 Some advances in science and technology enabled people to make longer, safer sea
voyages. New compasses helped sailors figure out where they were.
 Improvements in mapmaking helped people plan safer routes for their journeys.
 New ships, called Caravels, made sea travel safer and could travel farther then older
ships could.
 Some explorers were curious about the unknown. They hoped to find out what lay
beyond the horizon.
 Some explorers were looking for adventure and excitement.
 Some explorers wanted to spread the Christian faith.
 Some explorers wanted to get rich and find treasure.
 Leaders encouraged these voyages because they thought that it might benefit their
countries through increased trade and wealth.
 Explorers from Europe began to search for an all water route to Asia so that they
could get goods from China and India.

Silks and spices could be found in Asia, but not in Europe.

The first explorers to search for a sea route to Asia were from Portugal.

In 1497-1498 a Portuguese explorer named Vasco da Gama sailed around the
southern tip of Africa and on to the west coast of India.

In 1492 Queen Isabella of Spain helped pay for a voyage led by Christopher
Columbus.
 Christopher Columbus hoped to reach Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic.

Columbus thought he had found a route to Asia, which Europeans called the Indies.
Europeans came to realize that he had reached a land unknown to them.

When it was first discovered Europeans referred to the Americas as the “New
Land.”

Once America was discovered explorers set out from Europe to learn more about
the new land.

Explorers from Spain, Portugal, France, England, and the Netherlands set off to
explore North and South America.

Some explorers went to the Americas in search of the best water route to Asia.

Some explorers went to the Americas in search of riches. They heard that native
people of the Americas had a lot of gold.

Some explorers wanted to conquer the lands and the people of the Americas.

Prince Henry of Portugal was also known as Henry the Navigator.

Henry the Navigator founded a school for sailors, where they could study geography
and astronomy. They learned from experienced sea captains and mapmakers from
all over Europe.

Henry the Navigator believed that there was a faster and less expensive way to
travel to Asia. He was determined to find an all water route from Europe to Asia. He
thought that the best way would be to travel around the southern tip of Africa.

Vasco de Gama was the commander of the first fleet to sail around Africa and make
it to the coast of India.
 Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese sailor, was the first person to try to
circumnavigate, or travel all the way around the Earth. His crew made it around the
world, but he was killed in the Philippines in a conflict with the natives.
Name______________________________
The Age of Exploration
Questions:
1. Why did people want to go on voyages?
2. What made sea voyages more possible?
3. What were the main countries involved in these voyages?
4. Why did explorers from Europe start to search for an all water route to Asia?
5. The first explorers to search for a sea route to Asia were from where?
6. Which explorer sailed around the southern tip of Africa?
7. Who helped finance Christopher Columbus on his voyage?
8. What was Henry the Navigator’s contribution to the age of exploration?
9. Who was the first person to try and circumnavigate, or travel all the way around the
world?
10. European’s referred to the America’s as what?