Chapter 3- the Age of Exploration

Chapter 3- The Age of Exploration

LESSON 1-EXPLORATION AND TECHNOLOGY

In the 1400s, a new age of learning, science, and art began in Europe.

Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. One of the most popular books he printed was a book written by explorer Marco Polo. The book described Polo’s voyage to Cathay (China). Europeans were amazed by the Chinese inventions, such as gun powder and the compass. They were also interested in the riches, such as silk and spices.

At the time, explorers only had land routes to Asia. Water routes would have been faster, but sailors didn’t have maps or the technology needed to sail the ocean to Asia. Scientists and sailors began working to find water routes to Asia.

In 1418, Prince Henry of Portugal opened a navigation school. The aim of the school was to make better ships, maps, and tools for navigation. Sailors learned to sail new ships called caravels, which could sail quickly over long distances. Mapmakers studied bodies of water and land and drew better maps. Prince Henry hired scientists to improve compasses and astrolabes to help sailors navigate easier.

Prince Henry believed that the most direct route to Asia was to sail around the tip of Africa and then east across the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese found this route in time.

In about A.D. 1000, Leif Erickson led a group called the Vikings from what is now Norway. They sailed west across the Atlantic, stopped at Greenland, and sailed and landed in Canada in present-day Newfoundland. The Vikings had much conflict with the Native Americans who lived there so they chose to leave.

For years most sailors thought you could only reach Asia by sailing east. Christopher Columbus didn’t agree. He believed he could reach Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic.  First, Columbus asked the king of Portugal for money to make his voyage, but the king said no.  In 1485, Columbus asked King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to fund the trip. At the time they were in the middle of the Reconquista, a movement to make Spain all Catholic and get rid of all Muslims and Jews.  In 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to pay for Columbus’ voyage. He promised riches, new lands, and that he would spread Catholic beliefs to Asia.

 On August 3, 1492, Columbus and 90 crewmen sailed from Spain on the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. They faced many problems during their two months at sea, including strong storms and lack of wind. On October 11, 1492, Columbus landed in what he thought was Asia. In reality, he landed on an island in the Caribbean Sea (the Bahamas). He didn’t find silk and spices, but he did bring back gold, plants, animals, and several Taino people. When the Spanish king and queen saw the riches Columbus brought back they agreed to pay for another trip. During the second trip they wanted Columbus to find more riches, start settlements, and convert people to the Catholic religion.

LESSON 2-The Changing World

Columbus’ voyages inspired European rulers to send ships to claim lands in the Americas.

King Henry VII paid an Italian explorer, Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), to lead an expedition west across the Atlantic. In May 1497, Cabot sailed west on a course far north of Columbus’ route. He landed in what he thought was the Indies. Many people today believe he landed in Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. This was the same place the Vikings had landed 500 years earlier.

Not everyone believed that Columbus and Cabot found Asia. Amerigo Vespucci of Italy aimed to find out for himself. He sailed just south of Columbus’ landing spot and sailed down the coast of South America.

Vespucci could not find any signs that he had landed in Asia. He could not find anything that matched Marco Polo’s descriptions. Vespucci began to think that the Earth was larger than most people thought and that Asia was farther away than Columbus believed.

Over time Vespucci realized that Columbus and Cabot found lands not yet known to Europeans.

In 1507, Martin Waldseemuller, a German mapmaker published a world map that included the newly found lands. He named the lands in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. (South America)

Vasco Nunez de Balboa of Spain was one of the first Europeans to settle in the Americas. He set up a farm on Hispaniola. He was not a good farmer and eventually had to escape from Hispaniola because he owed money to many people. In 1513, Balboa and other explorers made their way west across the Isthmus of Panama and reached the Pacific Ocean.

Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer, also proved Vespucci was right. Magellan passed through a waterway at the tip of South America and made it to the Pacific Ocean. He named it the Pacific, which means peaceful, because compared to the waters of the Atlantic it was calm. Magellan’s voyage across the Pacific took three months. Many sailors died and Magellan was killed in a battle in the Philippine Islands. In 1522, one of his ships made it back to Spain. Its sailors were the first Europeans to travel around the world. The Treaty of Tordesillas was an agreement between Spain and Portugal regarding land that was promised to each country. A line was drawn on a map. All the land east of the line was promised to Portugal. All the land west of the line was promised to Spain.