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Age of Exploration Guided Notes
 Anticipate
o Why do you think the Renaissance caused Europeans to begin to explore the world?
o
List some of the reasons you think the Europeans would give for wanting to explore the world.
 Motivation: Why did Europeans want to explore?
o From the 1400s to the 1700s, Europe experienced an
.
o The Renaissance encouraged
&a
.
o As a result of, European nations grew
& spread their
throughout the
world.
 Three Main Motivations for Exploration
o Gold
 A desire for new sources of
was the main reason for European exploration
 The Crusades & Renaissance
European desires for exotic Asian luxury goods
 Merchants began looking for quick, direct
to Asia to avoid Muslim
& increase profits
o Glory
 The Renaissance inspired new possibilities for
&
 Exploration presented Europeans the opportunity to rise from poverty and gain
,
,&
.
 Kings who sponsored voyages of exploration gained overseas
, new sources
of
for their nation, & increased
.
o God
 Explorers were encouraged to spread
or bring
who
would focus only on
.
 Means: How were Europeans able to sail so far and make it back again?
o Before the Renaissance, sailors did not have the
to sail very far from Europe &
return.
o
made sailing more accurate.
o Astrolabe used
to show direction
o Maps were more
and used longitude & latitude
o European shipbuilders built better
(caravels)that could travel in the
& in shallow water
o Cannons & rifles gave ships
.
 Who were the explorers, where did they go, and how did they change the world?
o Portugal

was the early leader in the Age of Exploration
 In Portugal,
the Navigator started a school of navigation to
train sailors.
 He wanted to discover new
, find a quick
to Asia, &
Portugal’s power.
 Prince Henry’s navigation school & willingness to fund voyages led the Portuguese to be the 1st to
explore the west coast of
.



o
Spain





was the 1st explorer to find a direct trade route to Asia
by going around Africa to get to India
Portugal gained a sea route to Asia that brought them great
.
During the Age of Exploration,
created colonies along the African coast, in
Brazil, & the Spice Islands in Asia
The
government saw Portugal’s wealth & did not want to be left out
More than any other European monarch,
of Spain sponsored &
supported overseas expeditions
Like most educated men of the Renaissance,
believed the world was round
& thought he could reach Asia by sailing west
Columbus reached the Bahamas in America but thought that he had reached islands off the coast of
Despite the fact that Columbus never found Asia,
still
thought he could reach Asia by sailing West
 Magellan became the first explorer to
the Earth (go all the way
around)
 During the Age of Exploration,
created colonies in North & South America
 Spain sent explorers called
to the New World to find gold, claim land, &
spread Christianity

conquered the Aztecs

conquered the Inca
 The influx of gold from America made
the most powerful country in Europe during the
early years of the Age of Exploration
o The Rest of Europe

,
, & the
became involved in
overseas exploration & colonization as well
 The French explorer Samuel de Champlain searched Canada for a
to Asia
 After failing to do so, Champlain founded the French colony of
.
 The
would soon carve out a large colony along the Mississippi River from Canada to
New Orleans
 While other kings paid for colonies, the English colonies were paid for by
who
formed joint-stock companies
 English colonies formed along the Atlantic Coast of North America by colonists motivated either by
or
.
 Like England, the
(the Dutch) allowed private companies to fund
exploration
 The Dutch had colonies in America & Africa, but the
dominated
trade in Asia.
 Hypothesize
o How will exploration benefit the countries of Europe?