Voyages of Discovery

Human Legacy,

Chapter 16.1, pages 469-475

Foundations of Exploration

• “During the Renaissance, a spirit of discovery and innovation had been awakened in Europe. In the latter part of the 1400s and 1500s, that spirit led Europeans to set sail on voyages of discovery to find new lands or new routes to places already known. Such voyages were so frequent and influential that the period is sometimes called the Age of Exploration.”

~Human Legacy, page 469.

The Drive to Explore

• Commercial Materialism – Desired luxuries from China &

India • Spices, silk, perfume, jade

– Sought faster, cheaper or more reliable routes • Avoid Italian city-states as

middlemen

• Ottomans can’t interdict trade

• Spiritualism – Missionary efforts

• Jesuits (Counter Reformation)

• Individualism – Personal fame & glory

– Curiosity

Age of Exploration

Advances in Technology • Foreign Contacts

– Navigational Aids • Compass (China)

– Determines direction

• Astrolabe (Muslims) – Determines latitude

• European Inventions – Rudder (for steering)

– Lateen Sail • Triangular

• Can be turned to catch wind from any direction

– Shipbuilding • Deeper draft vessels (Carrack)

– more stable

– Larger cargo hold

• Caravel – Light , fast sailing ship

– Could carry cannons

Astrolabe & Compass

Explorers from Portugal and Spain

• “Portugal and Spain share the Iberian Peninsula, the westernmost extent of continental Europe. As a result of their location facing the Atlantic Ocean, these two countries were well suited to kicking off the Age of Exploration.”

~Human Legacy, page 471.

The Portuguese

• Henry the Navigator 1394-1460

– Sponsored explorers

– Settled on Azores & Madeira islands in Atlantic

– African coast

• Bartolomeu Dias – Sailed around Cape of Good

Hope (Africa) 1488

• Vasco da Gama – Circumnavigates Africa

– Establish trade centers in India

– Portuguese sail from India to Indonesia

The Spanish

• Christopher Columbus – Sails west to reach India

– Discovers Americas instead

– 3 voyages

– Native Americans baptized as Christians

– Brings back exotic items • Gold, parrots, potatoes &

tomatoes

• Amerigo Vespucci – Explores the coast of South

America (pictured)

– Determines Americas are not Asia 1502

Columbus’ Voyages

Spanish Continued

• Balboa – Expedition in Isthmus of

Panama

– First European to see the Pacific Ocean 1513

• Ferdinand Magellan – Expedition to circumnavigate

the globe 1519 • 5 ships & 250 men

• Magellan dies fighting in the Philippines

• In 1522 the expedition completes mission with 1 ship and 18 men remaining

Magellan’s Expedition 1519-1522

Explorers from the Rest of Europe

• “Although the Spanish and Portuguese were the first to launch voyages of discovery, they did not remain alone in their efforts. By the early 1500s the English and French were exploring the northern parts of the Americas, and within a century the Dutch had joined the efforts.”

~Human Legacy, page 474.

The English

• John Cabot – Expedition to Canada 1497

– Disappears with his fleet on second expedition

• Sir Francis Drake – Explores west coast of

Americas

– 2nd expedition to circumnavigate the Earth

• Henry Hudson – Attempts to find a Northeast

passage around Europe 1607

The French

• Jacques Cartier 1534

– Attempts to find a Northwest passage around North America

– Expedition into St Lawrence River

– Claims Canada for France

Cartier’s Voyages

The Dutch

• Involved in trade with Asia – Spice islands

– China & Japan

• Henry Hudson – Explores Hudson River

– Discovers Hudson Bay

– Dutch settle in New Amsterdam (now New York)