1. The European Background, 1250-1492
   Late medieval advances in technology and geography enabled interested Europeans to explore the greater world.
   1. Lands Beyond Christendom
      Myths and prosaic guidebooks attested to Europeans' fascination with the outside world. European merchants traveled regularly to China in the 14th century and Vikings and fishermen from England, France, and Spain were aware of lands to the west of Europe - the Americas.
   2. Navigational Innovations
      Improved ships and navigational aids permitted long opensea voyages.
   3. The Revolution in Geography
      Classical science combined with contemporary observation to improve mapping techniques and knowledge.
2. Portuguese Voyages of Exploration, 1350-1515
   Portugal won trade routes and colonies in early explorations along the African coast and into southeast Asia.
   1. The Early Voyages
      Prince Henry's patronage trained navigators and gained Atlantic colonies where Portugal established slavebased economies.
   2. The Search for a Sea Route to Asia
      Decades of painstaking coastal reconnaissance lay behind Vasco da Gama's lucrative voyage to India in 1497-1498.
   3. The Portuguese in Asia
      Portugal carved out a trade empire in India and Asia based on fortified naval bases.
3. Spanish Voyages of Exploration, 1492-1522
   Spurred on by Portuguese successes, Spain's emphasis lay on "The Enterprise of the Indies."
   1. The Role of Columbus
      Genoeseborn Columbus sought a western route to Asia but instead chanced upon Caribbean islands and the Americas.
   2. Columbus's Successors
      While politics decreed borders, Spanish, French, and English expeditions sailed to claim parts of the lucrative western opportunities.
4. Spain's Colonial Empire, 1492-1600
   Defeating the Aztec and Incan empires, Spanish colonizers claimed extensive New World territories.
   1. The Americas Before the European Invasion
      The powerful and sophisticated empires of the Aztecs and Incas, having recently risen to power, ruled much of Central America.
   2. The Spanish Conquests
      Cortés's conquest of Moctezuma's Aztec empire encouraged further Spanish claims and invasions in the Americas.
   3. Colonial Organization
      Hampered by distance, Spanish monarchs were forced to grant broad powers to local administrators.
   4. The Colonial Economy
      The desire for labor led the Spanish to forced labor, both the encomienda and slavery.
   5. The Debate over Indian Rights
      Defenders of Indian culture and humanity triumphed when Charles V enacted laws to end Indian exploitation.
5. The Columbian Exchange
   Trade in goods, people, and ideas profoundly affected both the Old World and the New.
   1. Disease
      Europeans brought with them to the New World devastating illnesses such as smallpox and malaria, which decimated the indigenous inhabitants.
   2. Plants and Animals
      Potatoes, tomatoes, and maize became celebrated discoveries in Europe, but Old World species of animals and plants unbalanced the ecology of the New World.
   3. Culture
      The fact of conquest seemed to substantiate European assumptions that their own religious and cultural superiority should be translated to the New World.