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The Age of
Exploration
1400-1750
Exploration…Why Now?
Six Major Reasons
1. The Renaissance Spirit, why would that
lead to exploration?
-Curiosity, desire for adventure and fame.
-Within man the answers can be found to
conqueror anything. (HUMANISM)
2. An increasing competition among
European monarchs to be the “super
nation”
3. Riches in Spices, Silk and
Porcelain
 Pepper, cinnamon, & nutmeg.
 Used to preserve & flavor
meat.
 Perfumes, cosmetics &
medicine.
 Desire for these came from
the Crusades and the Silk
Route
4. Europeans wanted to find direct
access to Asia & India; Believed
to be a Northwest Passage
 Cut out Muslim & Italian
middlemen
 Need to bypass Mediterranean
5. New Navigation
Technology

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
Better Maps
-More accurate
Ptolemy’s maps discovered
-More durable maps
made of sheep skin
The compass made it to
Europe by the 1200s, from
where?
The astrolabe measured
latitude using angles of
sun and stars on the
horizon; not accurate in
rough seas
An
astrolabe
The compass came
from China
The Caravel
Developed by the
Portuguese but a
combination of Arab
and European sail
design.
-Triangle-shaped
sails enabled ships to
sail against wind.
-Multiple masts
increased speed.
The Ultimate Reasons to
Explore….
6. The Three G’s
Gold
God
Glory
Gold
 New
Nation-States of
England, France,
Portugal & Spain desire
power and a need to fill
their treasuries
 Needed money to pay
for their expanding
governments & armies
God
After the Crusades a
strong desire to spread
Christianity and halt
the spread of Islam
 Eventually a race
between Catholics &
Protestants for New
World souls
 Spain took up the cause
very early because of
Queen Isabella of
Spain

Glory

Increases the power of the
rising monarchs

Spain, Portugal, France,
Netherlands and England all
wanted be the super power of
the era!

A chance for a country and
an individual to become
great.
Portuguese Explorations
Prince Henry the
Navigator

Superstar of the maritime
history, yet he only sailed on
two voyages.

He financed many voyages
His explorers discovered
new lands: Azores, Madeira
Islands and the Cape Verde
Islands

First School for Oceanic Navigation
 About 1418, Prince Henry
started the first school for
oceanic navigation along
with an astronomical
observatory at Sagres,
Portugal.
 Sailors were trained in
navigation, map-making,
and astronomy
 From this school come
two greats:
Dias and da Gama
Remains of Navigation School
Bartholomeu
Dias
1487

Discovered the Cape of Good
Hope.
Vasco de Gama

In 1497 led four ships on an expedition
to India.
Found Hindus and Muslims trading
extravagant jewelry, fine silk, and
spices

Considered a national hero in Portugal

Spanish Explorations
Christopher Columbus: Discover the
“New World” in October of 1492

In 1492, Queen Isabella and King
Ferdinand financed an expedition
for Columbus to find a new route
to India heading west.
First Voyage of Columbus 1492-1493
Second Voyage of Columbus 1493-1496
Third Voyage of Columbus
Fourth Voyage of Columbus
Portuguese Explorations
Take the lead in finding routes and new lands
•So why aren’t the people speaking mostly
Portuguese in the Western Hemisphere?
•Because Spain and Portugal wanted to protect
their claims in America and they agreed to call
on the Pope for help.
BUT… it backfires on Portugal!
Whose Land Was It?
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In 1494 Pope Alexander
VI draws an imaginary
line in the Atlantic Ocean
from the North Pole to
the South Pole called the
line of demarcation in
the Treaty of Tordesillas
Spain to control west
territories; Portugal to
control east territories.
Boldest Undertaking of the Age!
First Circumnavigator of the Globe
Ferdinand Magellan


Sponsored by Spain, the Portuguese explorer set
out to find a western route to India in 1519 with
five ships
Charted a narrow waterway named Strait of
Magellan which enabled sailors to cross to Pacific
Ocean.
Magellan killed in a small skirmish
in the Philippines.
Crew eventually reached Spain in 1522 with
only 18 survivors remaining.
Henry Hudson
Dutch sponsored, English
explorer
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Made four voyages to the new
world
Claimed much of modern day
Canada and eastern North
America for Netherlands
The Dutch will settle in the
New York City and Hudson
River area.
Jacques Cartier
1534-35
 French
Explorer
 Explored around the
St. Lawrence River
 Gave France its first
land claim in the
New World
Samuel de Champlain
French explorer and
navigator who
mapped much of
northeastern North
America and started a
settlement in Quebec
English Explorers
John Cabot - 1497
-Sent by King Henry VII
-Explored lands in
Newfoundland
-His discovery gives
England the claim to most
of Eastern North America.
Land Claims in the Americas
By 1675,
Spain, France,
Britain, and
Portugal
possessed
sizable
overseas
empires.
Trade ships
carried goods
between
Europe and
the Americas
and Africa.