The East discovers the West
Where are Europeans going?
 Africa
 China
 West Indies
 India
 East Indies  New World
Motives for Exploring – 3 G’s
 GOD
 The Crusades convince Europeans that
Christianity was the “true faith”
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They were actually terrified of the Muslims
 Europeans feel that they must spread their
faith
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Stop the “evil Muslims” from becoming stronger
Save the souls of pagans
Motives for Exploring – 3 G’s
 GLORY
 High sense of nationalism/patriotism
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Explorers want to make their country famous
Prove their nation is superior to others
 Desire for personal fame by making new discoveries
Motives for Exploring – 3 G’s
 GOLD
 Wealth of foreign countries (real & imagined)is an
irresistible attraction for Europeans
 “Wealth” included all sorts of material goods…not just gold
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Silver
Jewels
Spices
Silks
New technology…
 Caravel & Triangular sails
 Early ships were unable to sail long distances
because of how they were put together
 Astrolabe (Muslims)
 Allowed sailors to determine how far north or
south of the equator they were
 Compass (Chinese)
 Allowed sailors to more accurately determine
which direction they were heading
Early Contributors…
 Prince Henry the Navigator
 A prince of Portugal
 Created a navigation school where mapmakers,
shipbuilders, scientists and captains could exchange
information
 Had a dream of a global Portuguese empire created by
overseas exploration
Early Contributors…
 Bartolomeu Dias
 Vasco da Gama
 Christopher Columbus
 Treaty of Tordesillas
 the Pope draws an imaginary line, north to south, around
the globe through the Atlantic Ocean.
 Portugal gets all undiscovered lands to the East
 Spain gets all undiscovered lands to the West
 This agreement becomes known as the Treaty of
Tordesillas
Accomplishments in Exploration
 Ferdinand Magellan
 Circumnavigation of the globe (almost)
 Hernan Cortez
 Conquest of the Aztec Empire for Spain
 Sir Francis Drake
 Circumnavigation of the globe
 Capture of huge amounts of Spanish gold
 Jacques Cartier
 Claims Canada for France