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The Ase of Explor1tion A Resource to AccomPanY History Alive! The United States Through Industrialism TCr Teachers' Curiculum Institute Introductron I n this reading. t'ou will learn about thc Age ol' I Explorzrtion. Thrs period ol't.liscorery lastetl from about 1418 to 1620. During this time, European explorers made many daring voyages that changed world history. A major reason for these voyages lvas the desire to find sea routes to east Asia, which Europeans called the Indies. When Christopher Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean. he was looking lbr such tt route. Instead. he landed in the Americas. Columbus thought he had Why clid expiorers brave such dangers? In this reading, you will discover some of the reasons for the Age of Exploration. Then you wili learn about the voyages of explorers from Portugal, Spain, tind other European countries. You rvill also leam about the impact of their discoveries on Europe and on the lands they explored. reached the Indies. In time, Europeans would realize that he had found what they called the "New World." European nations soon rushed to claim lands in the Americas for themselves. Early explorers olten suffered terrible hardships. In 1520, Ferdinand Ma-sellan set out with three ships to cross the Pacific Ocean from South America. He had guessed, correctll', that the Indies lay on the other side of the Pacilic. But Magellan had no idea how vast the ocean really was. He thought his crer.v would be sailing fbr a few rveeks at most. Instead. the crossing took threc months. While the ships rvere still at sea, the crew ran out of food. One sailor wrote about this terrible time. "We ate biscuit... swarming with worms. ... We drank yellow water that had been putrid [rotten] for days... and often we ate sawdust from boards." o tr ts U F o Reasons for the Age of Exploration W fl j;li,:iH: 1.;iIr,:;HLli :: j:... stand out. Fi.rst, Europeans of this tin.re had several motives for exploring the world. Second, advances in knor.vledge anci technology helped make voyages of discoverv possible. Motives for Explotation For early explorers. one of the main motives lbr exploration r'vas the desire to find nerv trarle routcs to Asia. Bv the 1400s, merchants and crusaders had brought many goods to Europe from Africa, the Micldle East, and Asia. Demarrd lbr these goods increased the desire for trade. Europeans were especially interested in spices from Asia. They had learned to use spices to help preserve food during winter and to cover up the taste of fbod that was no longer fresh. Trade with the East. hou'ever^ wes expensive and difticult. Muslims and Itaiians controlled thc f1ow of trade. Muslim traders carried goods to the east coast of the Mcditerranean Sea. Italian rnerchants then brought the goods to Europe. Problems arose when Muslim rulers sometimes closed tire trade routes liom Asia to Europe. A1so, the goods u,ent through nan,v hands, and eaclr trading party raised their price. Eulopean monarchs and merchants wallted to trreak the hold that Muslirns and Italians had on trade. One way to do so r,vas to find a sea route to Asia. Portugr.rese sailors looked for a route that went iuound Africa. Christopher Columbus tried to reach Asia b-v sailing wcst across the Atlantic. Other motives also came into play. Many people were exc,ited by the opportunity tbr new knowledge. Explorers saw the chance [o earn f'ame and glory as well as wealth. Some craved adventure. And as new iands were discovered. nations wanted to clairn the lands' riches for themselves. A final motive for exploration was the desire to spread Christizrnity. Both Protestant ancl Catholic aations were eager lo make new converts. Missionaries followed the path blazed by explorers, sometimes using force to brirtg native peoples into their faiths. Advances in Knowledge and Technology The Age of Exploration began in the midst of the Rcnai)\ilncr. ir timc of new lcarning. A nunrber of advances macie it easiel lbr explorers to venture into the unknown. One key advance was in cartography, the art and science of mapmaking. In the early 1400s, an Italian scholar translated an ancient book called Guide to Geographl,fron.r Greek into Latin. The book had been 'a,ritten by Ptolerny in the second century C.E. Printed copies of the book inspiled new interest in cartography. European rnapmakers used Ptolemy's work to draw more accurate maps. Discoveries by explorers gave mapmakers new infbrmation to u'ork with. The result was a dramatic change in Europeans' viell' of the world. By the 1-5t)0s, globes shou,ed E:rth as a sphere. or bal1. In 1507, a German cartographer made the first map that clearl-v sholved North and South America separated from Asia. In turn. better maps helped expiorels by making navigation easier. The most importailt Renaissance geographer. Gerardus Mercator, created n.raps using improved lines of longitude and Iatitude. Mercator's mapmairing techniquc was a ,sreat help to navigators. An improved ship design also helped explorers. By the 1400s, Portuguese and Spanish shipbuiiders werc making caravcls. These ships u'ere small, fast, and easy to maneuver. Their shallow bottoms rnade it easier for explorers to travel u'as not deep. along coastlines v,4tere the "vater (triangular) saiis, an Caravels also used lateen idea borrou,ed frorn N1uslim ships. These sails = F U= O -6 Reasons for the Age of Exploration could be positioned to take advantage of the wind no matter which way it blew. Along with better ships, new navigational tools helped sailors to travel more safely on the open seas. By the end of the 15th ceiltury, the compass was much improved. Sailors used compasses to find their bearing, or direction of travel. The astrolabe helped sailors figure out their distance north 0uestions 1. What were some key motives lbr Europeans during the Age of Exploration'? 2. Which motive do you think was the strongest for encouraging European exploration? Why? -1, What key advances in knowledge and technology allowed Europeans to explore these new or south from the equator. Finally, improved weapons gave Europeans a huge advantage over the people thel' met in their explorations. Sailors could lire their cannons at targets near the shore without leaving their ships' On land, the weapons of native peoples often were no match for European guns, armor, and horses. 4. Which advance do you think was the most areas? important? Why? a ii o Portugal Begins the Age of Exploration T he .Agc ol'Exploretion hegrn in Porlugul. Thi' I .n,rii countr\ i< lrrcetct.l ott thc tortthit estern tip of Europe. It, ,,.r1.r, sent explorers first to nearby Afiica and then around the world. Key Explorers Tlie key figule in early Portuguese exploration was Prince Henly. t}.re son of King John I. Nicknamed ''the Navigator," Henl.v was not an expiorer hims.-lf. Instead. he encouraged exploration and directed manv important expeditions. In 1500. Pedro Cabral set sail lbr India wtth a fleet ol 13 ships. Cabral tirst s;riled soulhu'est to avoid caln.rs (areas where there are no wincls to fill sails). But he sailed so far west that he reached the east coast of presetrt-day Brazil. After claiming this lant1 for Portugal. he sailed east and rounded Afi'ica. Arriving in Calicut' he established a trad- ing post and signed trading treaties He returned to Portugal in June 1501 allcr battling several Nluslim ships. leam their trades. His cartographers made new maps basecl on the information captains brought back' Henry's eariy expeditions focused on the west The lmpact of Portuguese Exploration Portugal's cxplorers changed Europeans' unclerstanding of the worid in several lvays. They explored the coasts ofAfrica ancl brought back gold and slaves' They also foun<l a sea route to India. From India' explorers brought back spices like cinnamon and coast of Africa. He wanted to continue the crusades against the N{uslims, find gold. ancl take jewels, and silk. Bcginning in about 1418, Henry scnt explorers to sea almost everY year. He also started a school of navigalion where sailors and mapmakers could par-t in trade. Gradually, Portuguese explorers made their way farther anrl farthel south. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias became the filst European to go :uound the southern tip of Africa. Later, Dias dicd in a storrr at sea. In July 1497. Vasco da Gama set sail with four ships to chart a sea route to India. Da Gama's ships rounde<l Atiica's southern tip and then sailed up the east coast of the continent. With the help of a sailor who krew the route to India, they crossed the Indian Ocean. Da Gama arrivecl in the port of Calicut, India' There hc obtained a ioad of cinnamon ancl pcppcr. On the retur-n trip to Portugal, da Gama lost half of his ships. I\{any of his crc"vmembcrs diecl of hungcr or diseasc' Still, the valuable oalgo he brought back paid for the voyage in N4a.v 1498. many tintes over. His trip made the Portuguese even motre eager to trade directll' u'ith Indian merchants. pepper aud goods such as polcelain, incense. Ailer Cabral's voyage, the Portuguese took control of the eastern sea routes to Asia. They seized the seaport of Goa in India and built fbrts there. Thcy attackcd towns on the east coast of Aliica. They also set thcir sights on the Nlolucclrs, or Spice Islands, in what is now lndonesiii' In 151 I. they attackecl the maln port ol the islands and killecl the Muslim det-enders' The captair.r of this expeciition erplained what was at stake' Il Portugal could lake the spice trade away from Muslim traders, he wrote. then Cairo and Nlakkah "u,ili be rr-rined." As for Italian merchants, "Venice will receive no spices unless het' merchants go to buy thcm in Portugal." Portugal's control of the Indian Ocean broke thc hold of Muslims and Italians on Asian trade ' The prices of Asian goods likc spices and fabrics clropped, and morc people in Europe could allord to buy them. Duling the 1500s, Portugal also began to establish colonies in Brazil. The nirtive people of 7 ; U o .a Portu gal Begins the Age of Exploration greatly as a result. The Portuguese su the native people to give up their relitried to gion and onvert to Christianity. They also forced them to on sugar plantations. Missionaries tried to protect them from abuse, but someti n.rbers died from overwork and countless diseases. Others fled into the interior Europe Ouestions 1. What contributions did each of these individLrals make to Portuguese exploration? . Prince Henry "the Navigator" . Bartolomeu Dias of Brazil. Thc c 2. Brazil on nization ol Brazil also had an impact Aliica As the native population of Brazil the Portuguese needed more laborers. Starting i the mid 1500s, they tumed to Afiica. t 300 years, ships brought millions of Over the enslaved st . Vasco da Gama . Pedro Cabral What impact did Portuguese exploration have on the people of these continents? . Afiica . Asia . the Americas Africans to Braz17. ( H U= q -o Spain's Early Explorations lili:,l t400s, King Ferdinand and Queen of Spain were detennined to make their por.verful force in Europe. One way to do this w to sponsor exploratious and claim new collntry I lands lor pa1n. It The Itali or easte Atlantic he the e u,as Ferdinand and Isabella rvho the voyages of Chtistopher Columbus. -born Columbus thought that the Indies. Asia, lay on tl.re other side of the n. Hc believed sailing r.vest w-ould iest route to the Indics. betlveen Europe and Asia. One of these people was Feldinand NIagellan, a Portuguese explorer. Iv{agellan believed he could sail west lo the il he founcl a strait. or channel, through South Arnerica. The strait u'ould cotlnect the Atlantic ancl Pacific Oceans, al1ou.'ing ships to Indies continue on to Asia. Magellan won Spain's backing for a voyage to find the strait. In August 1519, he set sail with fivc ships and about 250 men. Magellan looked fbr the strait all along Soutir America's east coast. He finally found it at the southern tip of the continent. Today it is called the the wea Columbus failed to win Portuguese supidea. he turnod to Spain. Ferdinand la agreed to pay ibr the risky voYage. ed to beat Portr,rgal in the race to control of Asizr. They also rvanted to spread Christi ty. reached the Pacific Ocean in November 1520' It took another three months to cross the Pacific. During the crossing, Magellan's men ran out of 1492,three ships left Spain under 's command. For the crew, venturing food and were plagued by disease and thirst. They reached an isiand in the western Pacilic just in port for They w into the went by, n ocean was frightening. As the weeks me of the men began to f'ear theY r see Spain again. on October 12. a lookout cried "Land!" went ashore on an islancl in the Thinking he had reirched the Caribbe Sea. lndies. umbus claimed the islancl for Spain. nronths. Columbus and his men explored Thinkin soon ca arby islands rvith the help of native r.vhorn the Spanish called Taino' they were in the Indies, the Spanish ail the local people "Indians." 149,1, Columbus alrived back in proudly reported that he had reached dre next 10 ye:rrs. he made tluee more \,0yages died in saiied to what he called the West Inclies. He n in 1506, still insisting that he had sl a. Europeans, hou'ever. believed th;it had actualiy found a iand mass that lair Strait of Magellan. Alter passing through the strait. Magellan time. Continuing west. Magellan v:isited the Philippines. There he became involved in a battle betrveen two local chiett. In April 152i' N{agellan was killed in the fighting. Magellan's crer,l' sailed on to the Spice Islands Three years after the expedition began' the onlv ship to sun,ive the expedition retumed to Spain, Ioaded rvith cloves. The 18 sailors on board were the first people to circumnavigate the globe. The lmpact oI Early Spanish Exploration Early Spanish exploration changed Europeans' view of the rvorld. The voyages of Columbus revealed the existence of the Americas. Mirgellan's expedition opened up a westward route to the Indies' It sho."ved that it was possible to sail completely around the world. And it proved that Colun-rbus had indeecl found a "New Wor1d"-one they hadn't realized was there. t E a = F (i -a Spain's Early Explorations Colu Spanish eamed mined bus's voyages were the beginning of lement in the West Indies. Spain ,wealth from its settlements. Settlers precious minerals and started sugar The Spanish also sent Europe new crops, su h as sweet potatoes and pineapples. For t native people of the West Indies, was devastating. Priests forced Spanish m to become Christians. Native people many of to work as slaves in the mines and on ions. When the Spanislr arrived, perhaps lor2mi ion Taino lived on the islands. Within 50 years. 'ewer than 500 were left. The rest had ation, overw'ork, or European diseases. died of s l, Spain looked to West Africa for Like new sou s oflaborers. From 1518 through the , the Spanish brought millions enslaved ans to Ouestions 1. What contributions did each of these individuals make to early Spanish exploration? . Christopher Columbus . Ferdinand Magellan 2. What impact did early Spanish exploration have on the people of these continents? . Europe . the Americas of work in their American colonies. = F U o I .a o Later Spanish Exploration and Conquest Aztecs' native enemies. Third, their horses. armor, ancl superior wcapons gave ihe Spanish an advantage in battle. The Azlecs had never seen any of these things before. Fourth. the Spanish calried diseases that caused deadly epidernics among the olumbus's vo-yages, Spain rvas eager to lands in the New World. To explore and erv Spain." the Spanish turned to conquer adventu c a1led c o nqui s lad o rs ( conquerors ). istadors rvere allou,ed to establish setThe c tlements nd seize the wealth of uatives. In retum. government claimed me fifth of the the Spani treasures hev found. A:::1 AZtCCS, Aztec riches inspired Spanish conquistadors to continue their search for gold. In the 1520s, Francisco Pizarro received permission fiom Spain to conquer the Inca Empire in South America. The Incas ruled an empire that lan nlong most of the 1519. Sprnislr erplot'cr Hctran Cortes anfl a band of conquistadors set out to explore pfesent-day N4exico. From n:rtive people, Key Expl(rers ln Andcs Mountains. By the time Pizano iurived, however. a civil ',var had weakened the empire. ln April 1532, the Inca emperor. Atahualpa, greeted the Spanish as guests. Followitg Cortes's example, Pizar-ro iaunched a surprise attack and kidnapped the emperrtr. Although the Incas paid a roomful of gold and silver fcrr Atahualpa's lansom. Cortes ledrned about the Aztecs. The Aztecs had built a tur]ge antl r,r'ealthy enrpire in Nlcrico. With ihe help of a native woman named Nlalinchel Cortes anJ his men reached the Aztec c:rpital. Tfnochtitlau. The Aztec ruler, Nlontezuma, wetrcorne{ the Spanish with great honors. Determined to lbreak the power of the Aztecs, Cortes took Moritezuma hostage. now controlled the Aztec capital. In l5lr), he lelt Tenochtitlan to battlc a rival Spanish force. While he rvas gone, a group of conquistildors attacked the Aztecs in the midst of a religious the Spanish killed him the follou,ing year. \Vithout theilleader, the Incas' empire quickly I'ell apat. The Impact of Later Spanish Exploration and Gonquest The expiorations and conquests of the conquistadors transfbrmed Spain. The Spanish rapidly cxpanded lirreign trade and ovetscas colonization. For a time. wealth from the Americas made Spain one of the 'uvorld's richest and most celebration. ln response, the Aztecs rose up agalnst the Spanish. The soldiers had to tight their city. Many of them were killed durway out "t',1rs powerful countries. ing the escape. the city, aidecl by thousancls of native allies who resented Aztec rule. The Aztecs ran out of food Besides gold:ind silver, ships brought corn and potatoes from the Neu,'World to Spain. These crops gre'n, well in Eurttpe. By incleasing the food and water, yet they fbught desperately. After ser'eral months, the Spanish captured their leader. and Aztec resistance coliapsed. The city was in ruins. supply, they helped spur a population boom. Conquistadors also introduced Europcans to new' luxury items, such as chocolate and tobacco. The mighty Aztec Empire was no more. Four factors contributed to the defeat of the Azteo Empire. First, Aztec legend had told of the coming of a rvhite-skinned god. When Cortes appeared, the Aztecs weicomed hiru because they thought he might be their god Quetzalcoatl. Seconrl, Cortes rva-c able to make allies of the In the long run, gold and silver from the Americas hur.t Spain's economy. Intlation, or an increase in the supply of money compareci to goods, led to higher prices. Monarchs ancl the w'ealthy spent their riches wastefuliy instead of The ibllowing yeiu. Cortes mounted a siege of U builtling up Spain's industries. The Spani-sh concprests had a maior intpact on 10 -a ,a Later Spanish Exploration and Conquest 0uestions the New World. The Spanish introduced new animals to the Americas, such as horses, cattle. sheep, and pigs. put they also destroyed two advanced 1. civilizatidns. The Aztecs and Incas lost much of their cultdre along r.r'ith their wealth. Many became lziborers for the Spanish. Miilions died from disefse. ln l\lexico, for example. there were about 25 pillion native people in I519. By 1605. this numller had dwindled to 1 million. What contributions did each of these indivi.duals make to later Spanish exploration and conquest'/ . Hernan Cortes . Francisco Pizano 2. What impact did later Spanish exploration and conquest have on the people of these continents? . Europe . the Americas e t tr U - o 11