THE AGE OF EXPLORATION

EUROPE EXPLORES THE WORLD

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

EXPLORERS

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

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

Bartolomeu Dias

Vasco da Gama

The first European to open a sea-based trade route to India

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

Magellan’s Ships:Trinidad, the San Antonio, the Conception, the Victoria and the Santiago

Lupa Lupa

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

John Cabot

FRANCE

Jacques Cartier:• sailed past Newfoundland• entered the St. Lawrence River

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.