Why did Europeans explore the world?

Europeans knew little about the world beyond Europe... The Atlantic Ocean was seen as too big to cross and Africa was too big to sail around

Many people believed the earth was flat... Ships might end up sailing off the edge of the world if they went too far out to sea!

Before 1400...

The Middle East was an area that lay between Europe and Asia – and was predominantly Muslim

Wars between Christians and Muslims (the Crusades) meant that the Middle East acted as a barrier to Europeans travelling Eastwards

Muslim-Christian wars

Old maps of the world – what’s missing?

Other fears

To find a new trade route to China and India To spread Christianity To explore and conquer new lands and peoples Improvements in ships and navigation made it possible to go

further.

Why explore

America Sailors feared theseFlat Muslim

regionChina Not on old

mapsCrusades Europeans wanted to spread

thisMonsters Destination for

EuropeansChristianity Christian-Muslim

warsGold Old belief about the

worldMiddle East Motivation for

explorers

Matchup

Portugal and Portuguese explorers

The Portuguese traded with Muslims from North Africa From them they learned that the traders gold came from

further south in Africa – near the coast – and wanted to find it for themselves.

This encouraged them to develop better ships and explore the African coast

At this point in history the barely any of the west coast of Africa was explored - sailors were afraid that the sea might be boiling near the equator!

Portugal and the exploration of Africa

3rd son of King of Portugal Fascinated by the legend of “Prester John” – a King of a long

lost Christian country in Africa – and wanted to discover if the legend was true

Hired astronomers, ship builders, map makers and sea captains to help him explore Africa better in the quest for Prester John

Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460)

Prester John

Triangular sails – easy to control, but very slow

Lateen sails on ships

Square sails on ships Square sails – fast but very hard to control

Caravels – a new type of ship that had lateen and square sails

Before the Renaissance sailors could only navigate (find their way) by keeping within sight of the coast.

Scientific developments during the Renaissance led to new and better instruments:◦ The Compass (for finding the direction you’re sailing in)◦ Astrolabe/Quadrant (for finding exactly where you are)

New methods were developed for finding:◦ Depth (lead weights “swinging the lead”)◦ Measuring speed using a knotted rope (today people measure ships

speed using “knots”)

Navigation

Compass – needle always points towards the North Pole (if you’re above the Equator)

Works by measuring the angle between the Horizon and the Pole Star (the star directly above the North Pole)

If you’re 20 degrees of latitude from the equator, the angle between the pole star and the horizon will be 20 degrees

Astrolabe

Drop a rope into the sea (with a lead weight) and measure how far down it goes – you have then measured the depth of the sea

Was a fairly easy job on a ship – hence the phrase “swinging the lead” which means dossing.

Swinging the lead

Small ships meant a lack of any privacy or comfort Lack of fresh water meant diseases like Typhoid Lack of fresh food (exp) fruits meant a lack of vitamin C – this

caused Scurvy

A Sailor’s life

Typhoid Victim

Many Portuguese sailors kept logs (diaries) of their journeys – these logs were used by other sailors to learn about potential problems on their journeys

They also made detailed maps called Portolans or Portolanos of their trips

Portuguese exploration of Africa

Bartholomew Diaz reaches the bottom of Africa in 1488

Vasco da Gama sails to India in 1497

Both countries wanted to gain as much land as they could during the age of exploration

The Pope was afraid that this would lead to war between the two countries and decided that a deal should be struck to avoid war

An imaginary line was drawn on maps between the Cape Verde Islands and the West Indies

Spain got all the land WEST of this line Portugal got all the land EAST of this line This is the reason why most Brazilian people speak

Portuguese

Spain Vs Portugal in the Age of Exploration – P210

Treaty of Tordesillas

Tordesillas Reached India Da Gama Overlapping planks Lateen Used to measure latitude Scurvy A sailor’s map Astrolabe First to tip of Africa Clinker-built A ship’s diary Diaz Disease some sailors got Portolanos Spanish-Portuguese treaty Log Triangular sail

Complete this exercise in your copy – one has been done for you