Download Age of exploration - Lake County Schools

•Began in the early 15th century and
lasted until the 17th century.
•Sometimes referred to as the “Age
of Discovery”.
•The period is characterized as a
time when Europeans began
exploring the world by sea in search
of trading partners, new goods, and
new trade routes.
•Reasons for Exploration
• For centuries, Europeans had depended on
traditional trade routes (such as the Silk Road) with
the Far East.
• But the trade was limited and did not meet the
desire of Europeans for new goods.
•Reasons for Exploration
• As a result, many turned to
their respective governments
which had their own desires
for the exploration of new
areas.
• Many nations were looking
for goods such as silver and
gold but one of the biggest
reasons for exploration was
the desire to find a new route
for the spice and silk trades.
•Reasons for Exploration
• As European nations such as:
Portugal, Spain, France and
England became more
centralized states, their rulers
became more powerful.
• Monarchs and wealthy
merchants could then pay for
voyages of exploration in search
of new sea trade routes to the
East.
•Reasons for Exploration
• When the Ottoman Empire took control of
Constantinople in 1453, it blocked
European access to the area, which
severely limited trade.
• As a result, finding new trade routes
became increasingly important to the
European nations.
•Reasons for Exploration
• Europeans sought new ideas and
knowledge about the world.
• In the years before and during the
Age of Exploration, a new way of
thinking developed that encourage
individuals to explore and
understand the world.
•Reasons for Exploration
• Advances in navigation and mapping allowed
greater exploration.
• In the years before the Age of Exploration,
knowledge and necessary sailing skills were
developed by the merchants and sailors who
sailed the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
•Reasons for Exploration
• Advances in navigation and shipbuilding meant
that ships could travel further and explore new
areas.
•Reasons for Exploration
• The carrack and the
caravel were two new
ships used in the Age of
Exploration.
• The carrack offered room
for a large crew and
provisions as well as
cargo for goods to be
brought back home.
•Reasons for Exploration
• The caravel was
designed to take
advantage of the wind
and were easier to sail
then the carrack.
•Did you know?
• Columbus had a carrack and two caravels with
him on his first voyage to the New World in
1492.
•The first of the journeys
associated with the Age of
Discovery were conducted by
the Portuguese under Prince
Henry the Navigator.
•These voyages were different
than those previously
conducted by the Portuguese
because they covered a much
larger area.
•Henry the Navigator set up a school
of navigation in 1419 in Portugal.
•Under his direction scholars
perfected sailing techniques,
instruments, designs for sails, and
mapping techniques.
•Henry the Navigator is
credited with
establishing many
practices used by
explorers:
• He was the first to require
his captains to keep logs of
their journeys. This process
continues to this day.
Captain’s log…
•As Portugal, France, Spain and
England became more powerful
countries, many factors set them up
as the leading countries during the
Age of Exploration.
•Portugal, France, Spain and England
came to lead the Age of Exploration
because:
• Each had an Atlantic coastline, which put them
in great position to explore the world to the
west.
• The monarchs of the these countries were
open to financing explorations in hopes of
establishing trade routes to the Far East.
•Portugal:
• Explorers from Portugal began
the European Age of Exploration.
• In the early 1400s, Portuguese
sailors headed along the western
coast of Africa in hopes of
finding a new route to India and
China.
• They were so successful that
Lisbon became the new trade
capitol of Europe.
•Spain:
• Spain was envious of Portugal’s
wealth and power and decided to
send its own expeditions to the
Far East.
• Seeking a quicker route to India
and China then around the
southern tip of Africa, Spanish
explorers sailed west across the
Atlantic.
• Christopher Columbus
•Spain:
• The most famous explorations
undertaken by Spain was the four
voyages of Christopher Columbus,
beginning with his first in 1492.
• Columbus is credited with being the
first European to explore the New
World (besides the Vikings 500 years
earlier) and beginning the wave of
European exploration and settlement
that would follow.
•England:
• Despite financing the voyage
of John Cabot to
Newfoundland in 1497,
England did not show major
interest in exploration until
the late 1500s.
• Portugal and Spain had
become so powerful that it
had decided it was time to
begin its own explorations.
•England:
• England established many
colonies in the New World
including throughout the
modern day eastern seaboards
of Canada and United States.
•France:
• France was also inspired to
begin explorations in the
1500s after seeing the wealth
is brought to Spain and
Portugal.
• France explorations focused
on areas around the St.
Lawrence River in Canada
especially under the voyage
of Jacques Cartier in 1534.
•The Age of Exploration ended in the
early 17th century after
technological advancements and
increased knowledge of the world
allowed Europeans to travel easily
across the globe by sea.
•In addition, the creation of
settlements along the coasts of the
newly found areas created a network
of communication and trade,
therefore ending the need to search
for trade routes.
•Though the Age of Exploration
officially ended in the 17th century,
it is important to note however that
the exploration did not cease
entirely at this time.
• Eastern Australia was not discovered
until 1770 and the Arctic and
Antarctic areas were not heavily
explored until the 19th century.
• Much of Africa also was also
unexplored until the 19th and even
early 20th centuries.