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Early Explorations
Mr. White’s World History
Big Questions
► Main
Idea: During the age of exploration
and expansion, Europeans expanded around
the globe, and came into more contact with
other societies.
► After we study this section, we should be
able to answer the following questions:
 What motivated Europeans to explore and
expand around the globe?
 What technologies allowed them to do this?
Major Change!
► The
Renaissance and Reformations had
created a new culture in Europe that
created new ways of thinking about life,
man’s place in the world, and religion.
► Exploration and expansion would change
the entire world by interconnecting all the
different parts of the world, forever
Many different factors motivated Europeans to expand and explore.
PART I: AGE OF
EXPLORATION
God, Gold, Glory
► In
the early parts of exploration, countries
and explorers were motivated by three
things: God, gold, and glory
 God – Christians desired to spread Christianity
to other places around the world
 Gold – Merchants desired riches from other
parts of the world, gained through trade
 Glory – Countries desired to grow and become
stronger through exploration and empires
Contact Outside of Europe
► Europe
before the Renaissance had depended
on spices, such as pepper and nutmeg, from
the east
► Arab and Venetian (Venice, Italy) merchants
got rich from trading these spices
► The Ottoman Empire, hostile to Christians, had
shut off trade between Europe and the Far
East
► Many traders looked for quicker routes to the
east
New Technology
► Open-water
sailing required:
 Sailors trained in navigation
 Accurate maps
 Ocean-going ships
► Compass
(Chinese) – allowed naval vessels
to determine their direction
► Cartographers – accurate mapmakers
helped chart the seas and coast lines
The Compass
Shipbuilding
Late in the 1400s, ships were outfitted with the
lateen sails – triangle shape, enabled ships to sail
against the wind
► Ships would use multiple masts of different types
to make the ships more flexible in sailing
► Rudder was moved to the back of the ship to
make it more maneuverable
► Caravel – incorporated all of these
improvements, as well as cannons
►
 Had a shallow draft, which allowed these ships to sail
upriver
Lateen-rigged ship
Portugal and Spain were the first European countries to reach out
and explore.
PART II: PORTUGAL AND
SPAIN LEAD THE WAY
Portugal
► Portugal
began the search for an all-water
route to Asia by exploring southward along
the coast of Africa
► Prince Henry the Navigator – never sailed
 Developed a school to train sailors in navigation
 Sponsored sea-going voyages of exploration
► Henry’s
students discovered the Azores,
Madeira Islands, and Cape Verde Islands
Portuguese Explorers
► Bartholomeu
Dias – In 1487, found the
southern tip of Africa, known as the Cape of
Good Hope
► Vasco de Gama – took a five ship expedition
around the Cape of Good Hope to Asia
 In India, de Gama tried to persuade local rulers
and Muslim traders to trade with the
Portuguese, but failed
Christopher Columbus
► The
first Spanish explorer to venture out
was the famous Christopher Columbus
► Spain had recently become unified, and was
no longer fighting against a local enemy,
the Moors
► Columbus approached Queen Isabella of
Spain to request funding for his explorations
– to seek a westward all-water route to Asia
In 1492…
► Isabella
chose to support Columbus’
expedition
► 1492 – Columbus sailed with three ships,
headed westward
► Avoiding a mutiny by his crew, Columbus
and his expedition eventually made landfall
in an island in the Bahamas
Gold
► Columbus
and his crews spent the next three
months exploring the local islands of Hispaniola and
Cuba
 Found some gold, which would be enough to convince
the Spanish of the voyage’s success
► Columbus
was convinced that he had found an allwater route to Asia, and returned to Europe
► In 1506, Columbus died certain that he had found a
route to Asia
► In 1507, Amerigo Vespucci suggested that Columbus
had discovered a new world, and had not found a
way to Asia
Ferdinand Magellan was the first European to make a trans-Atlantic
voyage to Asia by an all-water route.
PART III: VOYAGE OF
MAGELLAN
Magellan
► In
1519, Ferdinand Magellan of Portugal
sailed for the Spanish to find an all-water
route to Asia
► Different hardships made the journey
difficult
 Some of Magellan’s crews mutinied
 Dangerous storms, rocky shores, shipwrecks
 Water and food running out
Magellan’s Voyage
Magellan’s crew discovered the now-named Straight of
Magellan, at the southern tip of South America
► Then, they ventured into the Pacific Ocean, named by
Magellan for its calmness
► Four months later, the ship reached land
► Magellan was killed by a local tribe in the Philippines
► In 1522, the last ship, and 18 survivors reached Spain
► What did this accomplish?
►




First circumnavigation of the globe, proving it was round
Added to knowledge about the size of the earth
Proved that the oceans of the world were connected
Proved that Columbus had “discovered” a new world
Big Questions
► Main
Idea: During the age of exploration and
expansion, Europeans expanded around the
globe, and came into more contact with other
societies.
► After we study this section, we should be able
to answer the following questions:
 What motivated Europeans to explore and expand
around the globe?
 What technologies allowed them to do this?
 How did European societies change because of
these explorations?