the age of exploration. europe explores the world
TRANSCRIPT
In the 1400s, trade, religion, and curiosity led to a new era of
exploration.
Trade with Asia• Europeans wanted
Asian spices• Asian goods became
more expensive due to taxes
• Merchants began looking for a new route to East Asia
Religion• Christians wanted to
spread their ideas about religion to other parts of the world.
• Wanted to counteract the spread of Islam.
Curiosity• Stories of Marco Polo• Heard of new lands
and creatures• What’s on the other
side of the ocean?
ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY
•Sailors now had instruments such as the astrolabe and the compass to find new routes.
•More accurate maps allowed sailors to travel on the open sea and not having to follow the coast.
•Shipbuilding made new ships with better sails and better steering.
EXPLORING THE WORLD
1400s:• England and France were fighting each other• Spain was still fighting Muslims• Portugal began to explore first!
PORTUGUAL
Henry the Navigator:• prince of Portugal• set up a research center and invited sailors, cartographers, and shipbuilders to come and help him explore the world.
PORTUGUAL
Portuguese in Africa:• In 1420, began trading with African kingdoms
• discovered sugarcane
• began bringing African slaves to work the sugarcane fields
PORTUGUAL
Bartolomeu Dias:• 1488 – reached the southern tip of Africa
Vasco da Gama:• 1497- rounded the tip of Africa and landed on India’s coast• a water route to East India had been found
SPAIN
Christopher Columbus:• Italian navigator• wanted to find route to Asia going across the Atlantic• needed someone to finance (pay) for the trip• turned down by Portugal, France, and England
SPAIN
Christopher Columbus:• Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain said yeshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raPLzhzxAeU
• he outfitted three ships:1. Santa Maria2. Nina3. Pinta
SPAIN
Christopher Columbus:• In 1492, he reached San Salvador (island near Cuba)• claimed the land for Spain• he thought he was in Asia• he never realized he had reached the Americas• made four trips to the Americas
SPAIN
Ferdinand Magellan:• 1520 – he sailed completely around the world• sailed south along South America• crossed the Straight of Magellan• and entered a peaceful sea• named it the Pacific Ocean• headed west
SPAIN
Ferdinand Magellan:• his sailors nearly starved• lived off leather, sawdust, and rats• four months later, they reached the Philippines• he was killed by locals, but his crew went on• around Africa and back to Spain
ENGLAND
John Cabot:• 1497 – searched for a northern route to Asia across the Atlantic• Found Newfoundland• headed south along coast of Canada• he never found a path• disappeared on his second trip
Explorer Country Sailed
For
Area Explored Reason For Exploring
John Cabot(1497)
England Newfoundlandand Canada
Find northern route to Asia
(disappeared on 2nd trip)
Jacques Cartier(1534)
France St. Lawrence River
Find northern route to Asia
(Huguenot vs. Catholic wars
stopped exploration)
Henry the Navigator
Vasco da Gama
Christopher Columbus
Ferdinand Magellan
John Cabot Jacques Cartier
1419Set up a research center in Portugal
1497First
European to sail around
the south of Africa and reach India
1492First
European to sail west
searching for a water route
to Asia
1519Led first
expedition to sail
around the world
1497Encountered
Newfoundlandand traveled south along
Canada’s coast
1534Explored the St. Lawrence
River
EUROPEAN EXPLORERS
Columbus Discovered America?
Leif Ericson:• born in Iceland around 975• sailed to Newfoundland in 1002, almost 500 years before Columbus
The Spanish controlled the gold and silver from the former Aztec and Inca empires. An English sailor named Francis Drake began stealing gold and silver from the Spanish ships.
The Spanish were angry with the English and sent 130 ships, known as the Spanish Armada, to attack England.However, the English ships were faster and had better weapons. They were able to defeat the Spanish and destroy their fleet. This weakened the Spanish Empire and allowed England to gain power.
A New European Worldview
The explorations brought new knowledge and geography and proved that some old beliefs were wrong.
Improved mapmaking, or cartography, showed new lands and new possible trade routes.
A New European Worldview
New trade routes gave new opportunities for wealth and resources.
Europeans could now spread their influence around the world.