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Age of Exploration
Unit Eight, Part Four
Section One
Motivation to Explore
Age of Exploration Begins
 Europe saw an “Age of Exploration” from 1400-1700
 Renaissance encouraged curiosity & desire for trade
 Due to exploration, European nations grew powerful
and spread their influence throughout the world
Europeans wanted to explore for three main reasons:
1. Gold (Money)
2. Glory
3. God
Gold
 Desire for new sources of wealth was the main
reason for European exploration
 Merchants began looking for quick, direct trade
routes to Asia
 Merchants wanted to avoid Muslim and Italian
merchants and to increase profits
 Crusades & Renaissance led to European desires
for exotic Asian luxury goods
Glory
 Renaissance inspired new possibilities
 Kings sponsored voyages of exploration
 Kings gained overseas colonies, new sources of wealth
& increased power
 Exploration gave Europeans the opportunity to rise
from poverty and gain fame, fortune & status
 Demand for new land and glory led to competition
between countries
God
 During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Europe
was very religious
 Christians wanted to stop the spread of Islam and
convert non-Christians to Christianity
 Explorers were encouraged to spread Christianity or
bring missionaries who would focus only on
conversions
Section Two
Means to Explore
Advances in Sailing & Navigation
 Before the Renaissance, sailors did not have the
technology to sail very far from Europe
 Trade and cultural diffusion during the Renaissance
introduced new navigation techniques to Europeans
DIFFUSION: spreading of something more widely
 Magnetic compass made sailing more accurate
 Astrolabe used stars to show direction
 Maps were more accurate and used longitude and
latitude
Advances in Shipbuilding
 European shipbuilders built a better ship
CARAVEL: strong ship that could travel in both the open
seas AND in shallow water
 Caravels had triangular sails that allowed ships to sail
against the wind
 A moveable rudder made the caravel more
manageable
 Cannons and rifles gave ships protection
Section Three
Explorers in the
Age of Exploration
Portuguese Exploration
 Portugal was an early leader in the Age of Exploration
BARTOLOMEU DIAS: early Portuguese explorer who was
the first person to sail around the southernmost tip of Africa
in 1488
PRINCE HENRY THE NAVIGATOR: most enthusiastic
supporter of exploration in Portugal; son of Portugal’s king
 Prince Henry brought in Europe’s best map-makers, shipbuilders and sailing technology
 He wanted to discover new territory, find a quick trade
route to Asia and expand Portugal’s power
Portuguese Exploration
 Prince Henry’s navigation school & funding of voyages led
the Portuguese to be the 1st to explore the west coast of
Africa
VASCO da GAMA: 1st explorer to find a direct trade route to
Asia by going around Africa to get to India
 Portugal gained a sea route to Asia that brought them great
wealth
 Portugal went on to create colonies along the African coast,
in Brazil, and the Spice Islands in Asia
COLONY: area or region under control of another country
Spanish Exploration
 Spanish government saw Portugal’s wealth and did not
want to be left out
 Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain supported overseas
expeditions more than any other European monarch
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: Spanish explorer who believed
that he could reach Asia by sailing west from Spain
 Reached the Bahamas in America and thought it was India
 Columbus made 4 trips to America, never knowing he
wasn’t in India
Spanish Exploration
 Ferdinand Magellan still thought he could reach Asia by sailing
west
FERDINAND MAGELLAN: first explorer to circumnavigate the
earth
CIRCUMNAVIGATE: sail all the way around
 Spain created colonies in North and South America
 Spain sent explorers called conquistadors to the New World to
find gold, claim land, and spread Christianity
 Hernan Cortez and Francisco Pizarro conquered empires in
Central and South America
 Influx of gold made Spain the most powerful country in Europe
during early years of the Age of Exploration
Northern European Exploration
 England, France & the Netherlands became involved in
overseas exploration and colonization
 French explorer Samuel de Champlain searched Canada for a
northwest passage to Asia
 French would soon create a large colony from Canada to New
Orleans
 Unlike other European nations where kings paid for colonies,
English colonies were paid for by citizens who formed jointstock companies
 English colonies formed along Atlantic Coast by colonists
motivated by religion or wealth
Northern European Exploration
JAMES COOK: English explorer and first European to make
contact with Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii
 Netherlands allowed private companies to fund exploration
 Dutch had colonies in America and Africa, but the Dutch East
India Company dominated trade in Asia
DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY: trading company chartered by
the British in 1600 that developed and dominated trade in
India
 As a result of the Age of Exploration, European knowledge
and influence around the world increased greatly