Chapter 9

Spain Looks Westward

Before you Start…

• Before you start, read the intro on page 193 and answer the following questions:

1. What factors do you think influenced Christopher Columbus to want to set out on his voyage?

2. Why might the Spanish monarchs have been reluctant to support him?

What factors do you think influenced Christopher Columbus to want to set out on his

voyage?• Desire for fame, fortune, to find the unknown,

to find a route to the Far East, or to finish what he had started are all acceptable answers

Why might the Spanish monarchs have been reluctant to support him?

• They might have been reluctant because other European leaders had turned him down, he wasn’t Spanish, they didn’t trust him, they thought the plan wouldn’t succeed, the cost was too high, or they could look foolish.

How to Interpret a Historical Map• When looking at a historical map, always try to find the answer to these 8

questions.1. Who created the map?2. When was it created?3. What do we know about the creator from examining the map?4. What evidence in the map suggests why it was drawn?5. Who would use this map? What would they use it for?6. Are there any symbols, designs, or decorations on the map? What do they

mean?7. Are there differences between this map and a modern map of the same

area? Have any borders or boundaries changed?8. What to you think is the historical significance of this map?• Remember, you might not be able to answer all of these questions, but do

your best to answer as many as possible.

Map Assignment

• Go to page 195 in the text book and answer the “Try It!” questions (1 and 2)

Al-Andalus, Muslim Spain

• The majority of the people in Spain were Christian during the middle ages

• During the fall of the Roman Empire, in 711 AD, a Muslim force led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and landed in Spain

• In just a few years, Muslims conquered almost all of Portugal and Spain

• In time, people began to convert to Muslim, but some resisted

Life and Society

• Spain was a part of a vast empire for the next few centuries

• They Islamic world was part of the largest economic trade zone in the world

• Goods and ideas were exchanged between places from all over

• Muslim rulers and rich merchants supported the arts• Muslims did not allow people to be shown

realistically because it may lead to idolatry (the worship of idols)

Centres of Learning

• Learning was important to the Muslim society– They used learning to understand the universe and to aid in

living an ethical life• The world’s first university was established in Cairo,

Egypt in 971• Major Spanish cities, under Muslim rule, became great

centres for learning• Muslim scholars even studied and discussed science and

medicine• They were the first, along with Jewish scholars, to

translate the books and essays of the ancient Greeks

Religious Tolerance

• Muslim Spain was a society that was relatively tolerant of religious minorities

The End of Muslim Spain

• By the early 1000s AD, the area of jurisdiction of the Islamic rulers (the caliphate) had begun to decline in Spain

• They had a series of ineffective rulers which helped lead them towards a period of civil unrest

• This led to a lot of quarrelling between the leaders

Creating a Christian Spain

• Because of their devotion to their faith, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand were know as the Catholic Monarchs

• The Christian crusaders from across Europe came to help the Spanish Christian forces win territory from the Muslims

• By 1492, Spain was a completely Christian land

The Spanish Inquisition

• Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand wanted to unite Spain under on religion, Christianity

• They did so by taking over the Spanish Inquisition from the Church

• The Inquisition was a state-run system of courts where Church officials put believer of religious ideas other than Catholicism on trial

• After the trials, Jews and Muslims were given two options: convert or be exiled

• The expulsion of the Jews and Muslims had done some harm to Spain

• A larger part of the Spanish educated middle class was made up of Jews and Muslims

• Many of them were business people and financiers

• Their expulsion made it hard from economic growth in Spain

Saving Souls

• With the thought of expelling all non-Christians out of Spain, their view of “saving” people started to look elsewhere

• The king and Queen feared that the Muslims were spreading their beliefs across the world (especially in the Middle East and Asia)– They viewed this as a threat to Christianity

• The king and queen believed that they had a religious duty to convert as many people as possible to Catholicism

• This was one of the reasons they decided to support Columbus’s plan

• All Spanish explorers from Spain brought missionaries with them on their expeditions

Gold and Glory

• The idea that national wealth is based on a country’s supplies of gold and silver was an important part of the European thinking during the Renaissance

• Money meant a country could buy the resources it needed

• A country could finance a war and protect their borders if they had enough money

Wealth for Spain

• In 1492, Spain had used up all of its gold and silver reserves

• They spent all their money fighting in wars• King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella hoped that Columbus’s

mission would bring back gold to support the Spanish economy

• When Columbus arrived in the Americas he only found a small supply of gold, but wrote back to the king and queen telling them that the rivers were full of gold

• This led to the King and Queen sending bigger expeditions to the Americas

First VoyageOctober 1492

Second VoyageSeptember 1493

Columbus’s fleet 3 ships 17 ships

Columbus’s company 90 sailors 2500 sailors, soldiers, missionaries, and settlers

Columbus’s instructions Just explore Set up a colony on arrival, with a permanent settlement

First VoyageOctober 1492

Second VoyageSeptember 1493

Columbus’s fleet 3 ships 17 ships

Columbus’s company 90 sailors 2500 sailors, soldiers, missionaries, and settlers

Columbus’s instructions Just explore Set up a colony on arrival, with a permanent settlement