Post on 23-Oct-2021
Age of Exploration (1450 - 1750)
I. Motives for Exploration
A. Technological Advances
1. improved navigational methods:
- magnetic compass andastrolabe
- improved maps and charts
2. improved ship designs
Example- the caravel ship -allowed sailing with and against the wind
3. improved weapons
- gunpowder and cannons
Why would this be important?
Desire for wealth (GOLD)
1. gain access to the spice trade (also sugar and silk)
Arab and Italian merchants had a monopoly
2. find new sources of gold and silver
Religion (GOD)
1. desire to convert new people to Christianity
Glory
1. desire to learn about the world (intellectual curiosity)
- Marco Polo returns with stories of the riches in Asia.
2. desire for adventure, fortune, fame and glory.
II. Portugal and Spain
A. Portugal
1. Portugal led the way
in exploration
a. Prince Henry the Navigator encourages exploration and the study of improvements in seafaring.
b. Set up a navigational school to teach Europeans the newest sailing techniques
b.location –Portugal was well situated to explore based on routes available to explore.
2. Portuguese sailors explored the coast of Africa in an attempt to find a water route to Asian trade.
3. Portuguese explorers included:
Bartholomeu Dias - first to sail around the southern tip ofAfrica
Vasco da Gama - discovered an all water trade route between Portugal and India.
B. Spain
1. Columbus sails West in an attempt to reach Asia.
-1st to reach the New World during the Age of Exploration
Ferdinand Magellan –
attempted to find a Western route to Asia, one of his ships will complete the first circumnavigation of the earth. (1519-1522)
Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes arrived inMexico in 1519.
Cortes along with native allies defeated the Aztec.
Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro arrived in Central America
Pizarro defeated the Incas.
Amerigo Vespucci – Spain
Explored the coast of the newly discovered lands in the New World
Suggested Columbus had actually discovered a new world
Vespucci’s name begins to appear on maps of the New World
The Americas were named after him
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)- Spain and Portugal sign a treaty
dividing the newly discovered lands between the twonations