The age of exploration and discovy

The era known as the Age of Exploration, sometimes called the Age of Discovery, officially began in the early 15th century and lasted through the 17th century. The period is characterized as a time when Europeans began exploring the world by sea in search of new trading routes, wealth, and knowledge.

1. The Age of Exploration & Discoveries
Europe Encounters the World
BoutkhilGuemide
University Mohammed Boudiaf, M’sila
Algeria

2. ►During the fifteenth and the sixteenth century,
the states of Europe began their modern
exploration of the world with a series of sea
voyages.
►Spain and Portugal were foremost in this
enterprise.
►These explorations increased European
knowledge of the wider world, particularly in
relation to sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas.
►These explorations were frequently connected to
conquest and missionary work, as the states of
Europe attempted to increase their influence,
both in political and religious terms, throughout
the world.

3. Why did explorations happen?
►Avarietyoffactorsallcame
togethertomakethetimeperiod
(1450-1700)the“Ageof
Exploration”
►Someofthesefactorswere
agriculturalandotherresources
theywishedtohave(gold,silver,
spices,preciousstones,etc.)
►Somewerepulls,motivationsand
thingsthatattractedtheEuropeans

4. What factors were pushing
Europeans to explore?
►DeclineofMongol
Empirein1400smade
goodsfromtheeast
hardertoget,more
expensive
►FallofConstantinopleto
theOttomanTurksin
1453wasamajorblock
totrade

5. Ottoman Turks (Muslim) Empire

9. The First G: Gold
►Goldwasahotitemthatexplorerswerelooking
for,butitisreallywealth,notjustliteralgold
thatexplorerswereafter.
►Europeneededgold(andsilver)tofueltherising
bankingsystem
►Europeansalsodesiredspices(DaGama’s
voyagetoIndiamadehima3000%profit!)
►Othernaturalresourceswouldcometobesold
forprofitaswell(timber,sugar,tobacco,ivory,
etc.)
►Thiscompetitionwillbeenhancedbytheideaof
mercantilismthatemerges,theideathatthere
isonlysomuchwealthintheworld,andthatto
makeyourkingdomstrongyoumusthavemore
goldandwealththantheotherkingdoms

10. The second G: Glory
►JustlikethefirstG,Gold,
Glorywasarelativelynew
ideainEurope
►CameoutoftheRenaissance
idealofHumanism,andthe
focus on individual
achievement
►Withtheriseoftheprinting
press,theideaofgaining
fameforone’sactionswas
morepossible
►Also,individualkingswanted
gloryfortheirkingdoms,
competitionspreads
The Triumph of Fame, a Flemish tapestry from 1502.

11. The third G: God
►Asmembers ofauniversalizing
religion,Europeanshadalwaysseen
spreadingChristianityasagoodthing
►EspeciallyaftertheReformation,
competitionwillspringup
►Colonizationwillbecomearaceto
convertnativepeoplestoaparticular
brandofChristianity
►Jesuits(Catholics)aresomeofthe
mostactive

12. New technologies enabled
explorations
►Thecaravelwasanew,faster,
moremaneuverableship
►Caravelshadtriangularsails
(easiertochangedirection)
►Bilgepumpsystemenabled
shiptofloathigher(lesslikely
torunaground,easierto
explorecoastsandrivers)
►Compass, astrolabe,maps,
sextantandothertechnologies
fromIslamiccultureallhelped
makeexplorationspossible

13. New Maritime Technology
Hartman Astrolabe (1532)
Mariner’s Compass
Better Maps
Sextant

14. New Weapons Technology

15. The Age of Exploration
►Prince Henry the
NavigatorofPortugal–
Began exploringthe
westernandSWcoastsof
Africa.
►Bartholomew Diaz–
roundedthesoutherntipof
Africain1488.

16. How did these explorations begin?
►Thefirsttoencouragenewship
explorationswasPrinceHenryof
Portugal,knownas“Prince
HenrytheNavigator”
►Startedaninstituteforseafaring
andexploring
►Combined shiptechnology
learnedfromIslamwithnew
Europeaninnovations
►Bythetimeofhisdeathin1460,
Portuguesehadsailedasfar
southastheGoldCoastofWest
Africa

17. The Explorers: Portugal
►SailedaroundCape
ofGoodHopeatthe
southerntipof
Africa
►Foundrouteto
IndianOcean
►Tradecangofrom
EuropetoAsiaby
sea
Bartolomeu Diaz

19. Vasco da Gama
►VascadaGama-
Sailedaroundthe
continentofAfricaand
reachedIndiain1498.
Openedatraderoute
withAsia.
►LandedinIndiain
1498
►Importanttraderoute
fromEuropetoIndia
andEastIndies

20. Vasco da Gama Voyage

21. Ferdinand Magellan
►Hiscrewmadefirst
voyagearoundthe
world
►Provedforcertain
thattheworldwas
round
►Magellanwaskilled
inthePhilippines,did
notmakeithome

24. EarlyAmericans
►ComingtoAmerica:WhoWasFirst?
►IceAge:35.000yearsago
►12,000yearsago:thefirstAmericanscrossedthe
BeiringStrait(alandbridgejoiningSiberiaandAlaska
together)
►TheylivedinwhatnowisAlaskaforthousandsofyears,
thenmovedsouthintotoday’smainlandUnitedStates.
TheylivedbythePacificOceanintheNorthwest,inthe
mountainsanddesertsoftheSouthwest,andalongthe
MississippiRiverintheMidwest.
►TheseearlygroupsareknownasHohokam,Adenans,
Hopewellians,andAnasazi.
►Theybuiltvillagesandgrewcrops.Theirliveswere
connectedtotheland.Familyandcommunitywere
importanttothem.

26. Columbus Competitors: The Theories
►889A.D.:AMoorishSeaCaptain,named“Khachkhach”,sailedfromCordoba,
inSpain,withhiscrewandreachedtheAmeicanshoresaftercrossingthe
AtlanticOcean.HereturnedbackaftermeetingwiththeNativeswhoseemedto
beofAfricanorigins.Bringinggoldandsilverwithhim,herealizedthatthenew
landswereabundantinnaturalresources.
►AlIdrissi(1099-1180):Amapoftheworldinwhichhenamedthenewland
reachedbythesaidMoorishseacaptain“UnknownLand”.(YussufMiroua)
►AbuBakr,PrinceofMali,issaidtosailfromtheWesternCoastsofMali,crossing
theAtlanticoceanandreachingtheUSCoasts.Hesailedwith200shipsfullwith
foodandgold.However,onlyoneshipsurvivedandreturnedback.
►“Wesailedforalongperiodtime.AfterreachingtheAtlanticOcean,weentered
ariverstreamwithahigh,dreadfulpressure.Myshipwasattheback;Isaw
theshipsadvancingtowardsthestream,andthendisappearedoneafterthe
other.So,Idecidedtoturnback”(ChehabEddineAlOmari,1327).
►ChristopherColumbusmetwithpeoplewhoseemedlikeAfricannativesintheir
physicalappearance.ThisconfirmsthatAbuBakrsurvivedandlivedinAmerica.
►SixthCentury—IrishMonks:This"theory"isactuallymoreofalegend.A
sixth-centuryIrishmonknamedSaintBrendansupposedlysailedtoNorth
Americaonacurrach—awood-framedboatcoveredwithanimalskin.His
allegedjourneyisdetailedintheancientannalsofIreland.Brendanwasareal
historicalfigurewhotraveledextensivelyinEurope.Butthereisnoevidence
thatheevermadelandfallinNorthAmerica.

27. ►10thCentury—TheVikings:TheVikings'earlyexpeditionstoNorth
Americaarewelldocumentedandacceptedashistoricalfactbymost
scholars.Aroundtheyear1000A.D.,theVikingexplorerLeifErikson,
sonofEriktheRed,sailedtoaplacehecalled"Vinland,"inwhatis
nowtheCanadianprovinceofNewfoundland.Eriksonandhiscrew
didn'tstaylong—onlyafewyears—beforereturningtoGreenland.
►15thCentury—TheChinese:Thistheoryisespousedbyasmall
groupofscholarsandamateurhistoriansledbyGavinMenzies,a
retiredBritishNavalofficer.ItassertsthataMuslim-Chineseeunuch-
marinerfromtheMingDynastydiscoveredAmerica71yearsbefore
Columbus.
►Zhengcommandedahugearmadaofwoodensailingvesselsinthe
early15thcentury.HeexploredSoutheastAsia,Indiaandtheeast
coastofAfricausingnavigationaltechniquesthatwere,atthetime,
cuttingedge.ItisassertedthatZhengsailedtotheeastcoastofthe
UnitedStates,andmayhaveestablishedsettlementsinSouthAmerica.
►Menziesbasedhistheoryonevidencefromoldshipwrecks,Chinese
andEuropeanmaps,andaccountswrittenbynavigatorsofthetime.
Indeed,mosthistorianssaythe"Chinafirst"theoryisfullofholes.

28. Christopher Columbus

29. Columbus’ Voyages to America
►ColumbuswasthefirsttocreateextendedinterestintheNewWorldandmakeita
centerpieceofcolonizationeffortsbytheSpanish,French,English,andothers.
►ChristopherColumbus:ItalianborninGenoa,
►HehadlivedforyearsinPortugal,
►bookseller,amapmaker,andasailor.
►SailingtoIcelandintheNorthAtlanticanddownthecoastofAfricaintheSouth
Atlantic.
►ColumbusbelievedthattheEarthwasround,notflat.
►TheOceanSeawasseenasagreatexpanseofwatersurroundingmuchofEurasia
andAfrica,stretchingfromEuropetoChinaandJapanintheFarEast.
►IfashipleftthecoastofEurope,sailedwesttowardthesettingsun,andcircledthe
globe,itwouldreachtheshoresofAsia—orsoColumbusthought.
►Inthepast,EuropeanexplorersandtradershadtakentheoverlandroutetotheFar
East,withitsprecioussilksandspices.Theytraveledformonthsbyhorseandcamel
alongtheSilkRoad,anancientcaravantrailthatcrosseddesertsandclimbed
dizzyingmountainpeaks.
►Butrecently,thislandroutetoAsia,controlledinpartbytheTurks,hadbeenclosed
toEuropeans.Also,Europeantradesencounteredattacksfromthepirates.
►ColumbuswasconvincedthathecouldfindaneasierandfasterroutetoAsiaby
sailingwest.

30. ►In1484,heproposedhisboldschemeofsailingwesttoChinatoKingJohnIIofPortugal,and
thensubmittedtheItaliansailor'splantoacommitteeofmapmakers,astronomers,and
geographers.TheexpertsdeclaredthatAsiamustbemuchfartherawaythanColumbusthought.
►ColumbusdecidedtoapproachKingFerdinandandQueenIsabellaofSpain;Theywerecurious
abouttheroutetoAsiathatColumbusproposed.LikeKingJohn,theytooappointedacommittee
ofinquirytoconsiderthematter,butthoseexpertscametothesamenegativeconclusion:
Columbus'sclaimaboutthedistancetoChinaandtheeaseofsailingtherecouldnotpossiblybe
true.Columbuspersisted.HetalkedatlengthtomembersoftheSpanishcourtandconvinced
someofthem,butFerdinandandIsabellatwicerejectedhisappealforships.Finally,he
threatenedtoseeksupportfromthekingofFrance.ColumbusactuallysetoutforFrance,ridinga
muledownadustySpanishroad.
►RoyaladvisorspersuadedFerdinandandIsabellatochangetheirminds.Ifanotherkingsponsored
Columbus,andhisexpeditionturnedouttobeasuccess,thentheSpanishmonarchswouldbe
embarrassed.TheywouldbecriticizedinSpain.“LetColumbusriskhislife”,theadvisorssaid.“Let
himseekoutthegrandeursandsecretsoftheuniverse."Ifhesucceeded,Spainwouldwinmuch
gloryandwouldovercomethePortugueseleadintheracetoexploittherichesofAsia.
►FerdinandandIsabelladecidedtotakeachance.Theywerereadytogranthimahereditarytitle,
AdmiraloftheOceanSea,andtherighttoatenthofanyriches—pearls,gold,silver,silks,spices—
thathebroughtbackfromhisvoyage.Andtheyagreedtosupplytwoshipsforhisexpedition.
►August3,1492,theNina,thePinta,andtheSantaMaríasailedfromtheportofPalos,Spain,
carryingsomeninetycrewmembersinall.Columbuskeptseveralhourglassestomarkthepassage
oftime,acompass,andanastrolabe,aninstrumentforcalculatinglatitudebyobservingthe
movementofthesun.
►ThelittlefleetstoppedforrepairsatLaGomeraintheCanaryIslands,aSpanishpossessionoffthe
coastofMorocco.OnSeptember6,Columbusandhisthreeshipssetsailagain,headingduewest,
movingnowthroughtheunknownwatersoftheOceanSea.Fiveweekslater,onOctober12,his
worriedcrewfinallysightedland.

32. Voyages of Columbus

34. ►Columbustellsusafewthingsaboutthesenow-extinctpeople.Hewasimpressedbytheir
goodlooksandapparentrobusthealth."Theyareverywell-builtpeople,withhandsome
bodiesandveryfinefaces,"hewroteinhislog."Theireyesarelargeandverypretty....
Thesearetallpeopleandtheirlegs,withnoexceptions,arequitestraight,andnoneofthem
hasapaunch."ManyoftheTainoshadpaintedtheirfacesortheirwholebodiesblackor
whiteorred.AndasColumbusandhismennoticedrightaway,someofthemworegold
earringsandnoserings.TheyofferedgiftstotheEuropeanvisitors—parrots,wooden
javelins,andballsofcottonthread.
►TheyproceededonwardandlandedinCuba.Finally,theycontinuedonward,arrivingatthe
islandofHispaniola,whichismodern-dayHaitiandtheDominicanRepublic.
►Hereturnedtoatriumphantwelcome.ItwassaidthatwhenFerdinandandIsabella
receivedhimattheircourtinBarcelona.
►Asecondvoyagewasplanned.Thistime,themonarchsgaveColumbusseventeenships,
aboutfifteenhundredmen,andafewwomentocolonizetheislands.Hewasinstructedto
continuehisexplorations,establishgoldmines,installsettlers,developtradewiththe
Indians,andconvertthemtoChristianity.
►WhenhereturnedtoHispaniolaonhisthirdvoyagein1498,hefoundtheislandinturmoil,
tornbyrivalriesanddisagreementsamongthesettlers.Manycolonists,unabletomakea
livingfromthegoldminesorbyfarming,wereclamoringtoreturntoSpain.Others,rivalsof
Columbuswhowantedtogaincontrolofthecolony,rebelledagainsthisrule.
►ColumbusdiedinaSpanishmonasteryonMay20,1506,attheageoffifty-seven,still
believingthathehadfoundanewroutetoAsia,andthatChinaandJapanlayjustbeyond
theislandshehadexplored.Bythen,otherexplorerswerefollowingthesearoutepioneered
bytheAdmiraloftheOceanSea,andEuropeanswerealreadyspeakingofColumbus's
discoveriesasa"NewWorld."

35. ►ChristopherColumbusdidallthediscovering,yetitwasAmericus
Vespucciwhosenamegotputontheland.
►NowAmericusVespucciwasanadventurerjustlikeColumbus.Hemade
severaltripsacrosstheoceanandwentwaydownthecoastofSouth
America.
►Butwhatmadehimfamouswasthathewroteabouthistrips.Hisletters
weresofascinatingthateveryonewantedtoreadthem.And,thanksto
Gutenberg’sprintingpress,manypeopledid.
►AmerigoVespuccididsomethingelsethatwasimportant:Heunderstood
thattherewasahugecontinentoverhere,acontinentnewto
Europeans,andhesaidsoinhiswritings.Hecalledita“NewWorld.”
►VespuccilookedatthelandofSouthAmericawithanopenmind.
►“Inthosesouthernparts,Ihavefoundacontinentmoredenselypeopled
andaboundinginanimalsthanourEuropeorAsiaorAfrica.”.
►AmannamedMartinWaldseemulleractuallynamedAmerica.Hewasa
printerandmapmakerwhowasfascinatedbyVespucious’sletters.
►In1507Waldseemullerprintedahugeworldmap,andonitheputa
newcontinent.
►WaldseemullerusedinformationfromthevoyagesofColumbusand
Vespuccitomakethemap.HedecidedtoputthenameAmericaonthe
southerncontinent,sinceAmerigohadwrittenaboutit.

38. Line of Demarcation

40. The Age of Exploration
►FranceandtheNetherlands.
►SamueldeChamplainexploredtheSt.LawrenceRiver.
►In1608,hefoundedafur-tradingpostatQuebec.Thispost
becamethefirstpermanentFrenchsettlementinNorth
America.Champlain’sactivitiesopenedarichfurtradewith
localNativeAmericans.
►NewFrance.
►TheDutchwerebuildingacolony:NewAmsterdam.
►ItwaslocatedalongtheHudsonRiverinpresent-dayNew
York.
►AfterHudson’svoyageuptheriverin1609,theDutchbuiltFort
Nassauin1614,nearthesiteofthemoderncityofAlbany.
►In1626,theDutchboughtManhattanIslandfromNative
Americans.
►ThecolonywassoonthrivingfromthefurtradewithNative
Americans.

42. The Age of Exploration
►Rene-RobertdeLaSalle
►HesailedtoaFrenchcolonyinCanadaandbecameafurtrader.
►Indianstoldhimoftwogreatrivers(theMississippiandOhio).
►Hemadeseveralexplorationsofthem.Hediedin1687.
►FatherJacquesMarquette
►MarquettewasborninLaon,France,inthesummerof1637.
►HejoinedtheJesuitsatageseventeen.
►Hefoundedmissionsallovertheplace.Heexploredmanyrivers.
►LouisJolliet
►JollietwasborninasettlementnearQuebecCity.
►HeexploredmanyriverswithMarquette.
►JacquesCartier(1491-1551)
►JacquesCartierwasanexplorerwhoclaimedCanadaforFrance.
►HewasborninSaintMalo,Francein1491.
►HewasalsothefirstEuropean,notjustthefirstFrenchmantodescribe
andchartSaintLawrenceRiverandGulfofSaintLawrence.
►Hemadethreeimportantvoyages.
►HediedinSaintMalo,in1551.

43. The Age of Exploration
►JohnCabot–
Discovered
Newfoundland
(Canada) in
1497.

44. Impacts of European Expansion
1.Nativepopulationsravagedby
disease.
2.Influxofgold,andespecially
silver,intoEuropecreatedan
inflationaryeconomic climate.
[“PriceRevolution”]
3.Newproductsintroducedacross
the continents [“Columbian
Exchange”].
4.Deepenedcolonialrivalries.