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Chapter 5
The Age of Exploration
The Desire to explore
• How does Buy
Nothing Day fit with
your world view?
Pro
Con
Exploring to Increase Trade
• Spices (trading with the East).
• Spices were transported to the Mediterranean
trading centres Constantinople and Alexandria,
then sold to Italian Merchants. They then
brought their goods to Venice.
• The merchants marked up their prices anywhere
from 100 to 2000 times their original price.
• *Europeans didn’t like it, but they still paid it*
(does this remind you of anything today?)
• High prices and shifts in power in the East were
problems in increasing trade.
Exploring for Gold
• Unlike Renaissance Europe we don’t have the
same problem with money exchange (we have
bills, cheques, visa, etc.)
• The Renaissance was dependent upon the
exchange of goods and resources for money.
Only gold and silver coins were used and the
mines in Europe were running out of these
metals. So, a big reason that they went
exploring was to look for new sources so that
they could continue to grow.
Mansa Moussa
• Muslim ruler of Mali, North West Africa. He
traded gold, salt, ivory and slaves
• He went on a religious pilgrimage to Mecca (the
Holy city of Islam). He led a huge group of
people and carried lots of gold to give to poor
people along their way.
• Merchants spread the word about his great
wealth – they couldn’t leave it alone.
• What was Mansa Moussa’s Worldview?
• What do you think the European Worldview was
of Mansa?
Exploration to Spread Christianity
• Religion was a very powerful aspect of Worldview during
the Renaissance
• The “Age of Exploration” was also of spreading
Christianity.
• The Christian bible quotes Jesus as saying “Go into all
the world, and proclaim the good news to the whole
creation” – it justified spreading Christianity to the rest of
the world – they were just following Jesus’ s orders.
• How do Religious motives affect Prince Henry’s
Worldview? (pg.112)
- Felt threatened by Muslims
- Went looking for the “Christian Prince” (Prester John)
who was believed to rule a very wealthy kingdom past
Muslim lands.
Exploration to Spread Christianity
• For example – coming to Canada.
• The Christian Europeans came to Canada
supporting settlers and Hudson Bay Company
Employees. Once they had followers that
believed in them, they began to spread the word
to First Nations.
• Please also take a look at page 111 – the
Muslim Cu’ran
• Huge motivation factors to explore = Gold and
Christianity.
Means to Explore
• Means = Money, time, equipment and
skills.
• Openness to outside influence and
curiosity about the rest of the world was a
part of the Renaissance Worldview.
Expanding the Known World
• Knowledge beyond Europe at this time was very
limited. Everyone thought that the places were
exotic and mysterious. Most books had
misinformation about places (even from
Travelers) because no one had ever gone that
far.
• Now you can pretty much go anywhere in the
world at anytime with the click of a mouse.
Think about what it was like in the time of the
Renaissance.
Expanding Navigational Technology
• Essential as a “means” to getting things
done – back then and now.
Prince Henry the Navigator
• Was the Prince of Portugal, he was really
interested in ships and navigation (remember
that he wanted to spread Christianity as well).
He supported (became a patron) of Portuguese
explorers.
• He helped to educate explorers to improve
navigation instruments, share knowledge and
create better maps.
• Do question 1B on page 119 on Chart paper in
groups of 2 of three , you will present your
findings to the class.
European Expansion
• In 100 years Renaissance Europeans
went from sailing the seas to around
Europe to circumnavigating (is to travel all
the way around the world by boat or ship.
The term now is used to cover aerial
round-the-world flights) the world.
• City-States of Italy had an “expansionist”
worldview in that they wanted to increase
their power and territory.
Exploration Begins
• Pg 120 – examine the map and determine
the routes. What do you notice? How
might their choice of route affect their
worldview?
Going East
• Portugal was the first country to begin exploring (due of
course to Prince Henry)
• He sent people to explore West Africa (lots of Gold)
Each year they went further south and established
trading posts. This also made the Portuguese very
involved with the slave trade in Africa. However,
remember that the slave trade was already established
in Africa before the Europeans got there. (pg 121 – read
quote).
• For the next 300 years Europeans captured and
transported millions of Africans to the Americas as
slaves. Millions dies on the way there because of the
horrible conditions or from overwork when they arrived.
• Prince Henry helped out other future traders by hiring
interpreters (to get reliable info. and establish relations
resulting in trade).
Bartolomeu Dias
• Portuguese explorer that was the first to
sail around the Cape of Good Hope.
However, his crew went against him and
he never made it to India. Columbus
crossed the Atlantic, and pressure on the
Portuguese increased. 5 years later, the
Portuguese established the route on the
Indian ocean around Africa and
established trade.
The Battle of Diu
• Portuguese fleets began to make yearly
trips to the Indian Ocean. Arab merchants
saw them as intruders on their territory
and they were always attacked. There
was a huge sea battle between the large
Arab fleet and the smaller Portuguese fleet
off the Indian port of Diu. However, the
Portuguese had canons and won. Portugal
became the most powerful trading country
in Europe in the 1500’s.
Going West
• Since the Portuguese went East,
Columbus went West (he thought it was
shorter). He thought that he found Asia;
however, he had made it around the
Caribbean.
• It was Magellan who found a route West to
Asia after 4 months at sea (the
Philippines). He was killed in a battle, but
his ship made it back to Spain with spices
– this was the very first trip around the
world!
Expansionism Begins
• Pg.125
Fast Forward
• Now we not only travel our world, but
outside of it.
- April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut
Yuri Gagarin is the first human in
space.
Read page 123 and do Thinking it Through
1, 2 and 3 together in groups.
Old World, New World
• Why did the Europeans call the Americas
the “New World”. They accidentally ran
into while they were looking for Asia.
• The “Old World” was referred to as
Europe, Asia and Africa? Why were they
considered old?
• What’s your take on it?