Age of Exploration
By: Joy, Isabel, and Rebecca
What was the age of exploration?
Map
This is one of the many different maps that were made on the routes that could be taken. It all mattered where you started and where you wanted to go.
Transportation
This boat is just one of the many that traveled and made the long voyage across.
Map
The map pictured above is just different routes that are able to be taken from your starting point.
What caused this to happen?
By the 1400's, many Europeans wanted to buy products from Asia. The most wanted products included jewels, and silk. Portugal and Spain took the lead in seeking a direct ocean route to the Indies. By 1500, a new kind of ship known as the caravel made long voyages possible.The invention of new navigation instruments also aided exploration by sea. The expeditions of Portugal and Spain opened an active period of exploration. Their voyages of exploration eventually led to the European colonization of America.
Why did this happen in Europe?
Europe was drawn to the Age of Exploration for many reasons. Many have heard of the Three G’s; God, Gold, Glory. Explorers were drawn to explore because of these basic reasons. Explores that come back from sailing around the world were treated as heroes and lived the rest of their life in luxury. Another reason was the land. Whichever country got to new land first, claimed it as their own for their queen and king at the time. Many queens and kings would pay explorers to claim the land for their country, on top of the gold they were already collecting. Europe definitely took this to their advantage and collected as much land as they could through explorers.
What did the age of exploration lead to?
Who were the major explorers during this time period?
Christopher Columbus: the Portuguese searched for an eastward sea route to Asia, Christopher Columbus looked west. He was convinced that his plan would work. However, he underestimated the distance between western Europe and Japan and he did not know that a large land mass lay in the way. Columbus landed on one of the Bahamas. Columbus believed he had reached the Indies, and so he called the people he met Indians.
Ferdinand Magellan: was Portuguese navigator, sailed to Asia by way of South America. King Charles I of Spain agreed to sponsor Magellan’s expedition because the Portuguese now controlled the route to Asia around Africa. If Magellan succeeded, Spain would have its own route to Asia. At the time, Magellan did not know how large South America was.
Sir Humphrey Gilbert: Gilbert was an English explorer. He is know for establishing St Johns, Newfoundland in 1583. He was the half brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, and cousin of Sir Francis Drake. He studied at Eton and Oxford University and lived from 1539-1583.
John Cabot: John was an Italian-born English explorer and navigator. He grew up in Venice with his family where he learned about spice trade from his father who was a merchant. In 1496 he was granted to explore by King Henry VII. He is famous for exploring and colonizing the coastline of Canada. He was the second European to find North America (after Christopher Columbus)