The Age of Discovery Western Civilization II Marshall High School Mr. Cline Unit Three AA * The Age of Discovery • Reasons for Exploration • The mid-to-late 15th century is known to history as the Age of Exploration, the time in which Europeans dared to venture beyond the coastal waters of Old World Europe to the new world of the Americas. • It was an era when Spanish and Portuguese ships led the way but were soon followed by the French, the British, and the Dutch. • Today, as we delve into this Age of Exploration, we'll discuss three reasons why Europe took to the seas. • They are the spirit of adventure, the religious desire to save souls, and, of course, wealth! • When we're finished, it'll be up to you decide which title fits best: the Age of Exploration or the Age of Exploitation. • Spirit of Adventure • Let's take a look at our first reason for exploration, the spirit of adventure. • The Age of Exploration overlapped the Renaissance, a time when people traded in the silly superstitions of medieval times for the excitement of experiencing and observing. * The Age of Discovery • With this, people began wanting answers about the world beyond the Green Seas of Darkness. • No longer were they willing to believe the unknown was a place where monsters lived and the sun burned so hot that skin would boil black. • With no pun intended, they were ready to test the waters! • One Renaissance man willing to risk his life - well, not really his own life, mind you, but the lives of the guys he sent out - was Prince Henry of Portugal. • Henry, known to our world as Henry the Navigator, began the first school of oceanic navigation and also sponsored countless expeditions into the dark seas. • Although Henry never actually joined any expeditions, he helped create maps used by later explorers while also whetting the appetite of all Europe with the spirit of adventure. • Saving Souls • This brings us to our next reason for exploration - the religious desire to save souls. • Just like during the Crusades, in which Christian Europe tried to reclaim the Holy Lands, the monarchs of Europe still desired to spread Christianity. * The Age of Discovery • When it comes to the desire to save souls, the journals of Christopher Columbus speak for themselves. • As he wrote to his financial backers, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain: 'As Catholic Christians, and princes who love and promote the holy Christian faith, and are enemies of infidels, idolatry, and all heresy, you have determined to send me to India. There I will see these new people, learn of their ways, and find the proper way to commit them to our holy faith!' • Kino of Italy was a Catholic priest who also expressed the desire to save native souls. He wrote: 'Thousands will be gathered into the heart of our sweet, most holy, Mother Church.' • Desire for Wealth • Although this all sounds very benign, let's let Columbus introduce our last reason for exploration, wealth. • Take a listen to another of his paraphrased quotes: 'But in truth, should I meet with great quantities of gold or spices, I'll remain till I collect as much as possible, and for this purpose I am proceeding SOLELY in the quest of them.' • Without a doubt, wealth was a huge objective in exploration of the New World, so let's dig a little bit deeper. * The Age of Discovery • At the time of exploration, Western Europe was enthralled with the wealth of the Far East brought home by European soldiers returning from the Crusades. • In their minds, the spices (which Europe used to cure meats) and the luxury of silk flowed like milk and honey in the lands of the East. • If only there were a faster way to get there! • Enter Christopher Columbus, who thought he had found just that. • Once Europe finally realized Columbus had tripped upon a 'New World,' or as the Europeans soon came to call it, the Mundus Novus, the desire for spices was joined by the desire for gold. • In all fairness to Columbus, he wasn't the only guy with his sights set on riches. • During his time, a nation's wealth was determined mainly by how much gold they had in their coffers. • As Old Worlders heard tales of the New World's cities of gold, all of Europe became a-twitter. • The Spanish explorers De Soto, the first European to set foot in Florida, and Coronado, who explored the areas of New Mexico, were just a few who sought after the legendary cities full of gold. * The Age of Discovery • Although the cities remained elusive, gold itself was found and quickly exported back to Europe. • Some estimates purport over seven million ounces were taken from the Americas between 1580 and 1596. • Fortunately for Europe but not so much for the Americas, the New World also offered lands and crops. • Nicolas Le Challeux, a Frenchman, came to the New World craving land for his homeland. • However, France wasn't alone in its need for space and natural resources. • Competition in Europe was fierce, while land was limited. • Most of Europe jumped on this bandwagon, taking over land, growing crops, and exporting gold from the Americas. • Since this all might be sounding a bit one-sided, we should probably discuss the positive things Europe brought to the New World. • While Europeans returned home with new crops, like maize, potatoes, and tomatoes, they introduced horses, pigs, and other domesticated livestock to the New World. * The Age of Discovery • This exchange of goods between the Old and New Worlds is known as the Columbian Exchange or the Grand Exchange. • Sadly, this exchange also included smallpox and several other infectious diseases brought to the New World, and diseases like syphillis brought back to the old world- all in all, not a very grand trade. • Add to this that Columbus' second voyage saw the enslavement of several hundred natives and it's not hard to see why many choose the title 'Age of Exploitation.' • Again, Columbus' words read, paraphrased: 'The people here are very unskilled in arms. With only 50 men they could all be subjected to do all that one wished!' * The Age of Discovery • History of the Magnetic Compass • Christopher Columbus had no GPS. Christopher Columbus had no Internet. Christopher Columbus had no travel club. He didn't even have one of those cool big folding maps. But, Christopher Columbus did have a compass, and by golly, it got the job done! • Well, it sort of got the job done. • Let's just say it got the job done well enough to be the subject of today's lesson, 'How the Compass Helped Columbus.' • In the first half of the 15th century, Prince Henry of Portugal, also known as Henry the Navigator, began encouraging the use of the magnetic compass several decades before Columbus sailed under the Spanish flag. • These magnetic compasses became extremely important navigational tools, combining their needles with magnetized lodestones, or pieces of naturally magnetized minerals, to determine a ship's direction in reference to the magnetic north. • Prince Henry encouraged cooperation between sailors and mapmakers, hoping to create more accurate maps of the seas. * The Age of Discovery • Review of Columbus • Before we get too deep into the wonders of the compass, let's do a review of the ultra-famous Christopher Columbus. • During the 15th and 16th centuries, Europe became enthralled with the idea of overseas exploration. • Enter Christopher Columbus, a Portuguese native trained in math, astronomy, cartography, and navigation. • While Europeans were sailing south around the Cape of Good Hope to reach Asia, Columbus had a different idea. • He believed (although erroneously) that the circumference of the earth was much smaller than others reported it to be. Therefore, a voyage across the seas from Europe to Asia would be relatively easy, so why not sail west? Why not cross the Atlantic and avoid Africa altogether? • After rejections from Portugal, Columbus finally convinced the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, to fund his experiment, their motivation being treasure for themselves and their kingdoms - and the chance to spread Catholicism to new worlds. * The Age of Discovery • Review of Columbus • Columbus' motivation? • Well, definitely fame and fortune (since he had negotiated a deal that would give him 10% of all the riches found) - and, of course, the whole spreading of the Catholic faith thing. • However, Columbus was also very interested in improving maritime navigation. Listen to this paraphrased excerpt from his journal. • 'I propose to construct a new chart for navigating, on which I shall delineate all the sea and lands of the ocean in their proper positions under their bearings; and further, I propose to prepare a book, and to put down all as it were in a picture, by latitude from the equator, and western longitude. Above all, I shall have accomplished much, for I shall forget sleep, and shall work at the business of navigation.' • On August 3, 1492, Columbus and his men set sail across the ocean blue in the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. • With him, he took the star of our lesson, the compass, which greatly improved navigational success in the areas of (first) dead reckoning and (second) celestial navigation. * The Age of Discovery • Dead Reckoning • During the times of Columbus, most sailors navigated by dead reckoning. • In dead reckoning, the navigator would calculate a current position by using a previous position, measuring the course and the distance traveled in segments. • For instance, before leaving port, the navigator measured out his expected course and the distance he would like to travel in that day.