Concetti Chiave
- European exploration was driven by motives such as curiosity about other cultures, the spread of Christianity, new trade routes, and technological advancements.
- Portuguese explorers significantly impacted European understanding by exploring Africa's coastlines and establishing a sea route to India, also founding colonies in Brazil.
- Spanish exploration, led by figures like Columbus and Magellan, focused on conquest and colonization, revealing the Americas and demonstrating the possibility of global circumnavigation.
- Spanish conquests transformed Spain by introducing new crops like corn and potatoes, luxury goods such as chocolate and tobacco, and animals to the Americas, albeit alongside diseases.
- Northern European expeditions by England, France, and the Netherlands focused on North American resources, leading to fishing and fur trade, despite the absence of gold and treasure.
1418-1620
What are the motivations for exploration?
Why did Europeans take to the Ocean Sea?
Four basic motives:
1. Willingness to learn and understand other cultures
2. Desire to spread Christianity
3. Desire to find new trade routes
4. Advances in knowledge and technology
Advances in knowledge and technology:
•Cartography
1400s - translation of Guide to Geography written by Ptolemy.
By the 1500s globes showed Earth as a sphere.
Gerardus Mercator created maps using improved lines of longitude and latitude.
•Ship design
Caravels with shallow bottoms and triangular sails.
•Navigational tools
Compass
Astrolabe
- Prince Henry the Navigator
- Vasco de Gama
- Bartholomeu Dias
Bartholomeu Dias passed the Cape of Storms,
later renamed Cape of Good Hope.
Vasco de Gama rounded Africa’s southern tip and then sailed up the east coast of India.
Portuguese exploration
Portugal’s explorers changed Europeans’ understanding of the world in several ways:
•They explored the coasts of Africa and brought back gold and slaves.
•They also found a sea route to India. From India, explorers brought back spices like cinnamon and pepper and goods such as porcelain, incense, jewels, and silk.
•During the 1500s, Portugal also began to establish colonies in Brazil. The Portuguese forced the native people to give up their religion and convert to Christianity and work on sugar plantations.
Spanish exploration and conquest
•Spanish rode the second wave of expansion and exploration.
•Spain founded its empire on conquest and colonization, and not trade.
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain
- Cristopher Columbus
- Ferdinand Magellan
Columbus’ voyages
•First voyage
Columbus set sail on August 3, 1492 with three ships, Pinta, Nina and Santa Maria and 104 men. On October 12, 1492 he sighted land in area of the present-day Bahamas. He believed it was an Asian island and named it San Salvador.
•Second voyage
Columbus set sail west again on September 23, 1493 with 17 ships and 1200 men. On November 3, the crew members sighted land and found three more islands, Dominica, Guadeloupe and Jamaica, and Columbus thought were islands near Japan.
•Third voyage
Columbus’s third voyage began on May 30, 1498 and took a more southern route than the previous two. Still looking for China, he found Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, and Margarita, on July 31.
•Fourth voyage
Columbus' final voyage began on May 9, 1502. He arrived in Hispaniola. In January 1503, he reached Panama.
Magellan's circumnavigation
FERDINAND MAGELLAN
Magellan circumnavigation
After months of sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, the fleet anchored at what is today Rio de Janeiro on December 13, 1519.
From there, they moved down the coast of South America looking for a way into the Pacific. In November 1520, Magellan’ ships exited the Strait of All Saints and sailed into the Pacific Ocean.
Continuing west, Magellan visited the Philippines.
In April 1521, Magellan was killed.
Sebastian Elcano had the leadership of the expedition. In 1522 his ship with 18 surviving crew members returned to Spain.
Impact of Spanish exploration
Early Spanish exploration changed Europeans’ view of the world:
• the voyages of Columbus revealed the existence of the Americas.
• Magellan’s expedition opened up a westward route to the Indies. It showed that it was possible to sail completely around the world. And it proved that Columbus had indeed found a “New World”.
After Columbus’s voyages, Spain was eager to claim lands in the New World. To explore and conquer “New Spain,” the Spanish turned to adventurers called conquistadores. In 1519, Hernando Cortés (1485-1547) set out to conquer the Aztec civilization of Mexico.
•The explorations and conquests of the conquistadores transformed Spain.
•Besides gold and silver, ships brought corn and potatoes from the New World to Spain.
•Conquistadores also introduced Europeans to new luxury items, such as chocolate and tobacco.
•The Spanish introduced new animals to the Americas, such as horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs.
•But they also introduced new diseases.
Northern European expeditions
England, France and Netherlands expeditions to North America
- Giovanni Caboto
- Giovanni da Verrazano
- Henry Hudson
•Unlike the conquistadors in the south, northern explorers did not find gold and other treasure. As a result, there was less interest at first in starting colonies.
• Canada’s shores offered rich resources of cod and other fish. Within a few years of Cabot’s trip, fishing boats regularly visited the region.
• Europeans were also interested in trading with Native Americans for otter skins, whale oil, and beaver and fox furs.
• By the 1600s, Europeans had set up a number of trading posts in North America.
Domande da interrogazione
- What were the primary motivations behind European exploration during the Age of Discovery?
- What were the significant achievements of Christopher Columbus's voyages?
The main motivations for European exploration included a willingness to learn about other cultures, the desire to spread Christianity, the search for new trade routes, and advances in knowledge and technology, such as improvements in cartography, ship design, and navigational tools.
Columbus's voyages revealed the existence of the Americas to Europeans. His expeditions led to the discovery of several Caribbean islands and parts of Central and South America, although he believed he had reached Asia.
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