Overview

A desire to grow rich and spread Christianity, along with the development of new technology, began to push Europeans to explore foreign lands.

1. Spices2. Gold3. Slaves4. Land

1. Astrolabe2. Compass3. Maps4. Caravel and Lateen Sails5. Telescope

Exploring the World

• Henry the Navigator

School for navigation – taught sailing, cartography, and how to use navigation instruments to explorers.

(Both later explorers, Dias and da Gama, studied here)

Sweet hat!

Dias and Da Gama

• Dias- reached tip of Africa (The Cape of Good Hope)

• Da Gama- rounded tip of Africa, made it to Indian Ocean

Dias’ Voyage

1487-1488

Da Gama’s Voyage

1497-1499

Spices!

Questions

• 1. What did Prince Henry the Navigator do to improve sailing?

• 2. Where did Bartholomew Diaz travel to?

• 3. Vasco Da Gama was the first European to complete the journey to where? What did he do once he reached his destination?

Answers to Questions

• 1. Prince Henry set up a school that taught skills related to sailing.

• 2. Bartholomew Dias was the first explorer to round the tip of Africa.

• 3. Da Gama was the 1st explorer to reach Asia by sea routes and fill his ship with spices to sell back in Portugal. He profited 60 times the cost of his trip by selling the cargo.

Questions

• 4. Name 4 navigation innovations during this time period.

• 5. Name 3 of the important explorers during the time period.

• 6. What were 2 things that the Portuguese traded?

• 7. Was Vasco da Gama successful with his trip?

Answers• 4. Astrolabe, accurate maps, compass,

caravel, lateen sails, gunpowder

• 5. Prince Henry, Vasco da Gama, Bartholomew Dias

• 6. Spices, Gold and Slaves

• 7. Yes, he profited 60 times the cost of his trip by selling the cargo.

What was another way to trade with the East?

• The Silk Roads were originally constructed in 200 BCE China

• They were trade routes that linked Europe with Asia, cutting through the Middle East.

• It crossed through deserts and over mountains!

• If we had the Silk Roads, why bother finding a sea route?

Reasons

• Religious – European Christians do not want to pay the Muslims to trade

• Economic – Europeans wanted to make more profit by directly taking/buying goods from Asia instead of trading through many merchants

• Political – control over the Spice trade (among other goods)

Back in time…

• In 1271, 226 years before Vasco da Gama sets sail for India, we have Marco Polo