essay on the age of exploration

The Age of Exploration Essay

Introduction, factors that favored exploration, key figures in exploration, the diminishing of the age of exploration, the importance of the age of exploration to geography.

Bibliography

Exploration had begun long before Christopher Columbus started off. Some studies indicate that the European explorers had discovered the New World before Columbus did in 1492. They note that the explorers of Viking Norsemen had already settled in northeast Canada around 1000 A.D. However, the exploration, or the settlement of the Viking Norsemen, had little effects on the lives of the Native Americans because these explorers soon sailed back across the Atlantic and to Europe.

After the age of the Viking Norsemen explorations, the Age of Exploration started at around the fifteenth century until the seventeenth century. Occasionally, some historians refer to this period as the Age of Discovery. It refers to the period when “Europeans began exploring the world by sea in search of trading partners, new goods, and new trade routes”. 1 Other Europeans wanted to discover much information about the new world. The pieces of information these explorers gathered during this period have been useful in enhancing geographical knowledge and understanding the world. We can only attribute this period with advancement and discoveries in human history.

Most individual explorers got sponsorship from their own countries. The states wanted to explore and establish themselves in the New World. Every territory the explorers discovered was claimed by the nations as their own, which is the main contribution of the explorers in the wide context during this period. The nations that sponsored their explorers included Spain, England, Portugal, Netherland, and France among others.

European explorers became the leading players in the discovery of the New World. There were a number of factors that favored their exploration efforts which included the following.

First, growth of commerce and towns in European nations gave incentives for explorations. Europeans looked for goods and luxuries such as spices and gold from Asian countries. They also wanted to show their cultures to others in foreign land. The development of towns led to changes in lifestyles as secular topics dominated, and geography and humanism were among them. Explorers wanted to challenge the existing knowledge in geography.

Second, we can also attribute explorations to the religious fervor in Europe. Most of the explorers, including Christopher Columbus, Magella, and Vasco da Gama, were Christians who believed in God’s guidance during their journeys. They believed that it was their obligation to spread Christianity and win converts in the new land. Europeans also had the notion that the world was their property. 2

Third, European explorers also found favors in the geographical locations of their countries. The extreme end position allowed ease of access to the East, which also encouraged trade among numerous middlemen. We can remember Ottoman Empire for establishing such strong trade routes with the East.

Some of the disadvantaged European nations had incentives to find new trade routes to the Far East because Muslim nations tended to dominate European trade. Europe also had a strategic position for exploring both Africa and other Asian countries. Still, they had the opportunities of setting voyage across Atlantic Ocean to America.

Fourth, the growth of the ship and navigation technologies encouraged Europeans to set voyages and discover the New World. The development of a compass gave sailors certainties regarding their directions. They could also calculate the latitude through the North Star and the sun using quadrants, astrolabes, and cross staff.

Technological innovations also led to the invention of a chronometer for even more accurate measurements. The ship development improved with varieties of choices and strong options to resist rocking and strong winds and waves. Shipwrights could choose from Mediterranean or Atlantic styles. Ships also had stern rudder and clinker-built hulls.

Maps also played significant roles in explorations. The medieval maps had little to offer explorers. However, there were advanced improvements in maps showing locations and coastal lines. Still, such maps (portolan charts) could only serve Europe. Most sailors used lore to guide their routes. They could read the movements of birds, observe changes in color of the water, vegetation, and skies. It was not until 1500 when some decent maps came along, but sailors guarded their information. 3

The governments of different nations had interests in foreign and new lands. Consequently, they funded and provided supplies for explorers willing to explore new areas. Explorers also had personal curiosities and interests to explore and discover unknown places.

Trade in luxury goods also encouraged exploration. During this very period, nations were interested in luxury goods like gold, silk, and spices among others. Most of these nations’ interests were to find new trade routes for luxury commodities. During the period of Ottoman Empire, Europeans had no access to most areas in the Far East. This action restricted European trade with the Far East.

People from Portugal were the first known explorers under Prince Henry, the Navigator during The Age of Exploration. These explorers traveled many and across wide areas. This is the time when sailors depended on portolan charts which only showed coastlines near land.

This implies that earlier explorers never had the opportunities of sailing away from the coastlines. However, Portuguese explorers moved further “into the sea and discovered island like the Azores in 1427”. 4 Portuguese explorers also had interests in West Africa, but they needed alternative routes so as to avoid the Sahara Desert.

Christopher Columbus was also famous during the Age of Exploration. Columbus’ interest was in establishing a trade route to Far East through trade routes in the west. The voyage landed him in America in 1492. Columbus shared the information with the rest of European nations. Pedro Cabral of Portugal followed and explored Brazil. This set the conflict between Portugal and Spain in claiming the new land and led to the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. 5

There were also Captain Cook that went to Alaska mapping new areas and Ferdinand Magellan who tried to go “around the world in his attempts to establish trade route to Asia from the Northwest Passage”. 6

The Age of Discovery came to an end during the early periods of 17th century. This was the period after increased technological discoveries and easy navigation by Europeans across the globe. Traders established settlements along the coasts of newly discovered areas. This allowed for smooth trade and communication and marked the end of looking for trade routes.

Kidner and others note: “Though the Age of Exploration ended in the 17th century, it did not stop completely during this time”. 7 There were some areas that remained unexplored. These included Africa, some parts of Asia, eastern Australia, Antarctic, and Arctic.

Most of the explorations took place in efforts to find and establish new trade routes. However, the impacts of explorations affected geography significantly. Explorers who traveled to different destinations around the globe acquired new knowledge about the New World. Consequently, these explorers brought back with them this knowledge to Europe.

Explorers also met new people, new land, and new cultures. Such knowledge enlightened Europe about other existing cultures. Later, Europeans wanted to spread their domination to these new people, land, and cultures.

The Age of Exploration improved geographical knowledge in areas of mapping and portolan charts. For instance, Prince Henry the Navigator could sail away from the shorelines using a new nautical chart. This enabled the subsequent sailors to travel away from the land. This also resulted into the creation of the nautical map. It was the effort of explorers like Cabral, Columbus, and De Gama that polished the first nautical map.

The Age of Exploration improved geographical knowledge significantly. A number of people could study new areas and expand the existing knowledge about geography. Therefore, discoveries of the explorers formed the foundation of modern geography.

This period also set the pace for the European colonization and the spread Christianity. Slaves experienced the negative consequences of slavery, such as displacements, wars, starvation, and increased slave trade. Diseases also claimed several lives of slaves. The population of the natives also reduced dramatically as death and displacement resulted in a diminishing number of people.

Europeans also spread their culture of Christianity to other land and people. This made Christianity the world’s largest religion until today. Christianity became the main strategy of colonization Europeans used to capture new territories and form their colonies. 8

Casas Las De, Bartolome. Apologetic History of the Indies (1566): Sources of the West, Volume I. Edited by Mark A. Kishlansky New York: Pearson Longman, 2006.

Columbus, Christopher. Letter from the First Voyage (1493): Sources of the West, Volume I. Edited by Mark A. Kishlansky. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006.

Hugh, Thomas. Rivers of gold: The Rise of the Spanish Empire, from Columbus to Magellan. New York: Random House, 2003.

Kidner, Frank et al. “Europe’s Age of Expansion 1450-1550”. Making Europe, People, Politics, and Culture, Volume I to 1790. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2009.

Schneider, Thomas. Brutal journey: the epic story of the first crossing of north America. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Co., 2006.

1 Thomas Schneider, Brutal journey: the epic story of the first crossing of north America (New York, NY: Henry Holt and Co., 2006), 139

2 Christopher Columbus, Letter from the First Voyage (1493): Sources of the West, Volume I, ed. Mark A. Kishlansky (New York: Pearson Longman, 2006), 244-247.

3 Bartolome Casas Las De, Apologetic History of the Indies (1566): Sources of the West, Volume I, ed. Mark A. Kishlansky (New York: Pearson Longman, 2006), 251-255.

4 Thomas Hugh, Rivers of gold: The Rise of the Spanish Empire, from Columbus to Magellan (New York: Random House, 2003), 280-289.

5 See note 1 above

6 See note 4 above

7 Frank Kidner et al, “Europe’s Age of Expansion 1450-1550”. Making Europe, People, Politics, and Culture, Volume I to 1790 (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2009), 348-379.

8 See note 7 above

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The Birth of the Age of Exploration

The discovery of the new world, opening the americas, the end of the era, contributions to science, long-term impact.

M.A., Geography, California State University - East Bay
B.A., English and Geography, California State University - Sacramento

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.

During this era, explorers learned more about areas such as Africa and the Americas and brought that knowledge back to Europe. Massive wealth accrued to European colonizers due to trade in goods, spices, and precious metals. Nevertheless, there were also vast consequences. Labor became increasingly important to support the massive plantations in the New World, leading to the trade of enslaved people, which lasted for 300 years and had an enormous impact on Africa and North America.

The impact of the Age of Exploration would permanently alter the world and transform geography into the modern science it is today.

Key Takeaways

During the Age of Exploration, methods of navigation and mapping improved, switching from traditional portolan charts to the world's first nautical maps; the colonies and Europe also exchanged new food, plants, and animals.
The Age of Exploration also decimated indigenous communities due to the combined impact of disease, overwork, and massacres.
The impact persists today, with many of the world's former colonies still considered the developing world, while colonizing countries are the First World countries, holding a majority of the world's wealth and annual income.

Many nations were looking for goods such as silver and gold, but one of the biggest reasons for exploration was the desire to find a new route for the spice and silk trades.

When the Ottoman Empire took control of Constantinople in 1453, it blocked European access to the area, severely limiting trade. In addition, it also blocked access to North Africa and the Red Sea, two very important trade routes to the Far East.

The first of the journeys associated with the Age of Discovery were conducted by the Portuguese. Although the Portuguese, Spanish, Italians, and others had been plying the Mediterranean for generations, most sailors kept well within sight of land or traveled known routes between ports. Prince Henry the Navigator changed that, encouraging explorers to sail beyond the mapped routes and discover new trade routes to West Africa.

Portuguese explorers discovered the Madeira Islands in 1419 and the Azores in 1427. Over the coming decades, they would push farther south along the African coast, reaching the coast of present-day Senegal by the 1440s and the Cape of Good Hope by 1490. Less than a decade later, in 1498, Vasco da Gama would follow this route to India.

While the Portuguese were opening new sea routes along Africa, the Spanish also dreamed of finding new trade routes to the Far East. Christopher Columbus , an Italian working for the Spanish monarchy, made his first journey in 1492. Instead of reaching India, Columbus found the island of San Salvador in what is known today as the Bahamas. He also explored the island of Hispaniola, home of modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Columbus would lead three more voyages to the Caribbean, exploring parts of Cuba and the Central American coast. The Portuguese also reached the New World when explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral explored Brazil, setting off a conflict between Spain and Portugal over the newly claimed lands. As a result, the Treaty of Tordesillas officially divided the world in half in 1494.

Columbus' journeys opened the door for the Spanish conquest of the Americas. During the next century, men such as Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro would decimate the Aztecs of Mexico, the Incas of Peru, and other indigenous peoples of the Americas. By the end of the Age of Exploration, Spain would rule from the Southwestern United States to the southernmost reaches of Chile and Argentina.

Great Britain and France also began seeking new trade routes and lands across the ocean. In 1497, John Cabot , an Italian explorer working for the English, reached what is believed to be the coast of Newfoundland. Many French and English explorers followed, including Giovanni da Verrazano, who discovered the entrance to the Hudson River in 1524, and Henry Hudson, who mapped the island of Manhattan first in 1609.

Over the next decades, the French, Dutch, and British would all vie for dominance. England established the first permanent colony in North America at Jamestown, Va., in 1607. Samuel du Champlain founded Quebec City in 1608, and Holland established a trading outpost in present-day New York City in 1624.

Other important voyages of exploration during this era included Ferdinand Magellan's attempted circumnavigation of the globe, the search for a trade route to Asia through the Northwest Passage , and Captain James Cook's voyages that allowed him to map various areas and travel as far as Alaska.

The Age of Exploration ended in the early 17th century after technological advancements and increased knowledge of the world allowed Europeans to travel easily across the globe by sea. The creation of permanent settlements and colonies created a network of communication and trade, therefore ending the need to search for new routes.

It is important to note that exploration did not cease entirely at this time. Eastern Australia was not officially claimed for Britain by Capt. James Cook until 1770, while much of the Arctic and Antarctic were not explored until the 20th century. Much of Africa also was unexplored by Westerners until the late 19th century and early 20th century.

The Age of Exploration had a significant impact on geography. By traveling to different regions around the globe, explorers were able to learn more about areas such as Africa and the Americas and bring that knowledge back to Europe.

Methods of navigation and mapping improved as a result of the travels of people such as Prince Henry the Navigator. Before his expeditions, navigators had used traditional portolan charts, which were based on coastlines and ports of call, keeping sailors close to shore.

The Spanish and Portuguese explorers who journeyed into the unknown created the world's first nautical maps, delineating not just the geography of the lands they found but also the seaward routes and ocean currents that led them there. As technology advanced and known territory expanded, maps and mapmaking became more and more sophisticated.

These explorations also introduced a whole new world of flora and fauna to Europeans. Corn, now a staple of much of the world's diet, was unknown to Westerners until the time of the Spanish conquest, as were sweet potatoes and peanuts. Likewise, Europeans had never seen turkeys, llamas, or squirrels before setting foot in the Americas.

The Age of Exploration served as a stepping stone for geographic knowledge. It allowed more people to see and study various areas around the world, which increased geographic study, giving us the basis for much of the knowledge we have today.

The effects of colonization persist as well, with many of the world's former colonies still considered the developing world and the colonizing nations the First World countries, which hold a majority of the world's wealth and receive a majority of its annual income.

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Europe and the age of exploration.

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Artistic Encounters between Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas The great period of discovery from the latter half of the fifteenth through the sixteenth century is generally referred to as the Age of Exploration. It is exemplified by the Genoese navigator, Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), who undertook a voyage to the New World under the auspices of the Spanish monarchs, Isabella I of Castile (r. 1474–1504) and Ferdinand II of Aragon (r. 1479–1516). The Museum’s jerkin ( 26.196 ) and helmet ( 32.132 ) beautifully represent the type of clothing worn by the people of Spain during this period. The age is also recognized for the first English voyage around the world by Sir Francis Drake (ca. 1540–1596), who claimed the San Francisco Bay for Queen Elizabeth ; Vasco da Gama’s (ca. 1460–1524) voyage to India , making the Portuguese the first Europeans to sail to that country and leading to the exploration of the west coast of Africa; Bartolomeu Dias’ (ca. 1450–1500) discovery of the Cape of Good Hope; and Ferdinand Magellan’s (1480–1521) determined voyage to find a route through the Americas to the east, which ultimately led to discovery of the passage known today as the Strait of Magellan.

To learn more about the impact on the arts of contact between Europeans, Africans, and Indians, see The Portuguese in Africa, 1415–1600 , Afro-Portuguese Ivories , African Christianity in Kongo , African Christianity in Ethiopia , The Art of the Mughals before 1600 , and the Visual Culture of the Atlantic World .

Scientific Advancements and the Arts in Europe In addition to the discovery and colonization of far off lands, these years were filled with major advances in cartography and navigational instruments, as well as in the study of anatomy and optics. The visual arts responded to scientific and technological developments with new ideas about the representation of man and his place in the world. For example, the formulation of the laws governing linear perspective by Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446) in the early fifteenth century, along with theories about idealized proportions of the human form, influenced artists such as Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) and Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519). Masters of illusionistic technique, Leonardo and Dürer created powerfully realistic images of corporeal forms by delicately rendering tendons, skin tissues, muscles, and bones, all of which demonstrate expertly refined anatomical understanding. Dürer’s unfinished Salvator Mundi ( 32.100.64 ), begun about 1505, provides a unique opportunity to see the artist’s underdrawing and, in the beautifully rendered sphere of the earth in Christ’s left hand, metaphorically suggests the connection of sacred art and the realms of science and geography.

Although the Museum does not have objects from this period specifically made for navigational purposes, its collection of superb instruments and clocks reflects the advancements in technology and interest in astronomy of the time, for instance Petrus Apianus’ Astronomicum Caesareum ( 25.17 ). This extraordinary Renaissance book contains equatoria supplied with paper volvelles, or rotating dials, that can be used for calculating positions of the planets on any given date as seen from a given terrestrial location. The celestial globe with clockwork ( 17.190.636 ) is another magnificent example of an aid for predicting astronomical events, in this case the location of stars as seen from a given place on earth at a given time and date. The globe also illustrates the sun’s apparent movement through the constellations of the zodiac.

Portable devices were also made for determining the time in a specific latitude. During the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the combination of compass and sundial became an aid for travelers. The ivory diptych sundial was a specialty of manufacturers in Nuremberg. The Museum’s example ( 03.21.38 ) features a multiplicity of functions that include giving the time in several systems of counting daylight hours, converting hours read by moonlight into sundial hours, predicting the nights that would be illuminated by the moon, and determining the dates of the movable feasts. It also has a small opening for inserting a weather vane in order to determine the direction of the wind, a feature useful for navigators. However, its primary use would have been meteorological.

Voorhies, James. “Europe and the Age of Exploration.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/expl/hd_expl.htm (October 2002)

Additional Essays by James Voorhies

Voorhies, James. “ Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) .” (October 2004)
Voorhies, James. “ Francisco de Goya (1746–1828) and the Spanish Enlightenment .” (October 2003)
Voorhies, James. “ Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) .” (October 2004)
Voorhies, James. “ School of Paris .” (October 2004)
Voorhies, James. “ Art of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries in Naples .” (October 2003)
Voorhies, James. “ Elizabethan England .” (October 2002)
Voorhies, James. “ Alfred Stieglitz (1864–1946) and His Circle .” (October 2004)
Voorhies, James. “ Fontainebleau .” (October 2002)
Voorhies, James. “ Post-Impressionism .” (October 2004)
Voorhies, James. “ Domestic Art in Renaissance Italy .” (October 2002)
Voorhies, James. “ Surrealism .” (October 2004)

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The Age of Exploration Essay

The desire to explore the unknown has been a driving force in human history since the dawn of time. From the earliest documented accounts, ancient civilizations have explored the world around them. Early adventures were motivated by religious beliefs, a desire for conquest, the need for trade, and an unsatisfying hunger for gold. The great Age of Exploration, beginning in the late 1400s, was an important era in the discovery and development of lands yet unknown to the Europeans. During this period, Europe sought new sea routes to Asia in pursuit of economic gain, increased glory, and opportunities to spread Christianity. Although these were motivations for explorers, the impact from the discoveries resulted in significant changes and …show more content…

They also encountered the Americas as well, They took the same stance as the Spanish towards the Natives and were very cruel to them. Unlike the Spanish though, Portugal focused more on agriculture than on conquest. They soon had many Sugar-cane plantations set up all over Northern South America. The Portuguese needed slaves to work these plantation, but instead of using the natives, they used blacks from Africa. Eventually, the triangular route they took to capture slaves and bring them to the New World became known as the Middle Passage. Although having initial success, the Portuguese empire soon experienced conflicts with the Netherlands and dropped back in the exploration race. Other nations of Europe had other things in mind than silver and gold when exploring the Americas. England, for example, had religious reasons as well for exploring. Their first claim over seas was located in New Foundland, which was discovered by John Cabot. The Enlish got off to a bad start though with the failure to settle Jamestown, Virginia. It was not until the Voyage of the Pilgrims, who were seeking Religious Freedom, that a permanent settlement existed there in the name of England. The new settlers got along well with the natives and even had a great Thanksging” among each other. The Pilgrims brought with them their religion and the spread of Christianity

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The time period Europeans started to develop officially began in the 15th century and lasted through the 16th century. This period of time symbolizes the time of exploration when Europeans started to explore around the world by land in search of new trading routes, wealth, and knowledge. Many nations were in search of goods, however, the spark for exploration was the curiosity of the new routes for spice and silk exchanges. The impact of the Europeans development would affect the society permanently in the future. Therefore, religion was not the most important factor leading Europe to explore in the 15th and 16th centuries. Instead economics was the most important reason followed by religion and technological advances.

Essay On Age Of Exploration

During the 15th and 16th century, countries such as Portugal set out to find out more about the world in an era called the “Age of Exploration.” The explorers set out on voyages mainly to find sea trade routes to Asia. Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus, and Ferdinand Magellan were the explorers that made the most important breakthroughs. They used different boats, tools, and maps to help them explore.

Age Of Exploration Essay

The Age of Exploration was a time period that has had significant influences in the modern world. It was the moment in which Europe was brought out of the Dark Ages and into an era of discovery. The risks taken within the 15th and 18th century allowed both positive and negative outcomes to be introduced to the European Exploration. There were many motives for this era, and many outcomes came about. However, they were both negative and positive. To summarize the motives of this age, a simple combination can be stated. The main purposes of the Age of Exploration was God, Gold, and Glory.

Compare And Contrast The English Economic And Cultural Responses Towards Native Americans

The Spanish and the English both had similar economic and cultural responses towards the Native Peoples in North America during the time before seventeen fifty. Before fourteen ninety-two Europe was vastly over populated and many luxury goods were very expensive. This was because in places such as Spain and England almost all of the land had been used up. Also during this time, Portugal had control over the easiest waterway to Asia and getting goods such as spices and silks from there without going overseas took a lot of time and money. This lead to investors in Spain sending Columbus on a journey to find another way to Asia to the west instead of going around the tip of Africa.

The Age of European Exploration Essay

On the other side he discovered a vast body of water that he named "South

The Economic Causes Of The Age Of Exploration

Arising out of the “Dark Ages” was the very weak Europe. After taking death tolls from the black death which was devastating to the European population, and also poverty spread around the entirety of Europe, the population felt stuck. In the early 1400s, the Europeans began to set out and explore the world by settling colonies in the Americas, along the coast of Africa, and parts of India and Southeast Asia. This is referred or known as the Age of Exploration. The Age of Exploration was caused by advances in technology and it was powered by the motivation for glory, religion, economic factors, and much more. The push factors and the causes of European exploration lead to a numerous amount of accomplishments ranging from new colonies/territories to bringing in wealth. If the Europeans had not had some of the push factors the Age like the fall of Constantinople, Columbus discovering the “New World” and economic reasons European Exploration would have never begun, or it would’ve taken many more years.

IMPACTS OF THE AGE OF EXPLORATION

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Age of Exploration

The so-called Age of Exploration was a period from the early 15th century and continuing into the early 17th century, during which European ships were traveled around the world to search for new trading routes and partners to feed burgeoning capitalism in Europe. In the process, Europeans encountered peoples and mapped lands previously unknown to them. Among the most famous explorers of the period were Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Pedro Álvares Cabral, John Cabot, Juan Ponce de León, and Ferdinand Magellan.

The Age of Exploration was rooted in new technologies and ideas growing out of the Renaissance, these included advances in cartography, navigation, and shipbuilding. The most important development was the invention of first the Carrack and then caravel in Iberia. These that were a combination of traditional European and Arab designs were the first ships that could leave the relatively passive Mediterranean and sail safely on the open Atlantic.

The Santa Maria at anchor by Andries van Eertvelt, painted c. 1628

The first great wave of expeditions was launched by Portugal under Prince Henry the Navigator. Sailing out into the open Atlantic the Madeira Islands were discovered in 1419 and in 1427 the Azores were discovered and both became Portuguese colonies. The main project of Henry the Navigator was exploration of the West Coast of Africa. For centuries the only trade routes linking West Africa with the Mediterranean world were over the Sahara Desert. These routes were controlled by the Muslim states of North Africa, long rivals to Portugal. It was the Portuguese hope that the Islamic nations could be bypassed by trading directly with West Africa by sea. It was also hoped that south of the Sahara the states would be Christian and potential allies against the Muslims in the Maghreb. The Portuguese navigators made slow but steady progress, each year managing to push a few miles further south and in 1434 the obstacle of Cape Bojador was overcome. Within two decades the barrier of the Sahara had been overcome and trade in gold and slaves began in with what is today Senegal. Progress continued as trading forts were built at Elmina and Sao Tome and Principe became the first sugar producing colony. In 1482 an expedition under Diogo Cão made contact with the Kingdom of Kongo. The crucial breakthrough was in 1487 when Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope and proved that access to the Indian Ocean was possible. In 1498 Vasco da Gama made good on this promise by reaching India.

Portugal’s larger rival Spain had been somewhat slower that their smaller neighbour to begin exploring the Atlantic, and it was not until late in the fifteenth century that Castilian sailors began to compete with their Iberian neighbours. The first contest was for control of the Canary Islands, which Castille won. It was not until the union of Aragon and Castille and the completion of the reconquista that the large nation became fully committed to looking for new trade routes and colonies overseas. In 1492 the joint rulers of the nation decided to fund Christopher Columbus’ expedition that they hoped would bypass Portugal’s lock on Africa and the Indian Ocean reaching Asia by travelling west to reach the east.

Christopher Columbus

Columbus did not reach Asia, but rather found a New World, North America. The issue of defining areas of influence became critical. It resolved by Papal intervention in 1494 when the Treaty of Tordesillas divided the world between the two powers. The Portuguese “received” everything outside of Europe east of a line that ran 270 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands; this gave them control over Africa, Asia and western South America (Brazil). The Spanish received everything west of this line, territory that was still almost completely unknown.

Columbus and other Spanish explorers were initially disappointed with their discoveries. Unlike Africa or Asia the Caribbean islanders had little to trade with the Spanish ships. The islands thus became the focus of colonization efforts. It was not until the continent itself was explored that Spain found the wealth it had sought in the form of abundant gold. In the Americas the Spanish found a number of empires that were as large and populous as those in Europe. However, the Spanish conquistadors, with the aid of the pandemics of disease their arrival unleashed, managed to conquer them with only a handful of men. Once Spanish suzereignancy was established the main focus became the extraction and export of gold and silver.

The nations outside of Iberia refused to acknowledge the Treaty of Tordesillas. France, the Netherlands, and Britain each had a long maritime tradition and, despite Iberian protections, the new technologies and maps soon made their way north.

The first of these missions was that of the British funded John Cabot. It was the first of a series of French and British missions exploring North America. Spain had largely ignored the northern part of the Americas as it had few people and far fewer riches than Central America. The expeditions of Cabot, Cartier and others were mainly hoping to find the Northwest passage and thus a link to the riches of Asia. This was never discovered but in their travels other possibilities were found and in the early seventeenth century colonist from a number of Northern European states began to settle on the east coast of North America.

Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 8 August 1588 by Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg, painted 1796 depicts the battle of Gravelines

It was the northerners who also became the great rivals to the Portuguese in Africa and around the Indian Ocean. Dutch, French, and British ships began to flaunt the Portuguese monopoly and found trading forts and colonies of their own. Gradually the Portuguese were forced out of many of their most valuable possessions. The northerners also took the lead in exploring the last unknown regions of the Pacific Ocean. Dutch explorers such as Willem Jansz and Abel Tasman explored the coasts of Australia while in the eighteenth century it was British explorer James Cook that mapped much of Polynesia.

The effect of the Age of Exploration was unprecedented. For millennia it had been the Mediterranean economy that had been the continent’s most vibrant and regions like Italy and Greece had thus been the wealthiest and most potent. The newly dominant Atlantic economy was controlled by the states of Western Europe, such as France, Britain, and Germany, and to the present they have been the wealthiest and most powerful on the continent.

Following the period of exploration was the Commercial Revolution when trans-oceanic trade became commonplace. The importance of trade made it so that traders and merchants, not the feudal landowners, were the most powerful class in society. In time in Britain, France and other nations thus bourgeoisie would come to control the politics and government of the nations.

Age of Exploration. Authored by : Sheppard Software. Located at : http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Europeweb/factfile/Unique-facts-Europe7.htm . License : Other . License Terms : GNU Free Documentation License; Paragraphs Removed
The Santa Maria at anchor. Authored by : Andries van Eertvelt. Located at : http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/images/Europe/factfile/Santamaria.jpg . License : Other
Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus). Located at : http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/images/Europe/factfile/CristobalColon.jpg . License : Other
Defeat of the Spanish Armada. Authored by : Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg. Located at : http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/images/Europe/factfile/Spanish_Armada.jpg . License : Other

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The 3 Gs Age of Exploration

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Causes and Impacts of the European Age of Exploration

Introduction

With today’s global positioning satellites, Internet maps, cell phones, and superfast travel, it is hard to imagine exactly how it might have felt to embark on a voyage across an unknown ocean. What lay across the ocean? In the early 1400s in Europe, few people knew. How long would it take to get there? That depended on the wind, the weather, and the distance. Days would have run together, with no sounds but the voices of the captain and the crew, the creaking of the sails, the blowing wind, and the splash of waves against the ship’s hull.

Would you be willing to undertake such a voyage? Only those most adventurous, most daring, and most confident in their abilities to sail in any weather, manage any crew, and meet any circumstance dared do so. They sailed west from England, Spain, and Portugal to North America. They sailed south from Portugal and Spain to South America, to lands where the Incas lived. They traveled to Africa, past the kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. The crew of one Portuguese expedition even sailed completely around the world.

European explorers changed the world in many dramatic ways. Because of them, cultures divided by 3,000 miles or more of water began interacting. European countries claimed large parts of the world. As nations competed for territory, Europe had an enormous impact on people living in distant lands.

The Americas, in turn, made important contributions to Europe and the rest of the world. For example, from the Americas came crops such as corn and potatoes, which grew well in Europe. By increasing Europe’s food supply, these crops helped create population growth.

Another great change during the early modern age was the Scientific Revolution. Between 1500 and 1700, scientists used observation and experiments to make dramatic discoveries. For example, Isaac Newton formulated the laws of gravity. The Scientific Revolution also led to the invention of new tools, such as the microscope and the thermometer.

Advances in science helped pave the way for a period called the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment began in the late 1600s. Enlightenment thinkers used observation and reason to try to solve problems in society. Their work led to new ideas about government, human nature, and human rights.

The Age of Exploration, the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment helped to shape the world we live in today.

The Causes of European Exploration

Why did European exploration begin to flourish in the 1400s? Two main reasons stand out. First, Europeans of this time had several motives for exploring the world. Second, advances in knowledge and technology helped to make the Age of Exploration possible.

Motives for Exploration

For early explorers, one of the main motives for exploration was the desire to find new trade routes to Asia. By the 1400s, merchants and Crusaders had brought many goods to Europe from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Demand for these goods increased the desire for trade.

Europeans were especially interested in spices from Asia. They had learned to use spices to help preserve food during winter and to cover up the taste of food that was no longer fresh.

Trade with the East, however, was difficult and very expensive. Muslims and Italians controlled the flow of goods. Muslim traders carried goods to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Italian merchants then brought the goods into Europe. Problems arose when Muslim rulers sometimes closed the trade routes from Asia to Europe. Also, the goods went through many hands, and each trading party raised the price.

European monarchs and merchants wanted to break the hold that Muslims and Italians had on trade. One way to do so was to find a sea route to Asia. Portuguese sailors looked for a route that went around Africa. Christopher Columbus tried to reach Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic.

Other motives also came into play. Many people were excited by the opportunity for new knowledge. Explorers saw the chance to earn fame and glory, as well as wealth. As new lands were discovered, nations wanted to claim the lands’ riches for themselves.

A final motive for exploration was the desire to spread Christianity beyond Europe. Both Protestant and Catholic nations were eager to make new converts. Missionaries of both faiths followed the paths blazed by explorers.

Advances in Knowledge and Technology

The Age of Exploration began during the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a time of new learning. A number of advances during that time made it easier for explorers to venture into the unknown.

One key advance was in cartography, the art and science of mapmaking. In the early 1400s, an Italian scholar translated an ancient book called Guide to Geography from Greek into Latin. The book was written by the thinker Ptolemy (TOL-eh-mee) in the 2nd century C.E. Printed copies of the book inspired new interest in cartography. European mapmakers used Ptolemy’s work as a basis for drawing more accurate maps.

Discoveries by explorers gave mapmakers new information with which to work. The result was a dramatic change in Europeans’ view of the world. By the 1500s, Europeans made globes, showing Earth as a sphere. In 1507, a German cartographer made the first map that clearly showed North and South America as separate from Asia.

In turn, better maps made navigation easier. The most important Renaissance geographer, Gerardus Mercator (mer-KAY-tur), created maps using improved lines of longitude and latitude. Mercator’s mapmaking technique was a great help to navigators.

An improved ship design also helped explorers. By the 1400s, Portuguese and Spanish shipbuilders were making a new type of ship called a caravel. These ships were small, fast, and easy to maneuver. Their special bottoms made it easier for explorers to travel along coastlines where the water was not deep. Caravels also used lateen sails, a triangular style adapted from Muslim ships. These sails could be positioned to take advantage of the wind no matter which way it blew.

Along with better ships, new navigational tools helped sailors travel more safely on the open seas. By the end of the 1400s, the compass was much improved. Sailors used compasses to find their bearing, or direction of travel. The astrolabe helped sailors determine their distance north or south from the equator.

Finally, improved weapons gave Europeans a huge advantage over the people they met in their explorations. Sailors could fire their cannons at targets near the shore without leaving their ships. On land, the weapons of native peoples often were no match for European guns, armor, and horses.

Portugal Begins the Age of Exploration

The Age of Exploration began in Portugal. This small country is located on the Iberian Peninsula. Its rulers sent explorers first to nearby Africa and then around the world.

Key Portuguese Explorers

The major figure in early Portuguese exploration was Prince Henry, the son of King John I of Portugal. Nicknamed “the Navigator,” Prince Henry was not an explorer himself. Instead, he encouraged exploration and planned and directed many important expeditions.

Beginning in about 1418, Henry sent explorers to sea almost every year. He also started a school of navigation where sailors and mapmakers could learn their trades. His cartographers made new maps based on the information ship captains brought back.

Henry’s early expeditions focused on the west coast of Africa. He wanted to continue the Crusades against the Muslims, find gold, and take part in Asian trade.

Gradually, Portuguese explorers made their way farther and farther south. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa.

In July 1497, Vasco da Gama set sail with four ships to chart a sea route to India. Da Gama’s ships rounded Africa’s southern tip and then sailed up the east coast of the continent. With the help of a sailor who knew the route to India from there, they were able to across the Indian Ocean.

Da Gama arrived in the port of Calicut, India, in May 1498. There he obtained a load of cinnamon and pepper. On the return trip to Portugal, da Gama lost half of his ships. Still, the valuable cargo he brought back paid for the voyage many times over. His trip made the Portuguese even more eager to trade directly with Indian merchants.

In 1500, Pedro Cabral (kah-BRAHL) set sail for India with a fleet of 13 ships. Cabral first sailed southwest to avoid areas where there are no winds to fill sails. But he sailed so far west that he reached the east coast of present-day Brazil. After claiming this land for Portugal, he sailed back to the east and rounded Africa. Arriving in Calicut, he established a trading post and signed trade treaties. He returned to Portugal in June 1501.

The Impact of 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 enslaved Africans. They also found a sea route to India. From India, explorers brought back spices, such as cinnamon and pepper, and other goods, such as porcelain, incense, jewels, and silk.

After Cabral’s voyage, the Portuguese took control of the eastern sea routes to Asia. They seized the seaport of Goa (GOH-uh) in India and built forts there. They attacked towns on the east coast of Africa. They also set their sights on the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, in what is now Indonesia. In 1511, they attacked the main port of the islands and killed the Muslim defenders. The captain of this expedition explained what was at stake. If Portugal could take the spice trade away from Muslim traders, he wrote, then Cairo and Makkah “will be ruined.” As for Italian merchants, “Venice will receive no spices unless her merchants go to buy them in Portugal.”

Portugal’s control of the Indian Ocean broke the hold Muslims and Italians had on Asian trade. With the increased competition, prices of Asian goods—such as spices and fabrics—dropped, and more people in Europe could afford to buy them.

During the 1500s, Portugal also began to establish colonies in Brazil. The native people of Brazil suffered greatly as a result. The Portuguese forced them to work on sugar plantations, or large farms. They also tried to get them to give up their religion and convert to Christianity. Missionaries sometimes tried to protect them from abuse, but countless numbers of native peoples died from overwork and from European diseases. Others fled into the interior of Brazil.

The colonization of Brazil also had a negative impact on Africa. As the native population of Brazil decreased, the Portuguese needed more laborers. Starting in the mid–1500s, they turned to Africa. Over the next 300 years, ships brought millions of enslaved West Africans to Brazil.

Later Spanish Exploration and Conquest

After Columbus’s voyages, Spain was eager to claim even more lands in the New World. To explore and conquer “New Spain,” the Spanish turned to adventurers called conquistadors , or conquerors. The conquistadors were allowed to establish settlements and seize the wealth of natives. In return, the Spanish government claimed some of the treasures they found.

Key Explorers

In 1519, Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés (er–NAHN koor–TEZ), with and a band of fellow conquistadors, set out to explore present-day Mexico. Native people in Mexico told Cortés about the Aztecs. The Aztecs had built a large and wealthy empire in Mexico.

With the help of a native woman named Malinche (mah–LIN–chay), Cortés and his men reached the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán (tay–nawh–tee–TLAHN). The Aztec ruler, Moctezuma II, welcomed the Spanish with great honors. Determined to break the power of the Aztecs, Cortés took Moctezuma hostage.

Cortés now controlled the Aztec capital. In 1520, he left the city of Tenochtitlán to battle a rival Spanish force. While he was away, a group of conquistadors attacked the Aztecs in the middle of a religious celebration. In response, the Aztecs rose up against the Spanish. The soldiers had to fight their way out of the city. Many of them were killed during the escape.

The following year, Cortés mounted a siege of the city, aided by thousands of native allies who resented Aztec rule. The Aztecs ran out of food and water, yet they fought desperately. After several months, the Spanish captured the Aztec leader, and Aztec resistance collapsed. The city was in ruins. The mighty Aztec Empire was no more.

Four factors contributed to the defeat of the Aztec Empire. First, Aztec legend had predicted the arrival of a white-skinned god. When Cortés appeared, the Aztecs welcomed him because they thought he might be this god, Quetzalcoatl. Second, Cortés was able to make allies of the Aztecs’ enemies. Third, their horses, armor, and superior weapons gave the Spanish an advantage in battle. Fourth, the Spanish carried diseases that caused deadly epidemics among the Aztecs.

Aztec riches inspired Spanish conquistadors to continue their search for gold. In the 1520s, Francisco Pizarro received permission from Spain to conquer the Inca Empire in South America. The Incas ruled an empire that extended throughout most of the Andes Mountains. By the time Pizarro arrived, however, a civil war had weakened that empire.

In April 1532, the Incan emperor, Atahualpa (ah–tuh–WAHL–puh), greeted the Spanish as guests. Following Cortés’s example, Pizarro launched a surprise attack and kidnapped the emperor. Although the Incas paid a roomful of gold and silver in ransom, the Spanish killed Atahualpa. Without their leader, the Inca Empire quickly fell apart.

The Impact of Later Spanish Exploration and Conquest

The explorations and conquests of the conquistadors transformed Spain. The Spanish rapidly expanded foreign trade and overseas colonization. For a time, wealth from the Americas made Spain one of the world’s richest and most powerful countries.

Besides gold and silver, ships from the Americas brought corn and potatoes to Spain. These crops grew well in Europe. The increased food supply helped spur a population boom. Conquistadors also introduced Europeans to new luxury items, such as chocolate.

In the long run, however, gold and silver from the Americas hurt Spain’s economy. Inflation, or an increase in the supply of money, led to a loss of its value. It now cost people a great deal more to buy goods with the devalued money. Additionally, monarchs and the wealthy spent their riches on luxuries, instead of building Spain’s industries.

The Spanish conquests had a major impact on the New World. The Spanish introduced new animals to the Americas, such as horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs. But they destroyed two advanced civilizations. The Aztecs and Incas lost much of their culture along with their wealth. Many became laborers for the Spanish. Millions died from disease. In Mexico, for example, there were about twenty-five million native people in 1519. By 1605, this number had dwindled to one million.

Other European Explorations

Spain and Portugal dominated the early years of exploration. But rulers in rival nations wanted their own share of trade and new lands in the Americas. Soon England, France, and the Netherlands all sent expeditions to North America.

Key Explorers

Explorers often sailed for any country that would pay for their voyages. The Italian sailor John Cabot made England’s first voyage of discovery. Cabot believed he could reach the Indies by sailing northwest across the Atlantic. In 1497, he landed in what is now Canada. Believing he had reached the northeast coast of Asia, he claimed the region for England.

Another Italian, Giovanni da Verrazano, sailed under the French flag. In 1524, Verrazano explored the Atlantic coast from present-day North Carolina to Canada. His voyage gave France its first claims in the Americas. Unfortunately, on a later trip to the West Indies, he was killed by native people.

Sailing on behalf of the Netherlands, English explorer Henry Hudson journeyed to North America in 1609. Hudson wanted to find a northwest passage through North America to the Pacific Ocean. Such a water route would allow ships to sail from Europe to Asia without entering waters controlled by Spain.

Hudson did not find a northwest passage, but he did explore what is now called the Hudson River in present-day New York State. His explorations were the basis of the Dutch claim to the area. Dutch settlers established the colony of New Amsterdam on Manhattan in 1625.

In 1610, Hudson tried again, this time under the flag of his native England. Searching farther north, he sailed into a large bay in Canada that is now called Hudson Bay. He spent three months looking for an outlet to the Pacific, but there was none.

After a hard winter in the icy bay, some of Hudson’s crew rebelled. They set him, his son, and seven loyal followers adrift in a small boat. Hudson and the other castaways were never seen again. Hudson’s voyage, however, laid the basis for later English claims in Canada.

The Impact of European Exploration of North America

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 in that region.

Canada’s shores did offer 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 whale oil and otter, beaver, and fox furs. By the early 1600s, Europeans had set up a number of trading posts in North America.

English exploration also contributed to a war between England and Spain. As English ships roamed the seas, some captains, nicknamed “sea dogs,” began raiding Spanish ports and ships to take their gold. Between 1577 and 1580, sea dog Francis Drake sailed around the world. He also claimed part of what is now California for England, ignoring Spain’s claims to the area.

The English raids added to other tensions between England and Spain. In 1588, King Philip II of Spain sent an armada, or fleet of ships, to invade England. With 130 heavily armed vessels and about thirty thousand men, the Spanish Armada seemed an unbeatable force. But the smaller English fleet was fast and well armed. Their guns had a longer range, so they could attack from a safe distance. After several battles, a number of the armada’s ships had been sunk or driven ashore. The rest turned around but faced terrible storms on the way home. Fewer than half of the ships made it back to Spain.

The defeat of the Spanish Armada marked the start of a shift in power in Europe. By 1630, Spain no longer dominated the continent. With Spain’s decline, other countries—particularly England and the Netherlands—took a more active role in trade and colonization around the world.

Bartolomé de Las Casas: From Conquistador to Protector of the Indians

Bartolomé de las Casas experienced a remarkable change of heart during his lifetime. At first, he participated in Spain’s conquest and settlement of the Americas. Later in life, he criticized and condemned it. For more than fifty years, he fought for the rights of the defeated and enslaved peoples of Latin America. How did this conquistador become known as “the Protector of the Indians?”

Bartolomé de las Casas (bahr–taw–law–MEY day las KAH-sahs) ran through the streets of Seville, Spain, on March 31, 1493. He was just nine years old and on his way to see Christopher Columbus, who had just returned from his first voyage to the Americas. Bartolomé wanted to see him and the “Indians,” as they were called, as they paraded to the church.

Bartolomé’s father and uncles were looking forward to seeing Columbus, as well. Like many other people in Europe during the late 1400s, they saw the Americas as a place of opportunity. They signed up to join Columbus on his second voyage. Two years after that, Bartolomé followed in his father’s footsteps and voyaged to the Americas himself. He sailed to the island of Hispaniola, the present-day nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Las Casas as Conquistador and Priest

One historian wrote that when Las Casas first arrived in the Americas, he was “not much better than the rest of the gentlemen-adventurers who rushed to the New World, bent on speedily acquiring fortunes.” He supported the Spanish conquest of the Americas and was a loyal servant of Spain’s king and queen, Ferdinand and Isabella. Once in Hispaniola, Las Casas helped to manage his father’s farms and businesses. Enslaved Indians worked in the family’s fields and mines.

Spanish conquistadors wanted to gain wealth and glory in the Americas. They had another goal, as well—to convert Indians to Christianity. Las Casas shared this goal. So, the young conquistador went back to Europe to become a priest. He returned to Hispaniola sometime in 1509 or 1510. There he began to teach and baptize the Indians. At the same time, he continued to manage Indian slaves.

On a Path to Change

History often seems to be made up of moments when someone has a change of heart. The path that he or she has been traveling takes a dramatic turn. It often appears to others that this change is sudden. In reality, a series of events usually causes a person to make the decision to change. One such event happened to Las Casas in 1511.

Roman Catholics in Hispaniola witnessed horrible acts of cruelty and injustice against the native peoples of the West Indies at the hands of the Spanish conquistadors. One of the priests there, Father Antonio de Montesinos, spoke out against the harsh treatment of the Indians in a sermon delivered to a Spanish congregation in Hispaniola in 1511. De Montesinos said:

You are in mortal sin . . . for the cruelty and tyranny you use in dealing with these innocent people . . . by what right or justice do you keep these Indians in such a cruel and horrible servitude? . . . Why do you keep them so oppressed? . . . Are not these people also human beings?

One historian called this sermon “the first cry for justice in America” on behalf of the Indians. Las Casas recorded the sermon in one of his books, History of the Indies . No one is sure if he was present at the sermon or heard about it later. But one thing seems certain; even though he must have seen some of the same injustices described by de Montesinos, Las Casas continued to support the Spanish conquest and the goals of conquering new lands, earning wealth, and converting Indians to Christianity.

However, in 1513, something happened that changed Las Casas’s life. He took part in the conquest of Cuba. As a reward, he received more Indian slaves and an encomienda , or land grant. But he also witnessed a massacre. The Spanish killed thousands of innocent Indians, including women and children, who had welcomed the Spanish into their town. In his book The Devastation of the Indies: A Brief Account , he wrote, “I saw here cruelty on a scale no living being has ever seen or expects to see.”

A Turning Point

The Cuban massacre in 1513 and other scenes of violence against Indians Las Casas witnessed finally pushed him to a turning point. He could no longer believe that the Spanish conquest was right. Before, he had thought that only some individuals acted cruelly and inhumanely. Now he saw that the whole Spanish system of conquest brought only death and suffering to the people of the West Indies.

On August 15, 1514, when he was about thirty years old, Las Casas gave a startling sermon. He asked his congregation to free their enslaved Indians. He also said that they had to return or pay for everything they had taken away from the Indians. He refused to forgive the colonists’ sins in confession if they used Indians as forced labor. Then he announced that he would give up his ownership of Indians and the business he had inherited from his father.

Protector of the Indians

For the rest of his life, Las Casas fought for the rights of the Indians in the Americas. He traveled back and forth to Europe working on their behalf. He talked with popes and kings, debated enemies, and wrote letters and books on the subject.

Las Casas influenced both a pope and a king. In 1537, Pope Paul III wrote that Indians were free human beings, not slaves, and that anyone who enslaved them could be thrown out of the Catholic Church. In 1542, Holy Roman emperor Charles V, who ruled Spain, issued the New Laws, banning slavery in Spanish America.

In 1550 and 1551, Las Casas also took part in a famous debate against Juan Ginés Sepúlveda in Spain. Sepúlveda tried to prove that Indians were “natural slaves.” Many Spanish, especially those hungry for wealth and glory, shared this belief. Las Casas passionately argued against Sepúlveda with the same message he would deliver over and over throughout his life. Las Casas argued that:

• Indians, like all human beings, have rights to life and liberty. • The Spanish stole Indian land through bloody and unjust wars. • There is no such thing as a good encomienda. • Indians have the right to make war against the Spanish.

Las Casas died in 1566. The voices and the deeds of the conquistadors slowly eroded the memory of his words. But in other European countries, people began to read The Devastation of the Indies: A Brief Account . As time passed, more of Las Casas’s works were published. In the centuries to follow, fighters for justice took up his name as a symbol for their own struggles for human rights.

The Legacy of Las Casas

Today, historians remember Las Casas as the first person to actively oppose the oppression of Indians and to call for an end to Indian slavery. Later, in the 19th century, Las Casas inspired both Father Hidalgo, the father of Mexican independence, and Simón Bolívar, the liberator of South America.

In the 1960s, Mexican American César Chávez learned about injustice at an early age. His family worked as migrants, moving from place to place to pick crops. With barely an eighth-grade education, Chávez organized workers, formed a union, and won better pay and better working and living conditions. Speaking for the powerless, he rallied people to his side with his cry, “Sí, Se Puede!” (“Yes, We Can!”) Just as the name “Chávez” will always be connected to the struggles of the farm workers, the name “Las Casas” will forever be connected to any fight for human rights and dignity for the native people of the Americas.

The Impact of Exploration on Europe

The voyages of explorers had a dramatic impact on European commerce and economies. As a result of exploration, more goods, raw materials, and precious metals entered Europe. Mapmakers carefully charted trade routes and the locations of newly discovered lands. By the 1700s, European ships traveled trade routes that spanned the globe. New centers of commerce developed in the port cities of the Netherlands and England.

Exploration and trade contributed to the growth of capitalism. This economic system is based on investing money for profit. Merchants gained great wealth by trading and selling goods from around the world. Many of them used their profits to finance still more voyages and to start trading companies. Other people began investing money in these companies and shared in the profits. Soon, this type of shared ownership was applied to other kinds of businesses.

Another aspect of the capitalist economy concerned the way people exchanged goods and services. Money became more important as precious metals flowed into Europe. Instead of having a fixed price, items were sold for prices that were set by the open market. This meant that the price of an item depended on how much of the item was available and how many people wanted to buy it. Sellers could charge high prices for scarce items that many people wanted. If the supply of an item was large and few people wanted it, sellers lowered the price. This kind of system, based on supply and demand, is called a market economy.

Labor, too, was given a money value. Increasingly, people began working for hire instead of directly providing for their own needs. Merchants hired people to work from their own cottages, turning raw materials from overseas into finished products. This growing cottage industry was especially important in the manufacture of textiles. Often, entire families worked at home, spinning wool into thread or weaving thread into cloth. Cottage industry was a step toward the system of factories operated by capitalists in later centuries.

A final result of exploration was a new economic policy called mercantilism. European rulers believed that building up wealth was the best way to increase a nation’s power. For this reason, they tried to reduce the products they bought from other countries and to increase the items they sold.

Having colonies was a key part of this policy. Nations looked to their colonies to supply raw materials for their industries at home. These industries turned the raw materials into finished goods that they could sell back to their colonies, as well as to other countries. To protect this valuable trade with their colonies, rulers often forbade colonists from trading with other nations.

Originally published by Flores World History , free and open access, republished for educational, non-commercial purposes.

Did the Age of Exploration bring more harm than good?

From the 15th century, European navigators sailed in search of new routes, lands and opportunities for trade and exploitation, spreading and gaining knowledge, and transforming the lives of peoples they encountered. Here, six historians debate whether we should celebrate or condemn these trailblazers...

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Margaret Small: “The Age of Exploration paved the way for the globalised economies we see today”

For the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas, the potential benefits of contact with other peoples were far outweighed by the brutality of European conquest and colonisation, and the ravages of European diseases that cut a swathe through the populations. The experiences of the Taino of Hispaniola and the Beothuk of Newfoundland painfully demonstrate the harm brought about by the Age of Exploration: both were among the peoples the Europeans first encountered in the Americas, and both are now extinct. We have yet to even fully understand what was lost in this devastation.

This era also saw large-scale European involvement in the slave trade. By 1820, it’s thought that more than 10 million west Africans had found themselves unwilling slaves in the Americas. Their own societies were destabilised and depopulated. For them, the Age of Exploration undoubtedly brought more harm than good.

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For many Europeans, the answer was more often favourable. Europe was able to establish vast trading companies that frequently tapped into local trade systems and created a global commodities network. Conquest and colonisation drew wealth and power into the European sphere, allowing that region to assume a position of global dominance. In the process, Europe became richer than it had ever been before. Even some of the flora and fauna exchanged proved hugely profitable for Europe. Though the potato later became associated with the catastrophic Irish famine in the 1840s, the introduction of that one crop alone helped Europe sustain a huge labour force in the face of a massive population growth in the 18th century.

Considering the issue from a global perspective rather than a regional one, it becomes more of a philosophical question. The Age of Exploration provided opportunities for societies and cultures to interact; it brought all parts of the world into contact with each other, paving the way for the globalised economies we see today; it enabled a knowledge network to extend across the whole globe. In a sense, our modern world is built on the back of the changes introduced by the European Age of Exploration – so it becomes a question of judgement on the modern world.

Margaret Small is lecturer in early modern history at the University of Birmingham, with a focus on European exploration and colonisation in the 16th century

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François soyer: “the portuguese took the decisive first steps in the creation of a lasting european stranglehold on world trade”.

As the first monarchy to send explorers beyond the geographical limits of Europe, Portugal can claim the title of initiator of the so-called Age of Exploration. From 1415, Portuguese merchants and mariners explored the coasts of western Africa, reaching the Cape of Good Hope in the 1480s. Seeking to establish direct trade links with Asia, in 1497 a fleet under the command of Vasco da Gama sailed around the Cape to India, followed by yearly expeditions. From 1497 to 1510, the Portuguese established supremacy in the Indian Ocean, in the face of stiff opposition from Muslim and Hindu rivals. In 1500, the expedition of Pedro Álvares Cabral was blown off course on its way to India and reached the shores of Brazil.

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The impact of the Portuguese Age of Discovery on modern world history cannot be overstated. On an economic level, it initiated a revolution in world trade. Spices and other Asian goods that had previously transited to Europe via the Islamic world were now directly imported by Portuguese (and later by Dutch and British) ships. To this was later added the lucrative flow of sugar and diamonds from Brazil. The Portuguese thus took the decisive first steps in the creation of a lasting European stranglehold on world trade. In turn, this ensured European economic prosperity and global political hegemony until the 20th century.

But the human toll was very heavy. The Portuguese position in Asia was precarious and dependent upon the calculated use of military force and violence against competitors – for example, the slaughter of the Muslim population of Goa. Most importantly, the Portuguese initiated the transatlantic slave trade. The Portuguese and other Europeans oversaw the forced removal of millions of west Africans, and their dispatch to the mines and fields of the Americas – men and women whose blood, sweat and lives contributed to the enrichment of European empires. In the end, the answer to the question of whether the era brought more harm than good depends on whether we approach it from the perspective of the self-proclaimed European explorers or the peoples (Asian, African and American) with whom they came into contact.

François Soyer is senior lecturer in history at the University of New England at Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

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Graciela Iglesias-Rogers: “Exploring entails entanglements of all sorts; some are desirable, others not”

In early February this year, scientists announced the discovery of a vast hidden network of towns, farms and highways beneath the trees of a remote Guatemalan jungle. The finding suggests that about 1,200 years ago the region supported a Maya population of up to 20 million people – roughly equivalent to half of Europe’s population at the time. A game-changer for archaeologists, this breakthrough highlights a weakness in the set question: there is no such thing as an ‘Age of Exploration’. It is inherent in human nature to look out into the unknown. This discovery underlines the fact that we have been exploring since time began: the earliest inhabitants of the Americas did it, expanding their territories; the Spanish Conquistadors and later adventurers did it; and humans will continue doing it in the future.

Archaeologists had assumed that Maya cities were isolated and self-sufficient; now it seems that a far more complex, interconnected society flourished. Yet this discovery owes much to the pioneering scientific expeditions of Ramón Ordóñez (1773), José Antonio Calderón (1784), Antonio del Río (1786), Alexander von Humboldt (1803–04), José Luciano Castañeda (1805–07) and, crucially, Juan Galindo (1831–34). Galindo was no great scientist; the Dublin-born son of an English actor, he set off for the Americas to volunteer in the Latin American wars of independence, and became governor of the Guatemalan department of Petén.

Uniquely positioned to navigate through the Hispanic-Anglosphere, his greatest contribution consisted of vivid accounts of Maya ruins, published in London and New York. His reports captured the imaginations of many people, including John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood who, between 1839 and 1842, followed his trail to become founders of Classic Maya studies. Exploring entails entanglements of all sorts; some are desirable, others not. The latest discovery adds credibility to the theory that societal dynamics linked to the depletion of natural resources explain the collapse of the Classic Maya around AD 900. Laser pulse technology, instead of machetes, allowed the stripping away of tree canopy from aerial images to reveal the ancient civilisation underneath, thus proving that exploration and natural and heritage preservation can be compatible activities.

Graciela Iglesias-Rogers is senior lecturer in modern European and global Hispanic history at the University of Winchester

Emma Reisz: “Disease was largely an accidental means of conquest – but was devastating in its effects”

During the Age of Exploration, Europeans connected the world into a single navigational system, triggering an era of imperial competition as European states expanded across the globe through trade, colonisation and coercion. This produced many of the global interconnections that underpin the modern world – but these were established at a vast human cost, paid by some populations and not others. Benefits such as access to new foods and luxuries, and to new scientific knowledge, accrued disproportionately (but not exclusively) to Europeans.

Conversely, the harms were mostly experienced by the rest of the world. The slave trade was the most egregious example, enriching Europe and its colonists through the suffering of Africans. Disease was largely an accidental means of conquest but was devastating in its effects, as infections endemic to the Old World ravaged populations in the Americas and Australasia. It was not certain at the start of the 15th century that Europeans would dominate global maritime networks. The expeditions of Chinese admiral Zheng He along the rim of the Indian Ocean (1405–33) had much in common with those of Henry the Navigator on the other side of Afro-Eurasia. When Vasco da Gama arrived in east Africa in 1498, his sailors were mistaken by the locals for Chinese.

By the mid-15th century, though, the Ming court had abandoned maritime expansion, and Chinese proto-colonialism around the Indian Ocean ended. Zheng He’s expeditions had comparatively little impact on world history, whereas the maritime route from Europe to India that da Gama established transformed global trade. Had early globalisation been Sino-European rather than solely European, the ratio of harms to benefits might have been no more equitable for the rest of the world, however. In 1411, Ming forces overthrew the Kotte king in Sri Lanka, and in a c1431–33 inscription Zheng He boasted that “the countries beyond the horizon and from the ends of the earth have all become [Chinese] subjects”. Europeans were not unique in seeking to profit from maritime expansion – though in the early modern world they were uniquely successful in doing so.

Emma Reisz is lecturer in history at Queen’s University Belfast

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Glyn Williams: “Pacific islanders adopted new ideas and techniques from European explorers”

The second Age of Exploration, extending over the long 18th century, was most notable for Europe’s expansion into the Pacific – or, as Alan Moorehead saw it in his influential 1967 book The Fatal Impact, Europe’s ‘invasion’ of the vast ocean and its 25,000 islands. Following the voyages of Cook and his contemporaries in the second half of the 18th century, Tahiti became the geographical and emotional centre of Polynesia, praised by the French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville as “the happy island of Cythera... the true Utopia”. In time, these idyllic impressions were modified as evidence was found throughout the Pacific of human sacrifice, infanticide and cannibalism, and by the end of the century few argued that the islands should be left untouched by European contact.

This came at a cost: the lives of the inhabitants of the Pacific, from Hawaii in the north to New Zealand in the south, were disrupted by the uncontrolled activities of whalers, traders and beachcombers, themselves often the rejects of society. They used the islands for victualling and refitting, using as payment the lethal combination of firearms and liquor. The only protective influence came from missionaries – but their presence, too, had a profound effect on the islands’ traditional societies.

This ‘fatal impact’ thesis has remained compelling, but in recent decades its conclusions have been challenged by scholars – anthropologists as well as historians – working with local rather than European sources. Islanders gradually came to be seen not as helpless victims of technologically superior newcomers but as participants in a process of mutual exploitation. This collaboration was seen most clearly in the emergence of three island kingdoms: Tahiti (ruled by Pomare), Hawaii (ruled by Kamehameha) and Tonga (ruled by Taufa‘ahau). The details of how these centralised kingdoms emerged differ, but each of these rulers used European alliances to strengthen his position. More generally, islanders adopted new ideas and techniques; in renowned New Zealand historian Kerry Howe’s words, they “proved adaptable, resourceful, and resilient”. The arrival of Europeans marked a turning point in Pacific history but, despite population losses from disease and warfare, it did not have in the long term the catastrophic impact once suggested.

Glyn Williams is emeritus professor of history at the University of London, and author of books including Naturalists at Sea: Scientific Travellers from Dampier to Darwin (Yale, 2013)

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Julia McClure: “The idea of the ‘Age of Exploration’ whitewashes history, giving a more noble and scholarly appearance to an age of imperialism”

This is a trick question. It embeds European explorers between the 15th and 17th centuries in a noble narrative of discovery, giving the false impression that they travelled beyond their localities for the expansion of human knowledge. Columbus’s ‘discovery’ of America in 1492 is often taken as the starting point for the so-called ‘Age of Exploration’ – a point of departure that signposts four ideological problems.

First, taking 1492 as a threshold contributes to the Eurocentric project of modernity that, among other things, overlooks the intellectual vibrancy and transcultural exchanges of the global Middle Ages, from the technological advances of Song-dynasty China to the golden age of Islamic science. Second, the Columbus expedition was not motivated by the expansion of knowledge but by the acquisition of resources – and when the hoped-for riches did not materialise, Conquistadors looked to the people and the natural resources of the Americas as a source of wealth.

Third, the ‘discovery’ of the ‘New World’ did not mark an epistemological rupture; Columbus went to his grave quite unaware that he had stumbled upon a new continent. Many of the ‘explorers’ who followed in his footsteps did not discover something new but, rather, encountered fragmented versions of themselves, their desires and ambitions. The nomenclature of the Americas betrays how late-medieval imaginations ordered the New World: for example, the Amazon took its name from Greek mythology.

Finally, the ‘Age of Exploration’ construct has prioritised European perspectives and knowledge. What of the Amerindians looking back at the Europeans exploring their world? Many aspects of their histories have yet to be told. The idea of the ‘Age of Exploration’ does more harm than good, because it whitewashes history, giving a more noble and scholarly appearance to what was actually an age of imperialism. Europeans may have increased their knowledge of the flora, fauna, and topographies of the world in this period, but they often did so at the expense of indigenous knowledge and value systems. Whatever the orientations of new histories of global knowledge, we must never overlook the critical relationship between knowledge and power.

Julia McClure is lecturer in history at the University of Glasgow, and author of The Franciscan Invention of the New World (Palgrave, 2016)

This article was first published in Issue 9 of World Histories magazine, in April/May 2018

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The Age of Exploration Essay Example

Introduction

In this essay, I will be telling you about the age of exploration, and how it affected the lives of all of the people living in that time. The age of exploration was when the European nations started traveling around the globe discovering new places to colenolenis. The age of exploration began in 1400 and went on until 1600. Some of its most famous explorers were Christopher Colombus and Henry Hudson.

What were the causes of the age of exploration?

Some of the causes of the age of exploration were religion, Economy/gold, glory

Religion, all of the sailors who were traveling were religious some of the events ad active priests whose task was to spread the religion of Christianity around the globe. That's why most of America is Christian. Some of the countries that sponsored the salers wanted to get more gold that they can use for their profit and sponsor other explorers. Another cause to explore was Glory, the explorers wanted to discover some new place and come back to their home country as heroes and sometimes they were even given some kind of positions in the government

Effects of the Age of Exploration on the modern earth

Some of the things that the age of exploration caused were good but weren't so good.

Some of the possessive effects of the Age of Exploration were that New places were discovered and colonized that made the discovery of the Colombian trade system. But there also were a bunch of bad parts like the way we treated the natives and how we brought the smallpox disease to their country, murdering a lot of the native population. The Colombian trade system was a trade route system that brought things such as diseases, honey bees, grains, etc to America, and things from America such as turkey Tobacco, tomatoes, Maize/corn to Europe. It also spread the Christian religion further.

But there were also negatives to them like the way that we used to treat the native Americans who were there before us. We would do gruesome and horrific things to their population, LIke for example if we suspected them of stealing we would cut their hands off and tie them on a string and make them wear them on their bodies. Also, the sailors who sailed there ad viruses such as smallpox, what they didn't know was that our organism had an immune system to these viruses but there's waste so that pretty much wiped out their population

Who were some of the most famous explorers in the age of exploration

One of the explorers in the age of exploration was Christopher Columbus, who discovered America even though he didn't know about it. Henry Hudson, who was looking for the northwest passage to China and Japan, found the direct route to North America. And Samuel De Champlain, who made the first colonies of France, which were Canadian Quebec and Louisiana←( named after King Louis the XIV ). Christophe Columbus was Italian But he sailed for the Spanish monarchs. He was looking for a direct route to India, Whilst sailing to where he thought was India one of his crew members screamed “Tierra, Tierra '' making him think that they already arrived in India while he landed in the Bahamas. Because of that, he started calling the natives who lived there Indian. Henry Hudson was an English explorer who sailed on behalf of the dutch. Henry was looking for the northwest passage. While he was there he found what was now known to be New York. Knowing that wasn't China or japan He cognized it, naming it the new Amsterdam. The route that he took was the Direct route to North America and it would be used by other Nations. Samuel De Champlain was a French explorer sailing with his home country. He had around 29 trips around the Atlantic ocean. While on one of his trips he came across Canada, he straight away made a colony there calling it French Quebec, later he went deeper into North America and found Louisiana.

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Amerigo Vespucci’s Expeditions: Mapping a New World

This essay about Amerigo Vespucci explores his pivotal role in reshaping Europe’s understanding of the world during the Age of Exploration. It discusses his expeditions in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, which revealed the existence of a distinct “New World” separate from Asia. Vespucci’s voyages along the eastern coast of South America contributed to a transformation in European cartography and geographical knowledge. Despite historical debates about the accuracy of his accounts, Vespucci’s influence on European perceptions of the Americas remains significant, as his writings popularized the idea of a new continent and led to the incorporation of “America” on maps. In summary, Vespucci’s explorations played a crucial role in advancing European understanding of geography and paving the way for future explorations of the New World.

How it works

Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian voyager and seafarer, assumed a pivotal role in redefining Europe’s comprehension of the world during the Age of Exploration. His maritime expeditions in the latter part of the 15th and early 16th centuries illuminated that the recently discovered lands were not contiguous with Asia, as previously surmised, but rather constituted a distinct “New World.” The nomenclature “America” was subsequently derived from his appellation, in tribute to his contributions to discerning the autonomy of these territories. Vespucci’s odysseys, primarily along the eastern fringes of South America, engendered a cartographic metamorphosis of the era and significantly enriched the epoch’s burgeoning geographical cognizance.

The documented inception of Vespucci’s exploratory pursuits dates back to 1499, when he embarked under the Spanish banner alongside the expeditionary figurehead, Alonso de Ojeda. Departing from Cádiz, the armada traversed the Atlantic to the Lesser Antilles, then proceeded along the northern littoral of South America. They scrutinized regions akin to contemporary Guyana and Venezuela, meticulously documenting the idiosyncratic geographic contours and indigenous civilizations they encountered. Throughout this voyage, Vespucci purportedly journeyed as far south as the estuary of the Amazon River, culminating in the fleet’s return to Spain in 1500, heralding a trove of newfound knowledge.

Subsequent voyages witnessed Vespucci venturing farther afield. In 1501, he aligned with a Portuguese expedition endeavoring to comprehensively chart the southern continental fringe. Departing from Lisbon, the expeditionary entourage reached the eastern coastline of South America and traced a trajectory southward along the shores of contemporary Brazil and Uruguay. On this sojourn, Vespucci and his compatriots discerned the immensity of this landmass and delineated its distinctive topography and climatic features. They traversed beyond the Tropic of Capricorn, penetrating regions proximate to contemporary Patagonia. This expedition proved pivotal in corroborating that South America extended considerably further south than previously conceived, dispelling the notion of its contiguity with Asia.

Vespucci’s missives and chronicles from these ventures assumed seminal import in sculpting European perspectives of the novel realms. Through his epistolary missives, he delineated the topographies he traversed, accentuating the fecund biodiversity and enigmatic cultures encountered. Vespucci postulated that the newly unearthed territories constituted an erstwhile terra incognita, a “New World.” His correspondences garnered widespread dissemination and translation across Europe, exerting an indelible influence on cartographers and savants striving to contemporize their cartographic depictions and geographical discernment.

His indelible imprint on nascent cartography was profound, catalyzing the realization of the scale of this newfound landmass and demarcating it from Asia. This discernment precipitated the incorporation of “America” on nascent maps, bequeathing Vespucci a legacy that transcended his earthly sojourn.

Nevertheless, Vespucci’s legacy remains ensconced in controversy. Historiographers contest the veracity of his purported voyages, intimating that he may have embellished or fabricated segments of his peregrinations. The provenance of certain correspondences attributed to him has been the subject of scholarly disputation. Nevertheless, the incontrovertible fact remains that his maritime odysseys, veritable or embellished, wielded a profound influence on the perception of the New World during the early 16th century.

In summation, Amerigo Vespucci’s peripatetic trajectories, spanning from the northern extremities of South America to the meridional apex of the continent, assumed a seminal role in reframing European comprehension of the world. He audaciously contested extant geographical paradigms, instrumental in demarcating America as a novel continent distinct from Asia. Notwithstanding lingering historiographical ambiguities regarding the precise nature of his sojourns, Vespucci’s imprimatur on exploration and cartography is unequivocal. His magisterial oeuvre forged the bedrock for subsequent navigators and cartographers, heralding the advent of a new epoch in global exploration and enlightenment.

Remember, this treatise serves as a vantage point for contemplation and scholarly inquiry. For bespoke elucidation and academic validation, contemplate enlisting the services of proficient experts at EduBirdie.

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Home / Essay Samples / History / Exploration / The Age of Exploration the World

The Age of Exploration the World

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Topic: Discovery , Exploration , World History

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