0466-0479 CH30-846240 12/18/02 1:59 PM Page 466 CHAPTER The Age of Discovery 30 1300 A.D.–1620 A.D. ᭡ Ocean-going ship on bowl from Portugal Portuguese explorer ᭤ as cast in bronze by a West African artist 1487 1492 1494 1498 1519 1521 Dias rounds the Columbus reaches Treaty of Vasco da Gama Magellan begins Hernando Cortés tip of Africa the Americas Tordesillas reaches India journey across invades Mexico the Pacific 466 UNIT 9 BEGINNING OF MODERN TIMES 0466-0479 CH30-846240 12/18/02 2:01 PM Page 467 Chapter Focus Read to Discover Chapter Overview Visit the Human Heritage Web site • Why the Europeans searched for a direct sea route to Asia. at humanheritage.glencoe.com • What Portuguese explorers accomplished. and click on Chapter 30— • How explorers financed by Spain sailed to the Americas Chapter Overviews to preview this chapter. and beyond. • How the search for a northwest passage affected the history of the Americas. Terms to Learn People to Know Places to Locate compass Henry the Cape of Good astrolabe Navigator Hope caravel Vasco da Gama St. Lawrence mutiny Christopher River papal line of Columbus Hudson River demarcation Ponce de León conquistadores Ferdinand sea dogs Magellan Why It’s Important By the 1500s, Italy controlled Europe’s trade with India and other parts of Asia. To break the Italian hold on trade, other European nations began to search for an all-water route to the east. They hoped their journeys would enrich their countries and spread Christianity. A number of developments—such as more accurate maps, improved ships, and better navigation instruments—aided European explorers. One instrument was the compass, which Reading Check has a magnetic needle that always points north. Another was How did the the astrolabe (as’ tro¯la¯ b), which measures the angle of the compass and the stars and helps sailors find latitude. The journeys of European astrolabe help explor- explorers changed world history forever. ers chart direction? SECTION 1 The Portuguese The desire for new trade routes led to a great age of exploration in the 1400s. Information from such early explorers as Marco Polo was very helpful. The Portuguese were among the first to travel beyond the Mediterranean Sea. The accomplishments of Prince Henry the Navigator and the discoveries of Bartolomeu Dias (bahr thol’ uh myu¯ de¯ ahs) and Vasco da Gama (vas’ ko¯ duh gah’ muh) opened the way for later explorations. CHAPTER 30 THE AGE OF DISCOVERY 467 0466-0479 CH30-846240 11/15/02 10:43 PM Page 468 Maps Mapmakers often went on voyages of exploration so they could draw more accurate maps of the world, such as this map of Africa (below). In 1972 the United States launched its first Landsat, or land satellite, to beam back even more accurate maps of the earth, such as this image of Africa and the Indian Ocean (right). What coun- try took the lead in exploration in the early 1400s? Prince Henry Prince Henry the Navigator, son of the king of Portugal, had heard from African merchants about discoveries of gold there. Europe’s supplies of bullion (bu¯ l’ yuhn), or gold and silver for making coins, were running out. Prince Henry became eager for Portuguese sailors to explore the west coast of Africa. He also hoped they would find a new route to the Far East. He saw this as a way to extend Portugal’s trade and power. The demand for spices such as ginger, cloves, and pepper, which he could obtain there, was great. In the early 1400s, Henry set up the first European school for navigators in Sagres (sag’ re¯sh), Portugal. Prince Henry was fas- cinated by all information concerning sailing, navigation, and astronomy. Although he never sailed on a single ocean voyage himself, Henry organized a way for others to learn the most skilled way to sail. He gathered together Portuguese, Spanish, Jewish, Arab, and Italian mathematicians, chartmakers, astronomers, and sea captains. They taught Portuguese sailors all they knew and helped Henry make better charts, improve navi- gational instruments, and put together more detailed astronomi- Reading Check cal tables. What improve- At the same time, Henry worked with others to design and ments did the caravel build better ships. The result was the Portuguese caravel (kar’ uh bring to sailing? vel). It combined the heavy, square-rigged European ship 468 UNIT 9 BEGINNING OF MODERN TIMES 0466-0479 CH30-846240 11/15/02 10:44 PM Page 469 with the light, slim Arab one to produce a ship that was faster and easier to handle. Henry sent parties of explorers south along Africa’s west coast. There, they discovered the Gold Coast and Cape Verde Student Web Activity (vuhr’ de¯), as well as the Azores (a¯’ zo¯rz), Madeira (muh dir’ Visit the Human Heritage Web site at uh), and Canary Islands. These islands were used as supply sta- humanheritage.glencoe.com tions for further explorations. and click on Chapter 30— In Africa, the Portuguese explorers found gold dust, ivory, Student Web Activities to find and people whom they enslaved. Some explorers soon began to out more about Prince Henry the take more interest in trade than in discovery. Trading forts were Navigator. set up along the west coast of Africa and contacts were estab- lished with African leaders. This trade brought new wealth to Portugal, and Henry saw his country become powerful. When he died in 1460, however, Portuguese caravels had gone only part of the way down the west coast of Africa. Bartolomeu Dias Exploration went on after Prince Hen- ry’s death, but more slowly. In 1473, the Equator was crossed. Europeans discovered that the sea did not boil and was not the PRINCE HENRY THE NAVIGATOR Prince Henry’s school for navigators helped make possible the great new discoveries of lands and water routes in the 1400s. In this painting Henry watches for his ships to return. Why did Prince Henry hope to find a new route to the Far East? CHAPTER 30 THE AGE OF DISCOVERY 469 0466-0479 CH30-846240 11/15/02 10:44 PM Page 470 home of great monsters as had once been believed. Gradually and carefully, Portuguese explorers made their way south along the African coast. In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias readied ships for a long, hard voyage. Included for the first time was a supply ship with enough water and food for an extended trip. Dias touched at several points on Africa’s west coast before strong winds blew him southward. After the storm ended, Dias went on to reach Africa’s east coast, without knowing his ships had been blown around the tip of the continent. On the return home, Dias named what he now knew to be the southern tip of Africa the Cape of Storms. The king of Portugal later renamed it the Cape of Good Hope because the Portuguese now knew they could reach the Far East by sailing around Africa. Vasco da Gama In the summer of 1497, a Portuguese noble Painting of Vasco da Gama named Vasco da Gama led a convoy (kon’ voi), or group, of four ships down the Tagus (ta¯’ guhs) River from Lisbon, Portugal. The ships had been designed by Bartolomeu Dias. Dias, in fact, accompanied da Gama as far as Cape Verde. Da Gama had orders from the king to “proclaim the Christian faith” and to “wrest kingdoms and new states from the hands of the barbarians.” After four months at sea, da Gama’s convoy rounded the Cape of Good Hope. By then, many of the crew were sick. Their water smelled, and their food was spoiling. Still, the convoy continued on, sailing north along the east coast of Africa toward the island of Mozambique (mo ¯ zam be¯k’). This island was a Mus- lim trading center. There, the Portuguese sailors saw ships loaded with cargoes of cloves, pepper, gold, silver, pearls, and precious stones. For the first time, they saw a coconut, which they described as “fruit as large as a melon, of which the kernel is eaten.” When the Muslims found out that da Gama and his party were Christians, they forced the Europeans to leave. The next stop was Malindi (mahl in’ de¯) in present-day Kenya. There, the crew took on supplies and learned to make rope from coconut fiber. The king of Malindi sent da Gama an Goa Goa, on the south- Arab pilot to lead him to his final destination of Calicut (kal’ i west coast of India, was a kuht), a port and trading center on the southwest coast of India. Portuguese colony from On May 20, 1498, da Gama’s ships landed at Calicut. His 1510 until 1961, when it arrival alarmed the Arab and Persian merchants there. They became part of India. feared that Portugal would take over the trade between Africa Catholic and Hindu tradi- and India. An attempt was made to kill da Gama. In August, da tions blended there. Today the people of Goa celebrate Gama decided to leave. He and his crew loaded what spices they festivals such as Carnival could and started home. in much the same way as The trip back to Lisbon took 11 months for one ship and 13 people in Brazil, also once months for the ship that da Gama was sailing. During that time, a Portuguese colony. the convoy was threatened by storms, and many of the men died of scurvy (sker’ ve¯), a disease caused by the lack of vitamin C. 470 UNIT 9 BEGINNING OF MODERN TIMES 0466-0479 CH30-846240 11/15/02 10:45 PM Page 471 When the ships finally reached Lisbon in 1499, da Gama was greeted with great rejoicing and rewards.