.)
• He died in 1227 due to internal injuries after falling
off his horse.
• His descendants continued expanding the Mongol
Empire, taking control of Eastern Europe, the
Middle East, the rest of China, the Korean
peninsula, and even invaded Japan before their
empire broke apart in the 14th century (see map on
next slide).
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
• Another example of exploration in these early years is
the Vikings.
• Between the late 8th and early 11th centuries (793-
1066 CE), an era in European history often called the
Viking Age, Norse people from Scandinavia traveled
vast distances for trade, raiding, settlement, and
exploration.
• The Vikings were not a unified group but came from
different communities of people from Nordic descent.
They were comprised of farmers, traders, warriors,
and explorers.
• Their advanced shipbuilding techniques, particularly
longships, enabled their far-reaching expeditions.
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
• Vikings’ exploration reached as far as North America, and
some established settlements in places like Iceland,
Greenland, and the British Isles.
• Vikings are famous for their raids on settlements across
northern Europe, which provided them with wealth and
resources.
• They also engaged in extensive trade networks which
connected Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Vikings traded
goods like animal furs, weapons, and silver.
• Viking exploration was motivated by several factors, such as
economic gain, overpopulation, internal political struggles,
and exploration and adventure.
• Vikings’ expansion declined from 1066 CE after the Battle of
Stamford Bridge, where King Harold of England defeated the
invading Norse forces.
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
Exploration in the ancient and medieval world
• These four cases (Pacific explorers, Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Vikings) are
examples of how different people in the past explored the world around them for
different reasons, such as:
• Curiosity to explore the unexplored
• Acquiring land
• Desire for power and influence
• Gaining resources and wealth
• Strategic and military necessity
• Cultural and religious ideals
• Fame and glory
• Although exploration in ancient and medieval times often went hand-in-hand with
military conquest and empire building, it also resulted in greater inter-regional contact.
This in turn led to economic trade and the exchange of ideas, languages, religions, etc.
• In this sense, exploration led to exchange. As a case study, we’ll now look at the Silk
Roads trading routes.
The Silk Roads
• The Silk Roads were a network of trade routes that
connected East Asia and Europe from about 200-100 BCE to
1453 CE.
• The term ‘Silk Road’ was first used by the German
geographer and traveler Ferdinand von Richthofen. Because
there wasn’t just one road, some historians prefer to use the
term ‘Silk Roads’ or ‘Silk Routes’.
• The Silk Roads trading routes was roughly 6500 km long,
stretching from China in the east to Rome in the west.
Merchants had to cross deserts and mountain ranges via
dangerous roads, dealing with extreme weather conditions
and gangs of robbers. In later years, Arabian merchants
would also go via sea-routes.
• Very few people traveled the entire route, so a range of
middlemen and trading posts were created along the way.
The Silk Roads
The Silk Roads
• A wide range of trading items were transported via the Silk Roads.
• Popular trading items from the east included:
• Silk material, garments, etc.
• Jade and other precious gemstones
• Porcelain and pottery (top right)
• Tea and spices
• Gunpowder
• Paper
• Opium (bottom right)
• From the west, items going east included:
• Horses and camels
• Glassware
• Textiles and wool-products
• Food items
• Gold and silver
• Southern Africa (e.g. Mapungubwe, Great Zimbabwe) was connected
to the Silk Roads mainly through Arabian merchants who travelled by
sea to trade on the Swahili coast (e.g. Mombasa and Zanzibar in
modern-day Kenya and Tanzania, respectively).
The Silk Roads
• The merchants who travelled the Silk Roads were a diverse
group of people from many different places and cultural
backgrounds.
• As a result, they exchanged more than just trading goods:
• Religion: Buddhism taken from India to China, Tibet, Korea, and
Japan; Arabic teachers took Islam into Iran, India, and China.
• Information and ideas: knowledge of silk production, fashion,
food, art, martial arts, etc.
• Disease: it’s argued that the Black Death, which devastated
Europe in the late 1340s CE, likely spread from Asia along the Silk
Roads; herbal medicines.
• In the 13th and 14th centuries, political, economic, and
religious competition grew between various peoples who
were involved with the Silk Roads trade.
• The Silk Roads went into decline with the rise of the
Ottoman Empire in 1453.
The Silk Roads
• Over the years, many trading posts along the way
developed into cities, e.g. Xi’an (China), Samarkand
(right), Tashkent, and Bukhara (Uzbekistan), Tehran
(Iran), Almaty (Kazakhstan), etc.
• The significance or importance of the Silk Roads is that it
connected a wide range of people and cultures over
many years.
• The goods and ideas that were exchanged fueled
economic, political, social, religious, and scientific
development among millions of people in the world. It
was an early form of globalization.
• Today, the name “New Silk Road” is used to describe
several large infrastructure projects along many of the
historic trade routes.
European exploration and colonialism
• The decline of the Silk Roads in the 14th and 15th centuries led to
the search for new trade routes linking Europe to the East.
• This prompted European nations to go out so sea in search for
new ways to the East.
• Another motivation for European naval exploration (it was
perhaps also a consequence of it), was that nations sought to
expand their territories by establishing colonies in other parts of
the world.
• This era, from roughly the 15th to 17th century (1400s to 1600s) is
known by different names:
• Age of Exploration
• Age of Discovery
• Age of Contact
• What is problematic about these terms?
European exploration and colonialism
• Portugal took the lead in this era of European maritime exploration. In the late
14th century, the Portuguese started exploring the Atlantic ocean and the
northwestern coast of Africa.
• In the 15th and 16th century, Portuguese voyages successfully reached several
important places along the coast of Africa and elsewhere in the world. For
example:
• Cueta (independent Spanish territory in Morocco, 1415)
• Madeira Islands (1418)
• Azores (1431)
• Cape Verde Islands (1456)
• Sierra Leone (1460)
• Past the equator (1473)
• Cape Cross (Namibia, 1485-6, right)
• Cape of Storms/Cape of Good Hope (South Africa, 1488)
• India (1497-8)
• Brazil (1500)
• Greenland (1500)
• Java (Indonesia, 1511)
• See map on next slide…
European exploration and colonialism
European exploration and colonialism
• Portuguese maritime exploration was motivated by
several factors:
• Curiosity and the desire to explore the ‘unknown’ world
• To crusade against Islamic groups in North and West Africa
• Opening new trade routes and partake in the African trade
of gold and slaves
• Establishing colonies in what it considered to be ‘under-
exploited’ lands
• To find a sea-route to India and the rest of Asia
• Ultimately, to increase its own political and economic
power in Europe and the world
European exploration and colonialism
• Along with Portugal, Spain was also at the forefront of maritime exploration
during this era.
• From 1492-1504, Christopher Columbus completed four journeys between
Europe and the ‘unknown’ Americas (see map on next slide). He set foot in
(modern-day names of countries):
• 1st voyage: San Salvador, Cuba, Hispaniola, Haiti
• 2nd voyage: Dominica, Puerto Rico, Caribbean islands like Montserrat, Antigua,
Jamaica, etc.
• 3rd voyage: Trinidad, Tobago, Granada, Venezuela
• 4th voyage: Martinique, Central America (Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama)
• Columbus left an enduring and controversial legacy:
• He did not ‘discover’ the Americas – people have lived there for thousands of years.
• His voyages created a direct connection between Europe and the Americas. This
aided the mapping of the world, the growth of international trade, and the so-called
‘Columbian Exchange’.
• However, it also paved the way for the future colonization and exploitation of the
Americas and its people.
• Columbus is seen by some as a pioneering explorer, but his actions also initiated a
process of change that devastated native American societies.
European exploration and colonialism
European exploration and colonialism
• Once contact with the Americas have been made, Spanish
‘conquistadors’ undertook several overland explorations
where they conquered indigenous peoples and paved the
way for Spanish colonization.
• One of the most famous ‘conquistadors’ were Hernán Cortés
(top right):
• Landed in Mexico in February 1519 with a small army and
proceeded to unite some local groups (e.g. Tlaxcaltec) under his
command.
• Attacked the city Tenochtitlan (bottom right) where the Aztec
ruler Montezuma II was eventually overthrown and killed.
• Cortés’ victory in the Battle of Otumba in July 1520 resulted in the
fall of the Aztec Empire, which laid the foundations for the
Spanish colonization of Mexico.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UudoW_7ufoU
• Other notable ‘conquistadors’:
• Francisco Pizarro: explored Peru and conquered the Inca Empire
• Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada: led the first Spanish expedition into
the Andes mountains and conquered much of modern-day
Colombia.
European exploration and colonialism
• In 1522, Fernão de Magalhães (a.k.a. Magellan, right), a Portuguese
navigator sailing on a Spanish voyage, circumnavigated the globe.
• This journey arguably marked the end of Spain and Portugal’s
dominance of the seas.
• In the coming years, the Netherlands, Britain, and France would take
the lead by controlling the sea routes and establishing colonies all
over the world.
• Major consequences of European maritime exploration include:
• Contact between the ‘Old World’ (Europe, Asia, Africa) and the ‘New
World’ (Americas)
• Development of international trade and economic globalization
• Rise of colonial empires
• Scientific advances (navigation, astronomy, cartography [see 16th century
map of the world on next slide])
• Cultural exchange (e.g., European languages) and religious expansion
(spread of Christianity)
• The so-called ‘Columbian Exchange’
• Slavery and exploitation
European exploration and colonialism
European exploration and colonialism
• The ‘Columbian Exchange’ refers to the international exchange or
transfer of populations, cultures, ideas, diseases, food, crops,
animals, etc. that resulted from the contact between the ‘Old World’
and the ‘New World’ following the voyages of Christopher Columbus.
• ‘Old World’ crops to the ‘New World’ included:
• Sugar, rice, tea, tobacco, wheat, rye, etc.
• ‘New World’ crops to the ‘Old World’ included:
• Tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, maize, chili peppers, peanuts,
pineapples, etc.
• Europeans took diseases like smallpox, measles, typhus, and cholera
to the Americas, while sailors took syphilis back to Europe.
• The large-scale cultivation of crops in the Americas coupled with the
decrease in local populations due to European diseases, created the
need for cheap labour. Hence slaves from Africa were imported in
their millions.
• A recent article explains how, well into the 20th century, military
invasions often lead to biological invasions of alien plants and
animals, suggesting that the ‘Columbian Exchange’ is an ongoing
process.
European exploration and colonialism
• Two local examples of how military invasions lead to
biological invasions are cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus,
top right), a plant native to Mexico, and ‘Khakibos’
(Tagetes minuta, bottom right), native to the southern
half of South America.
• During the South African War (1899-1902), Britain
imported horse feed from, among other places,
Mexico and Argentina. The imported horse feed
contained the seeds of these two plants.
• As the feed travelled with the British military forces
and their horses along the roads of the Free State, it
spread across the province.
• These seeds germinated annually for more than 120
years now, and today cosmos and Khakibos are
synonymous with the Free State.
• The name ‘Khakibos’ is derived from the khaki-
coloured uniforms worn by British soldiers.
European exploration and colonialism
• The era of European maritime exploration led to the
rise of colonial empires.
• What is colonialism? Some definitions:
• Google: “the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial
political control over another country, occupying it with
settlers, and exploiting it economically”
• National Geographic: “control by one power over a
dependent area or people”
• Mirriam Webster Dictionary: “domination of a people or
area by a foreign state or nation; the practice of extending
and maintaining a nation’s political and economic control
over another people or area”
• Collins Dictionary: “the practice by which a powerful
country directly controls less powerful countries and uses
their resources to increase its own power and wealth”
• Cambridge Dictionary: “a policy or system in which a
country controls another country or area; the belief in and
support for the system of one country controlling
another”
European exploration and colonialism
• It is important to remember that colonialism, albeit in slightly different
forms, had existed for centuries. Some notable examples (see maps on next
3 slides):
• The Persian Empire (550-330 BCE) stretched from the Balkans and Egypt to India. The
Persians governed a vast multicultural territory through an efficient administrative
system, establishing infrastructure to facilitate trade and communication.
• The Roman Empire (27 BCE – 453 CE) stretched over much of Europe, North Africa,
and the Middle East. The Romans established provinces which were governed by
Roman administrators, and they spread Roman law, culture, language, and
infrastructure.
• The Khmer Empire (802-1431 CE) in Southeast Asia (modern-day Cambodia,
Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos) expanded its reach through conquest and cultural
influence. It established administrative centers and exerted control over distant
territories. They also spread Hinduism and Buddhism across the region.
European exploration and colonialism
European exploration and colonialism
European exploration and colonialism
European exploration and colonialism
• There were various motivating factors for European
colonialism from the 15th to 20th centuries.
• While each colonial power (e.g. Great Britain, France,
Spain, etc.) had its own specific context and motivations,
there were arguably three main factors behind all
European colonialism:
• Spreading the Christian faith and a European way of life among
native populations
• Partaking in international trade and accumulating economic
wealth
• Expanding its political power during an era of growing competition
among European states
• These reasons are often summarized as “God, Gold, and
Glory”
• https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-
resources/videos/gold-gospel-and-glory-motivations-
european-exploration-and-colonization
European exploration and colonialism
• What other reasons for European colonization might there have
been?
• A (mis)conception of European superiority?
• To satisfy a sense of adventure and curiosity?
• Humanitarianism and philanthropy?
• Satisfying growing domestic nationalisms?
• Any other possible reasons you can think of?
• European colonialism of the 15th to 20th century was a truly
international phenomenon.
• European states established colonies on the continents of South
America, North America, Asia, Africa, and Australasia.
European exploration and colonialism
European exploration and colonialism
European exploration and colonialism
European exploration and colonialism
European exploration and colonialism
Slavery
• Slavery was widely practiced during this era of
European colonialism, and it became a central
characteristic of many colonial societies around the
globe.
• However, it must be remembered that slavery, just like
the concept of colonialism, had existed for thousands
of years.
• Evidence of slavery was found in places like:
• Ancient Egypt (top right: hieroglyphs depicting slaves),
Mesopotamia, and Mesoamerica up to 3500 BCE
• The Middle East (bottom right: 13th century slave market in
Yemen)
• West, North and Sub-Saharan Africa (African slaves were
mostly traded to Arabian merchants as part of the trans-
Saharan and Indian Ocean slave trade, respectively, but
sometimes also sold to other African states)
Slavery
• The era of European maritime exploration
and colonialism initiated a network of inter-
continental slavery from the 16th to 19th
centuries.
• Slaves were taken from Africa, Asia and the
Americas, and transported to European
countries and colonies elsewhere in the
world.
• Major slave trading routes:
• Transatlantic slave trade
• Indian Ocean slave trade
• Mediterranean slave routes
• Trans-Saharan slave trade
• Trans-Pacific slave trade
Slavery
• The Transatlantic slave trade was the major slave
trading route during this era.
• Starting with Portuguese merchants in the early
16th century and lasting until the late 19th century,
around 12.5 million enslaved African men, women,
and children were taken by ship to the Americas.
• The roughly 10.7 million slaves who arrived at their
destinations alive were considered the property of
their owner and they would perform a variety of
work, often until the day they died.
• Refer to these online resources for statistical data:
• https://www.slavevoyages.org/
• https://enslaved.org/
Slavery
Slavery
• Slaves mainly originated from communities living in:
• West Africa (Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Benin, etc.)
• Central West Africa (Angola)
• Central Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo)
• Southeast Africa (Mozambique).
• African slaves were sourced in a variety of ways before being taken
to slave ports on the coast:
• European slave dealers conducted raids where people were captured
and enslaved.
• African rulers and soldiers captured people, usually from neighbouring
tribes and of a different ethnicity, during raids and/or wars and sold
them to European traders.
• African merchants kidnapped people and sold them to European
traders.
• Watch this documentary film about one of Africa’s most famous slave
traders, Tippu Tip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGp4DvlPQ98
• The Transatlantic slave trade thus relied heavily on the co-
operation between European and African slave traders.
Slavery
• After spending weeks to months in coastal ports – in forts, prisons,
factories, or aboard ships – slaves were crammed into slave ships that
were specifically designed for the purpose of transporting ‘human
cargo’.
• The time spent at sea, which ranged from a matter of weeks up to six
months, is referred to as the ‘middle passage’.
• It was characterized by among other things:
• Slaves being shackled together to restrict their movement
• Horrible conditions caused by extreme heat and a lack of sanitation and
ventilation
• Diseases such as dysentery, yellow fever, smallpox, measles, influenza, etc.
• Forced exercise and labour, torture, rape and sexual abuse, hunger and thirst
• Rebellions and uprisings were common, but rarely successful. Many slaves
also attempted suicide by jumping overboard or refusing to eat.
• Watch this short documentary film (“Life aboard a Slave Ship”):
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmQvofAiZGA
Slavery
• African slaves landed at various destinations in
South, Central, and North America.
• From there they would either be taken to the
plantations or sites where they would work, or to
slave auctions (top right) where they would be
sold and taken away by their new owners.
• Slaves worked in a variety of different sectors:
• Many performed hard physical labour on plantations
where crops like sugarcane, cotton (bottom right),
coffee, tobacco, cocoa, rice, etc. were cultivated.
• They also worked on gold and silver mines.
• Some performed skilled labour in the construction and
timber industries.
• Other slaves, usually women and children, worked as
domestic servants.
Slavery
• Due to its scope and duration, it is difficult to determine the full
effects of slavery. It impacted many people, economies, societies,
and places in a variety of ways:
• Created wealthy individual African and European slave traders,
prosperous shipping companies, and lucrative industries.
• Fueled economic growth in the Americas and Europe for more than 300
years.
• Destabilized the African continent by creating competition among
societies, negatively impacted population and economic growth, etc.
• Transformed port cities like Liverpool and Bristol in the UK, and Ouidah
(Benin, see next slide) and Luanda (Angola) in Africa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l70SI9I1UPk&t=159s
• The displacement of millions of Africans (right) and the subsequent
creation of entirely new societies of African-Americans.
• Promoted racist ideologies and prejudice across the world.
• What other consequences of slavery can you think of?
• Collective trauma?
• Ethnic diversity?
• Labour force disruption and poverty?
Slavery
• The ‘Door of No Return’ monument in Ouidah, Benin.
Slavery
• People against slavery drove the abolition movement for many years:
• In Great Britain and the USA, it was driven by organizations such as the ‘Religious
Society of Friends’ and the ‘Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade’.
• Individuals like William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson, and John Quincy Adams used
their political offices to petition against slavery.
• Abolitionist newspapers and magazines were also instrumental in the fight against
slavery, especially in the USA.
• Former slaves like Sojourner Truth (right) petitioned for abolitionism, as well as civil
and women’s rights.
• Slavery was gradually abolished in the 19th century:
• Denmark banned slavery in 1792
• The United States of America (USA) Congress abolished slavery in 1808.
• Great Britain outlawed slavery in 1807, only taking effect in 1833.
• South American states banned slavery in the first half of the 19th century, e.g.
Venezuela (1821), Chile (1823), Colombia (1851), Peru (1854), etc.
• Slavery continued until late in the century in places like Cuba (1886) and Brazil
(1888) before being abolished.
• Take this virtual tour of the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool:
• https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/international-slavery-museum/virtual-tour
In summary
• For as long as people walked upright, we have explored the world around us.
• As complex societies developed and the world’s population grew, we have come into
ever closer contact with each other.
• Exploration throughout the ages was motivated by various factors, ranging from the
search for new lands to settle to extending empires to finding new trade routes.
• The Silk Roads connected Europe and Asia for hundreds of years, resulting in the
exchange of trading goods, ideas, religion, etc., thus linking different people and cultures.
• European maritime exploration from the 15th to 17th century directly connected the
eastern and western hemispheres, resulting in, among other things, an era of colonialism
with all its political, social, and economic offshoots – colonial rule, international trade,
the transfer of things, slavery, etc.
• In Unit 3, we will focus on some of the major scientific advances across the world, as well
as the industrial revolution and how it transformed societies.
Reading
• Reading 9: Exploration in the Ancient and Medieval World: Pacific, Alexander the Great,
Genghis Khan
• Reading 10: The Silk Roads in History (Core reading)
• Reading 11: The Silk Road: Connecting People and Cultures
• Reading 12: The Golden Journey to Samarkand
• Reading 13: Stripped Assets: The Opening of the Atlantic and the Discovery of Mankind
• Reading 14: The Portuguese Voyages of Discovery
• Reading 15: Colonial conquest and African resistance (pp. 327-350)
• Reading 16: The Columbian Exchange (Core reading)
• Reading 17: Collateral Damage: Military Invasions Beget Biological Invasions
• Reading 18: African Societies and the Atlantic Slave Trade
• Reading 19: Slavery and the British (Core reading)