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Motives behind Exploration
The factors that lead to the Age of
Exploration
Objectives
• List and explain why Europeans crossed
the seas.
• Describe how Portugal’s eastward
explorations lead to the development of a
trading empire.
Key Terms
• Astrolabe
• Sextant
• Cartographer
• Caravel
People/Peoples
• Prince Henry
• Vasco Da Gama
• Bartholomeu Dias
• Pedro Cabral
The desire for wealth and Power
• Rulers in many countries
saw that trade with Asia
could make them and
their countries rich and
powerful.
• Merchants wanted to
make money by selling
Eastern goods to
Europeans.
– Spices, sugars, silk were in
demand in Europe.
Religious Aims
• The desire to spread
Christianity to distant
parts of the world.
• The Spanish and
Portuguese felt they
had a God-given duty
to drive the Muslims
out of other lands.
Renaissance Spirit
• The restless,
individualistic spirit of
the Renaissance also
helped launch the
Age of Exploration.
• Explorers were driven
by curiosity, the
desire for adventure,
and the hope of fame.
Improvements in Technology
• Europeans built sturdy
sailing ships that could be
handled by smaller crews
and make longer voyages
than ships propelled by
rowers.
• More accurate maps
allowed sea captains to
venture far from the sight
of land.
• Ships began to carry
weaponry – Cannons and
guns.
Improvements in Technology
• New navigational
instruments.
1. Astrolabe – finds
latitude by observing
the position of the
sun, moon, and the
stars.
2. The mariner’s
compass was made
more accurate.
Age of Discovery
Portuguese Explorers
Pedro Cabral
The fleet of Pedro Alvares Cabral.
The fleet of Pedro Alvares Cabral. The
Portuguese had reached the East by
sailing around Africa. Following the first
voyage of Columbus, Queen Isabella of
Spain asked Pope Alexander VI, a
Spaniard, to divide the world between
Spain and Portugal. In the 1494 Treaty
of Tordesillas, both kingdoms accepted
a line of demarcation 1,110 miles west
of the Azores. In 1500 Pedro Alvares
Cabral (ca. 1467-ca. 1520) set out for
India, but his ships were blown off
course and he landed on the coast of
Brazil, which he claimed for Portugal.
Cabral landing on the coast of Brazil in 1500.
Cabral landing on the coast of Brazil in 1500 and claiming it for Portugal.
A Brazilian native.
A Brazilian native. When Pedro
Cabral and his crew landed on the
coast of Brazil, they found no great
Indian civilizations; the Brazilian
Indians were unused to working in
groups. However, they were
friendly and welcomed the
Europeans, taught them how to
survive in their land, and
established personal relationships
with them.
Objectives
• List and explain why Europeans crossed
the seas.
– Gold, adventure, spread Christianity, fame
• Describe how Portugal’s eastward
explorations lead to the development of a
trading empire.
– Conquered by military force
Key Terms
• Astrolabe
– Uses longitude and latitude to determine
location
• Sextant
– Improvement over the astrolabe
• Cartographer
– Map maker
• Caravel
– Uses sails that are square and triangular
People/Peoples
• Prince Henry
– Set up a school for sailors
• Vasco Da Gama
– Sailed to the West Indies
• Bartholomeu Dias
– Sailed to the southern tip of Africa
• Pedro Cabral
– Sailed for Portugal to Brazil
Motives behind Exploration
The factors that lead to the Age of
Exploration