Download European Exploration

European Exploration
Why did explorations happen when they
did?
• A variety of factors all came together to make
the time period (1450-1700) the “age of
exploration”
• Some of these factors were pushes, external
forces acting on Europe
• Some were pulls, motivations and things that
attracted the Europeans
What is the easiest way to remember it
all?
• The Three G’s:
– Gold
– Glory
– God
The First G: Gold
• Gold was a hot item that explorers were looking for,
but remember that it is really wealth, not just literal
gold that explorers were after.
• Europe needed gold (and silver) to fuel the rising
banking system
• Europeans also desired spices
• Other natural resources would come to be sold for
profit as well (timber, sugar, tobacco, ivory, etc.)
• This competition will be enhanced by the idea of
mercantilism that emerges, the idea that there is only
so much wealth in the world, and that to make your
kingdom strong you must have more gold and wealth
than the other kingdoms
The second G: Glory
The Triumph of Fame, a Flemish
tapestry from 1502.
• Just like the first G, Gold,
Glory was a relatively new
idea in Europe
• Came out of the Renaissance
ideal of Humanism, and the
focus on individual
achievement
• With the rise of the printing
press, the idea of gaining
fame for one’s actions was
more possible
• Also, individual kings wanted
glory for their kingdoms,
competition spreads
The third G: God
• As members of a universalizing religion, Europeans
had always seen spreading Christianity as a good
thing
• Especially after the Reformation, competition will
spring up
• Colonization will become a race to convert native
peoples to a particular brand of Christianity
• Jesuits (Catholics) are some of the most active
How did these explorations begin?
• The first to encourage new
ship explorations was Prince
Henry of Portugal, known as
“Prince Henry the
Navigator”
• Started an institute for
seafaring and exploring
• Combined ship technology
learned from Islam with new
European innovations
• By the time of his death in
1460, Portuguese had sailed
as far south as the Gold
Coast of West Africa
What were the new technologies that
enabled explorations?
• The caravel was a new, faster,
more maneuverable ship
• Older ships had square sails,
caravels had triangular sails
(easier to change direction)
• Bilge pump system enabled
ship to float higher (less likely
to run aground, easier to
explore coasts and rivers)
• Compass, astrolabe, maps
and other technologies from
Islamic culture all helped
make explorations possible
What factors were pushing Europeans to
explore?
• Decline of Mongol
Empire in 1400s made
goods from the east
harder to get, more
expensive
• Fall of Constantinople to
the Ottoman Turks in
1453 was a major block
to trade
Bartholomeu Dias
• The explorer Bartholomeu Dias was the 1st to
reach the Cape of Good Hope, the Southern
tip of Africa!
• This helped others to see it was possible to
reach India by going around Africa!
Vasco Da Gama


He opened a new route for
trade between Europe and
Asia without using the silk
rode.
In 1498 Vasco Da Gama went
around Africa and reached
India.
Picture Credit: http://www.mariner.org/age/images/dagama.gif
Christopher Columbus
• Christopher Columbus
convinced King Ferdinand
and Queen Isabella to have
three ships.
• The three ships were: Nina,
Pinta, and Santa Maria.
• He landed in the Bahama
Islands on October 12,
1492.
Picture Credit:
http://www.mariner.org/age/columbus.html
Columbian Exchange
Americas to Europe
Europe to Americas
Potatoes & Tomatoes
Sugar, Tea, Coffee
Maize, (Corn)
Horses, pigs, sheep, goats,
cattle, rats
Diseases (smallpox,
measles, whooping cough,
bubonic plague, malaria,
yellow fever )
•Asian cockroaches,
Japanese beetle
Tobacco
Chocolate
Ferdinand Magellan (Portuguese)
Picture Credit: http://www.mariner.org/age/magellan.html
• Ferdinand Magellan sailed around the
southern tip of South America.
• His crew made the first round trip around
the world. His ship the Victoria made it
around the world.
• He named the Pacific Ocean because it was
so peaceful.
John Cabot
• He was born in Italy.
• He loved to watch sailors at
the docks and hear their
stories.
• At age 16, he began
studying sailing and
mapping.
• He moved to England and
got the King to support his
exploration.
• He is important because
his exploration for England
gave England the right to
the USA.
Picture Credit: http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/cabot.html
Ponce de Leon
• He went with Christopher
Columbus on his 2nd
voyage in 1493. He stayed
there and became the 1st
European to live on the
mainland of North
America.
• He was Looking for the
“fountain of youth”
• He found Puerto Rico and
became governor there.
• He also found Floridia and
named it "Pascua de
Florida" (feast of flowers)
after a Spanish Easter
holiday because he found Picture Credit:
http://multimedia.esuhsd.org/2000/ed_project/135_w
Floridia on Easter!
eb/studentprojects/ageexploration/poncedeleon.html
Hernando De Soto
• He Sailed for Spain
• His time in the USA
was spent exploring
Florida down to
Mexico looking for
gold.
• He did find the
Mississippi River.
Francisco Coronado
• He spent his time
looking for the 7 cities
of gold!
• He was considered a
failure because he
didn’t find gold.
http://www.mce.k12tn.net/explorers/spanishexplorers.htm
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
• Vasco Nunez de Balboa
shipwrecked in the
Bahamas, on the island,
Hispaniola.
• He tried to make a living
farming but ended up
owing a lot of money to
people.
• He then hid in a barrel on
a ship to escape.
• He discovered the Pacific
Ocean.
Picture Credit: http://www.czbrats.com/Photos/Homeagain/two/balboa.JPG