Introduction

• During the 1400s and

1500s European explorers—
inspired by greed, curiosity,
and the desire for glory, and
aided by new technologies—
sailed to many previously
unknown lands.

• God, Glory and Gold

 Marco Polo (1254-1324)
• Marco Polo was an Italian
merchant, trader and
explorer.
• At a young age, Marco
accompanied his father
on his voyages. They
traveled far and wide and
even reached as far east
as China, meeting Kublai
Khan.
• China had been isolated
from Europeans for
centuries until Marco Polo
and his father arrived.
Chinese and Japanese Isolation

• After years of invasions by

foreigners (Mongols), both China
and Japan withdrew into isolation.
• Both limited foreign trade and
followed a policy of self-
sufficiency?
• The Japanese severely restrict
foreign ideas by even banning
Christianity!
Marco Polo’s Travels
 Marco Polo (1254-1324)

• After 24 years and

travelling over 15,000 miles,
Marco returned home.
• Marco saw many great things
like the Great Wall of China
and brought home Chinese
discoveries including spices,
fireworks, eye glasses, ice
cream, spaghetti, glass and
silk.
• He wrote books and told
many amazing stories which
intrigued the people of
Europe.
 Did You Know?
• On Marco Polo’s deathbed, a
priest asked him if his
stories of the Far East
were true.
• Marco Polo’s dying words
were, “I did not tell half of
what I saw.”
A Map of the Known World,
pre- 1492
Motives for European Exploration
• Europeans had long been attracted to
Asia.
• Many people, including Christopher
Columbus, were fascinated by Marco
Polo’s account of his travels to the
court of Kublai Khan and the exotic
East.
• Fourteenth-century conquests by the
Ottoman Empire made traveling to
the East by land difficult.
• Europeans wanted a route by sea.
 Motives for European Exploration

• The desire for wealth was a large

part of European expansion.
• Merchants, adventurers, and
government officials hoped to find
precious metals in and expand trade
with the East, especially trade in
spices and gold.
• Another motive was religious, the
desire to spread the Catholic faith
to native peoples.
 Motives for European Exploration

• Adventure and glory comprised

another motive for European
expansion.
• Therefore, it can be said that
“God, glory, and gold,” were the
main motives for exploration.
 New Maritime Technologies
• Europeans had also reached a level of
technology that made a series of regular,
long voyages possible.

Improvements in Shipbuilding
• Europeans learned to build ships that were faster, more
maneuverable, and rode lower in the water.

Mapmaking
• By 1500, cartography–the art and science of mapmaking–had
developed to where Europeans had fairly accurate maps of
where they wanted to explore.

Popular for Exploratory Voyages

• The compass showed the ship’s direction, and the astrolabe
showed its latitude, information needed for such long
voyages.
New Maritime Technologies

New Exploration Technologies

• Caravel: stronger, sturdier ship with
triangular sails (adopted from Arabs);
made it possible to sail against the wind
• Astrolabe: brass circle w/ carefully
adjusted rings marked off in degrees;
used to calculate latitude (perfected by
Muslims)
• Compass: magnetically tracked
direction (Chinese invention)
 New Maritime Technologies
Better Maps
[Cartography]

Hartman Astrolabe
(1532)

Mariner’s Compass

Sextant
 T he Caravel

This type of ship made long distance sea

voyages possible. It could sail with and
against the wind, had a deeper draft to
take on large ocean waves and was more
maneuverable than ships in the past.
 Prince Henry, the Navigator
• Portugal was first country to
launch large-scale voyages of
exploration
• Begun largely due to efforts of
Prince Henry, son of King John I
of Portugal
• Often called Henry the
Navigator, not himself explorer
Prince Henry of
Portugal • Patron, supporter of those who
wished to explore
• Early 1400s, Henry established court to which he
brought sailors, mapmakers, astronomers and others
• Sent out many expeditions
• Portuguese settled Azores, Madeira Islands, learned
more about Africa’s coast
Beyond Darkest Africa

The Portuguese
yearned to find a sea
route to India to
thwart Arab
“middlemen” who
controlled overland
routes, keeping prices
of pepper and other
spices high by keeping
supplies low.
Glory, God or Gold?
 Bartholomeu Dias
Portuguese explorer
commissioned by King John
II of Portugal to find a
trade route to India by
sea. Dias revisited
African ports that had
been discovered along the
way.
A fierce, 13 day storm blew
his ship off course
rounding the tip of Africa.
He only realized how far he
had gone when the skies
cleared.
 Bartholomeu Dias
He had actually rounded the
tip of Africa. Dias wanted
to keep sailing all the way to
India, but his crew refused.

The discovery of the

passage around Africa was
significant because, for the
first time, Europeans could
trade directly with India
and the other parts of Asia,
bypassing the overland
route through the Middle
East, with its expensive
middlemen.
 Did You Know?
Dias originally named
the Cape of Good
Hope the "Cape of
Storms“. It was
later renamed by
King John II of
Portugal to the Cape
of Good Hope
because it
represented the
opening of a route to
the east.
 Vasco da Gama

-Portuguese
explorer
-First successful
voyage around the
tip of Africa and
reaching India
 Did You Know?
• Da Gama was not welcome in the
Muslim port of Calicut.
• He went home empty handed.
• However, he would return years
later and was more prepared.
• He had 14 well armed ships instead
of 2.
• He first came across a ship with
400 Muslim pilgrims. He demanded
gold then burned the ship with
everyone on it.
• In Calicut, he captured fisherman in
the harbor. He cut of their hands,
feet and heads and sent them to
the leader until he was allowed
access to the city.
 Vasco da Gama
-In Calicut, da Gama was amazed by
spices, rare silks and precious gems.
-they filled their boats up with the
goods and returned to Portugal where
they sold them for 60x what the
voyage had cost them!
- The 27,000 mile trip was not just a
profitable success, it was significant
as the Portuguese had found the trade
route to Asia.
Christofo Colombo [1451-1506]
 Christopher Columbus
• Italian explorer
• Was inspired by the books of Marco Polo
• Commissioned by King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella of Spain.
• Believed he could find a faster route the Indies
and Asia by sailing westward.
• Many people thought he was crazy. (Thought he
would sail off the edge of the world or be eaten
by sea monsters.)
 Did You Know?
• Columbus was not well
liked by his crew.
• He was very strict and
pushed them very hard.
• As the journey continued
for months, his crew
became tired, wary and
wanted to return home.
• In fact, there was a plot
to mutiny and throw
Columbus overboard.
• He was able to convince
them to continue just a
bit further.
 Columbus’ Discovery
On October 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus
landed on the island of San Salvador (in
modern day Bahamas.)
Columbus’ Four Voyages
Other Voyages of Exploration
 Did you know?
• Christopher Columbus nicknamed the islands he
discovered the “West Indies”, for he had truly
thought he had landed in the Pacific islands
such as Indonesia near India or China.
• He thought he would soon find the trade route
to Asia which would make him rich and famous.
• Although he is praised today for discovering
the Americas; Christopher Columbus was
actually seen as a complete failure in his day
for not achieving his goal.
• In fact, he was imprisoned, lost most of his
fortune, and had to battle to keep his
reputation as an explorer.
 The Treaty of Tordesillas

• The new claim of land

put much tension
between the Spanish
and the Portuguese.
• They had to devise a
way to split their
claims.
• They reached out to
the Pope and he
negotiated the Treaty
of Tordesillas.
 The Treaty of Tordesillas

• He drew the Line of Demarcation:

imaginary North/South line that gave
lands on the east to Portugal (light green)
and the lands on the west to Spain
Conflict over Trade

• With new trade routes

came conflict.
European nations
scrambled to establish
profitable trading posts
as they battle natives
and each other
 European Nations
• The Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English
and French all fought for dominance.