Age of Exploration, Discovery,
and Expansion
WH Standard 10- Analyze the impact
of the age of discovery & expansion
in the Americas, Africa, and Asia
Motives and Means
• The dynamic energy of Western
civilization between 1500 and 1800 was
most apparent when Europeans began
to expand into the rest of the world
• Economic motives loom large in
European expansion.
• Europeans hoped for spices & precious
metals.
Means and Motives Continued…
• Another reason for the overseas
voyages: religious zeal. Many shared
the belief of Hernan Cortes that the
natives are introduced into the Catholic
faith.
• They wanted to convert the natives to
Christianity, but grandeur, glory, and a
spirit of adventure also played a major
role.
• God, Glory, and Gold were the chief
motives for exploration.
Portuguese Trading Empire
• The Portuguese took the lead in
European expansion.
• Beginning in 1420, Portuguese
fleets began probing southward
along the western coast of
Africa.
• There they discovered gold.
Vasco da Gama (1460 – 1524)
• In 1497, Vasco da Gama went around the
Cape of Good Hope and cut across the
Indian Ocean to the coast of India.
• He took on a cargo of spices which he
sold in Portugal for a profit of several
thousand percent.
• His arrival spelled the end of
independence for the Swahili cities and led
to the cities’ economic decline.
Vasco da Gama
Voyages to the Americas
• The Portuguese sailed eastward through
the Indian Ocean to reach the spice trade,
while the Spanish sailed westward through
the Atlantic Ocean.
Christopher Columbus
• Map maker
• Very knowledgeable
of the sea
• Deeply religious
• Believed he had
found small islands
off the coast of Asia
Christopher Columbus
• (1451 – 1506)
• Italian, but sailed for King Ferdinand &
Queen Isabella of Spain
• October 1492 he reached the Americas
where he explored the coastline of Cuba
and the island of Hispaniola.
• Throughout his life, He believed he had
reached Asia when he actually reached all
the major islands of the Caribbean and
Honduras in Central America- all of which
he called the Indies.
Ferdinand Magellan
• 1480 – 1521
• Portuguese Explorer
• Set sail September 20, 1519 with a crew
of 250 Spanish men
• November 1520, Magellan passed through
a narrow waterway, later named the Strait
of Magellan, and emerged in the Pacific
Ocean which he called the Pacific Sea.
• Killed in the Philippines by the native
peoples.
Ferdinand Magellan
• Remembered as the
first person to sail
around the world.
• Although he did not
make the full trip, one
of his ships did.
• The Philippines would
become a major base
for trade across Asia.
James Cook (1728 – 1779)
• English explorer, navigator, and captain of
the HMS Endeavour.
• April 1770 dropped anchor ten miles south
of Sydney, Australia.
• August 21 formally claimed the entire land
for King George III.
• Cook called the land New South Wales.
• In accepting possession, the British
completely ignored the native peoples.
• The British established a penal colony in
1788 in Australia.
James Cook
Samuel de Champlain (1567 – 1635)
• Sailed down the St.
Lawrence River
• In 1608, he founded
Quebec, the first
permanent French
settlement in the
Americas.
• Meanwhile, the British
were founding
Virginia.
Zheng He (1371 – 1433)
• Visited the Western
• A Court official sent
Coast of India and the
on a series of naval
city states of East Africa.
voyages into the
Indian Ocean that
• Returned with items
sailed as far as the
unknown to China such
eastern coast of
as giraffes which were
Africa.
placed in the Imperial
Zoo.
• 7 voyages between
1405 and 1433.
• Voyages led to enormous
profit but were halted
• The largest ship was
after Emperor Yong Le’s
over 440 ft. long;
death, never to be
Columbus’ Santa
revived.
Maria was only 75 feet
long!
Zheng He
A statue honoring Zheng He in
Malaysia .
Role of
Conquistadors &
Explorers
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Conquistadors – Spanish conquerors
Establish trading posts
Establish colonies
Bring back items their country does not have
Spread their religion to the natives
• Discover new lands/ trade routes
The Columbian Exchange
• The Age of Discovery led to the migration of
peoples, which in turn led to the exchange of
fauna and flora – of animals, plants, and
diseases, a complex process known as the
Columbian Exchange.
• Europeans brought wheat, grapes, olives,
sugar plants, rice, bananas, horses, sheep,
cattle, dogs, pigs, chicken, and goats.
• Spanish & Portuguese returned to Europe
with maize, white potatoes, beans, squash,
pumpkins, avocados, and tomatoes.
Unintended Consequences
• Many things came unintentionally:
• Native grasses
• Diseases such as :
– Small pox
– Typhus
– Influenza
– Syphilis
Columbian Exchange Led To…
Global & Cultural Impact of the
Columbian Exchange
• Transformed
economic activity
• Spread of religion
• Spread of Languages
• Destruction of native
civilizations
• Spread of plants &
animals
• Improved diets of
Asian, African, &
European peoples
• Spread of Smallpox
and other diseases
long with new
weapons of war and
economic
exploitation, causing
a massive population
decline among Native
Peoples.
Role of Improved•
Technology
• In the 15th century,
Portuguese invented
the caravel, a small
light, 3 masted sailing
ship more that was
more maneuverable,
could carry heavy
cannons, and more
goods.
• Magnetic compass
allowed sailors to
determine their
position.
Gunpowder, compass,
and rudder all Chinese
inventions!
• Lateen (triangular) sail,
developed by the Arabs,
allowed Europeans to
tack against the wind.
• Astrolabe – perfected by
the Arabs, used the Sun
or a star to ascertain a
ship’s latitude
• By 1500, cartography,
the art and science of
map making was fairly
accurate.
Improved Technology
Important Dates
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1450 – 1650 Age of Discovery
1492 – Columbus lands on San Salvador
1518 – Atlantic Slave Trade Begins
1520 – Spaniards defeat the Aztec Empire
1532 – Pizarro defeats the Inca Empire
1550 –1700 Disease leads to 80%
population decline in American Southeast
• 1602 – Dutch East India Company
established
• 1635 – Tokugawa Shogunate closes
Japan to trade