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VOYAGES OF
DISCOVERY
The Drive to Explore
• Driven by search for
wealth
• Desired expensive
spices, silk, perfume
from India and China
• Flow of goods to
Europe controlled by
the Italians
• Some people wanted
fame and glory
The Drive to Explore
• Hoped to spread faith
into new lands
• Writings by Marco Polo
intrigued explorers
Advances in Technology
• Compass and astrolabe
helped in navigation
• Compass always
pointed North
• Astrolabe used the
moon and stars
• Ships built to ride lower
in the water
• Capable of withstanding
heavier waves
Advances in Technology
• Had larger cargo holds
• Caravel- a light fast
ship, highly
maneuverable
• Steered from a rudder
in the stern
• Triangular sails to
catch the wind
• Could be used to sail
directly into the wind
Advances in Technology
• Could be equipped
with cannon
• Could face hostile
ships
• Popular because of
maneuverability and
defensive ability
Explorers from Spain and Portugal
• Portugal- first country
with large scale
voyages
• Henry the Navigatorthe prince was a
patron of the explorers
• 1400’s Henry
established a small
court
Explorers from Portugal and Spain
• Sailors
• Mapmakers
• Astronomers
• People interested in
navigation
• Explored the Atlantic
• Western coast of Africa
• Settled in the Azores
and Madeira islands
Explorers from Portugal and Spain
• Portuguese sailors
learned Africa’s coast
• Gold and slave trade
• Goal to find a water
route around Africa to
India
• 1488 Bartolomeu Dias
first European to sail
around southern Africa
Explorers from Portugal and Spain
• 1497 Vasco de Gama
set out for India
• 10 months to reach
India
• Learned about Muslim
traders
• Pedro Cabral sailed
west and discovered
Brazil
Explorers from Portugal and Spain
• Portuguese
established trading
centers in India
• Sailed to lands in
Indonesia
• Became one of the
richest and most
powerful people
The Spanish
• 1492 Isabella and
Ferdinand agreed to
pay for Christopher
Columbus’s voyage
• Thought he could sail
west to China
• Theory correct, size of
the earth was wrong
• Reached the
Caribbean
The Spanish
• Thought he reached
Asian islands after two
months
• Called the people
Indians
• Returned to Spain in
1493
• Brought back native
Americans, gold silver,
parrots, plants
The Spanish
• Columbus made three
more trips
• 1502 Amerigo
Vespucci sailed South
American coast and
said it was not India
• Called the land
America in his honor
The Spanish
• 1513 Vasco de Balboa
took three months to
cross Panama and
saw the Pacific Ocean
• Spanish realized they
need to cross another
ocean
• Ferdinand Magellan
sailed around the
world
The Spanish
• Had five ships and 250
•
•
•
•
men
Some men mutinied and
rebelled
Reached the Philippines
Magellan was killed by
native people
September 8 1522 Spain
was the first people to
circumnavigate the world
Explores from the Rest of Europe
• 1497 John Cabot
sailed from England to
Canada
• Thought he reached
Asia
• After returning to
England he tried again
and his ship
disappeared
Explorers from the Rest of Europe
• Sir Francis Drake
rounded South
America to explore its
west coast
• Tried to sail north
around North America
• Weather turned him
back
• Second man to sail
around the world
Explorers from the Rest of Europe
• England wanted a
shorter route to Asia
• Henry Hudson 1607
tried to find Northeast
passage but found
nothing but ice
The French
• Jacques Cartier- sailed
to Newfoundland and
the Saint Lawrence
River
• He claimed the land for
France
• Called it new France
• Later called it Canada
The Dutch
• 1600 Netherlands became
•
•
•
•
a powerful trading nation
Henry Hudson set sail in
1609
No Northeast Passage
Tried Northwest Passage
through the Americas
Explored what is now the
Hudson River and Bay