Introduction

Introduction n this reading, you will learn about the Age of Why did explorers brave such dangers? In IExploration. This period of discovery lasted this reading, you will discover some of the rea- from about 1418 to 1620. During this time, sons for the Age of Exploration. Then you will European explorers made many daring voyages learn about the voyages of explorers from that changed world history. Portugal, Spain, and other European countries. A major reason for these voyages was the You will also learn about the impact of their desire to find sea routes to east Asia, which discoveries on Europe and on the lands they Europeans called the Indies. When Christopher explored. Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean, he was looking for such a route. Instead, he land- ed in the Americas. Columbus thought he had reached the Indies. In time, Europeans would realize that he had found what they called the ”New World.” European nations soon rushed to claim lands in the Americas for themselves. Early explorers often suffered terrible hard- ships. In 1520, Ferdinand Magellan set out with three ships to cross the Pacific Ocean from South America. He had guessed, correctly, that the Indies lay on the other side of the Pacific. But Magellan had no idea how vast the ocean really was. He thought his crew would be sailing for a few weeks at most. Instead, the crossing took three months. While the ships were still at sea, the crew ran out of food. One sailor wrote about this terrible time. “We ate biscuit… swarming with worms…. We drank yellow water that had been putrid [rotten] for days... and often we ate sawdust from boards.” Curriculum Institute eachers’ T © 2 Reasons for the Age of Exploration hy did European exploration begin to to spread Christianity. Both Protestant and Wflourish in the 1400s? Two main reasons Catholic nations were eager to make new con- stand out. First, Europeans of this time had sever- verts. Missionaries followed the path blazed by al motives for exploring the world. Second, explorers, sometimes using force to bring native advances in knowledge and technology helped peoples into their faiths. make voyages of discovery possible. Advances in Knowledge and Technology The Motives for Exploration For early explorers, one Age of Exploration began in the midst of the of the main motives for exploration was the Renaissance, a time of new learning. A number desire to find new trade routes to Asia. By the of advances made it easier for explorers to ven- 1400s, merchants and crusaders had brought ture into the unknown. many goods to Europe from Africa, the Middle One key advance was in cartography, the art East, and Asia. Demand for these goods and science of mapmaking. In the early 1400s, an increased the desire for trade. Italian scholar translated an ancient book called Europeans were especially interested in spices Guide to Geography from Greek into Latin. The from Asia. They had learned to use spices to help book had been written by Ptolemy in the second preserve food during winter and to cover up the century C.E. Printed copies of the book inspired taste of food that was no longer fresh. new interest in cartography. European mapmak- Trade with the East, however, was expensive ers used Ptolemy’s work to draw more accurate and difficult. Muslims and Italians controlled the maps. flow of trade. Muslim traders carried goods to Discoveries by explorers gave mapmakers the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Italian new information to work with. The result was a merchants then brought the goods to Europe. dramatic change in Europeans’ view of the world. Problems arose when Muslim rulers sometimes By the 1500s, globes showed Earth as a sphere, closed the trade routes from Asia to Europe. or ball. In 1507, a German cartographer made the Also, the goods went through many hands, and first map that clearly showed North and South each trading party raised their price. America separated from Asia. European monarchs and merchants wanted to In turn, better maps helped explorers by break the hold that Muslims and Italians had on making navigation easier. The most important trade. One way to do so was to find a sea route to Renaissance geographer, Gerardus Mercator, cre- Asia. Portuguese sailors looked for a route that ated maps using improved lines of longitude and went around Africa. Christopher Columbus tried latitude. Mercator’s mapmaking technique was a to reach Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic. great help to navigators. Other motives also came into play. Many An improved ship design also helped explor- people were excited by the opportunity for new ers. By the 1400s, Portuguese and Spanish ship- knowledge. Explorers saw the chance to earn builders were making caravels. These ships were fame and glory as well as wealth. Some craved small, fast, and easy to maneuver. Their shallow adventure. And as new lands were discovered, bottoms made it easier for explorers to travel nations wanted to claim the lands’ riches for along coastlines where the water was not deep. themselves. Caravels also used lateen (triangular) sails, an Curriculum Institute A final motive for exploration was the desire idea borrowed from Muslim ships. These sails eachers’ T © 3 Reasons for the Age of Exploration could be positioned to take advantage of the wind Questions no matter which way it blew. 1. What were some key motives for Europeans Along with better ships, new navigational tools during the Age of Exploration? helped sailors to travel more safely on the open 2. Which motive do you think was the strongest seas. By the end of the 15th century, the compass for encouraging European exploration? Why? was much improved. Sailors used compasses to 3. What key advances in knowledge and technol- find their bearing, or direction of travel. The astro- ogy allowed Europeans to explore these new labe helped sailors figure out their distance north areas? or south from the equator. 4. Which advance do you think was the most Finally, improved weapons gave Europeans a important? Why? huge advantage over the people they met in their explorations. Sailors could fire their cannons at targets near the shore without leaving their ships. On land, the weapons of native peoples often were no match for European guns, armor, and horses. Curriculum Institute eachers’ T © 4 European Exploration and Land Claims, 1488–1610 European Exploration and Land Claims, 1488–1610 Goa ! Malacca ! Questions 6. Which country had explorers who led expedi- 1. Which explorer was the first to establish a sea tions into the lands of the Aztecs and Incas in route to Asia? For which European country did North and South America? Who were these he sail? explorers? 2. Which explorer was the first to sail to the east 7. By 1600, on which continents did Spain claim coast of South America? For which European territory? country did he sail? 8. Which European countries during this period 3. By 1600, on which continents did Portugal sent explorers to North America’s east coast? claim or control territory or cities? Name three of these explorers. 4. Which explorer was the first to sail to what are today the Caribbean Islands, between North and South America? For which European country did he sail? 5. Which explorer was the first to lead a voyage that eventually went around the world? For which European country did he sail? Curriculum Institute eachers’ T © 5 Portugal Begins the Age of Exploration he Age of Exploration began in Portugal. This In 1500, Pedro Cabral set sail for India with a T small country is located on the southwestern fleet of 13 ships. Cabral first sailed southwest to tip of Europe. Its rulers sent explorers first to avoid calms (areas where there are no winds to fill nearby Africa and then around the world. sails). But he sailed so far west that he reached the east coast of present-day Brazil. After claiming Key Explorers The key figure in early Portuguese this land for Portugal, he sailed east and rounded exploration was Prince Henry, the son of King Africa. Arriving in Calicut, he established a trad- John I. Nicknamed “the Navigator,” Henry was ing post and signed trading treaties. He returned not an explorer himself. Instead, he encouraged to Portugal in June 1501 after battling several exploration and directed many important Muslim ships. expeditions. Beginning in about 1418, Henry sent explorers The Impact of Portuguese Exploration Portugal’s to sea almost every year. He also started a school explorers changed Europeans’ understanding of of navigation where sailors and mapmakers could the world in several ways. They explored the learn their trades. His cartographers made new maps coasts of Africa and brought back gold and slaves. based on the information captains brought back. They also found a sea route to India. From India, Henry’s early expeditions focused on the west explorers brought back spices like cinnamon and coast of Africa. He wanted to continue the cru- pepper and goods such as porcelain, incense, sades against the Muslims, find gold, and take jewels, and silk. part in trade. After Cabral’s voyage, the Portuguese took Gradually, Portuguese explorers made their way control of the eastern sea routes to Asia. They farther and farther south. In 1488, Bartolomeu seized the seaport of Goa in India and built forts Dias became the first European to go around the there. They attacked towns on the east coast of southern tip of Africa. Later, Dias died in a storm Africa. They also set their sights on the Moluccas, at sea.

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