European Exploration
“New World, Here We Come!”
•At the beginning of the 15th century, Europeans knew little more than
Europe and the lands around the Mediterranean and the Black Seas.
•The existence of India, China and Japan was shown by Marco Polo’s
journeys and the trade routes that brought silk and spices to Europe.
However, not very much was known about these lands.
•The rest of the World was a total mystery. Europeans had not explored
the African and Asian interior, and they did not know that America and
Oceania existed.
Marco Polo route
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian trader and
explorer who, together with his father and
uncle, was one of the first Westerners to
travel the Silk Road to China and visited the
Great Khan of the Mongol Empire.
In the 15th century, European countries made many maritime
expeditions. There were different reasons for this:
•Firstly, they needed to find new trade routes to the East. In 1453,
the Turks conquered Constantinople, and took over the Byzantine
Empire. This interrupted the trade routes between Europe and the
Far East. Consequently, Europeans had to look for new routes to
Asia, round the African coast or across the Atlantic Ocean.
•Secondly, there were a number of technical advances which
improved navigation:
•New maps called “portulan charts” were developed. They
showed the coastline and any obstacles at sea. Straight lines
showed the shortest distance among different points.
•Navigational instruments, such as the compass, the astrolabe
and the quadrant, were developed.
•Ships, such as caravels, were improved and, consequently,
could travel longer distances
•Portugal looked for a new sea route to India
around the coast of Africa (15th century). The
Portuguese monarchs and Prince Henry the
Navigator organised various expeditions.
•The Madeira Islands were discovered in 1418 and
the Azores in 1431. Later expeditions explored the
African coast.
Vasco de Gama
•In 1488, Bartolomé Dias rounded the Cape of
Good Hope at the southern trip of Africa, opening
the sea route to the Indian Ocean. In 1498, Vasco
de Gama reached India.
•The Portuguese established trading posts along the
new routes. Portugal created a great empire and
became a world power.
Bartolomé Dias
•The Crown of Castile was Portugal’s biggest rival in the search for new
routes to India.
•The Castilians decided to sail to the west across the Atlantic,
circumnavigating the Earth.
•This plan was very risky. Crossing the Atlantic was terrifying. It involved
sailing a long way from the coast into unknown waters.
Christopher Columbus with Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile
•Christopher Columbus was a Genoese sailor. He was convinced that he
could reach the eastern coast of Asia by crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
Columbus thought that the world was round, although some people still
believed that it was flat.
•He presented his project to the Catholic Monarchs, who decided to
finance the expedition. On 3 August 1492 an expedition of ninety sailors
and three ships, the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa María, left the port of
Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva.
•But Columbus’ calculations were wrong. He thought the Earth was
much smaller than it actually was. Weeks passed without Columbus and
his men seeing signs of land. The crew complained, but Columbus
persuaded them to continue. Finally, they saw land on 12 October 1492.
Columbus thought he had reached Cipango (Japan), but the land
belonged to an unknown continent. This continent was later called
América.
•After the first expedition, Columbus made three more expeditions to
explore and establish Castilian dominion of these territories. On the
second voyage, a faster and safer route to America was found. On his last
two voyages, Columbus explored part of the coast of Central and South
America.
•In 1504, Columbus finally returned to Spain, where he died two years
later, still firmly convinced that he had reached India.
•However, in 1502 an Italian sailor, Americo Vespucci, had already
realised that these lands belonged to a new continent. Later, the
continent was named America in his honor.
Voyages of Cristopher Columbus
•In 1519, an expedition of five boats and 250 sailors
left Seville, captained by Fernando de Magallanes,
with his second-in-command, Juan Sebastián
Elcano. Their goal was to find a passage between
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to the Molucas, or
Spice Islands.
•In 1520, they found a strait connecting both
oceans. It was later named Strait of Magallanes.
They sailed on to the Philippines. There, Magallanes
was killed in a fight with the natives, and Elcano
took command. The expedition headed for the
Molucas and loaded up with valuable spices. Then,
they sail for Spain.
•After three years, only eighteen men and one ship,
the Victoria, returned. They were the first to
circumnavigate the world and prove that the Earth
was round.
Juan Sebastián El Cano
Fernando de Magallanes
• Portugal and Spain created great overseas empires.
• They were divided between in the Treaty of Tordesillas
(1499). A line of demarcation was established. Portugal
received territories east of the line: Africa, Asia and Brazil,
which was discovered later. Castile received territories west
of the line: most of the territories in the Americas.
• These explorations marked the beginning of European
supremacy over the rest of the world.
•The discovery brought major progress in science. Knowledge of the
lands and oceans on the planet became more accurate. Many new
plant and animal species were discovered. All this contributed to
developments in Geography, Natural Science and Cartography.
•One of the most important consequences of the discoveries was the
contact among different peoples. Knowledge was exchanged.
However, diseases introduced by the Europeans caused a dramatic
decline in the indigenous population of America.
First Voyage
• On his first trip he landed on an
island called Guanahani, but
Columbus later renamed it San
Salvador. He and his men were
met by the local Taino Indians,
many of whom were captured by
Columbus’ men and later sold into
slavery.
• Columbus thought he had made it
to Asia, and called the area the
Indies, and called its inhabitants
Indians.
Columbus meets the
Taino Indians
Columbus’s First
Explorations
 Landed in Bahamas but believed he was at the
coast of China or the islands of Japan.
 He called the island San Salvador which means
“ Holy Savior”.
After sailing from the Canary Islands Columbus sighted land on
October12, 1492.
The journey from the Canary Islands took 33 days.
Europe Learns
of Columbus’s
Voyage
 Columbus was made an admiral and governor.
 La Navidad before returning to Spain in 1493.
The Night that Changed the
World
“The night of October 1112 was one big with
destiny for the human
race, the most momentous
ever experienced aboard
any ship in any sea.”
Samuel Eliot Morrison
IN 1492
In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
"Indians! Indians!" Columbus cried;
He had three ships and left from Spain;
His heart was filled with joyful pride.
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain. But "India" the land was not;
He sailed by night; he sailed by day;
It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.
He used the stars to find his way.
The Arakawa natives were very nice;
A compass also helped him know
They gave the sailors food and spice.
How to find the way to go.
Columbus sailed on to find some gold
Ninety sailors were on board;
To bring back home, as he'd been told.
Some men worked while others snored. He made the trip again and again,
Then the workers went to sleep;
Trading gold to bring to Spain.
And others watched the ocean deep.
The first American? No, not quite.
Day after day they looked for land;
But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.
October 12 their dream came true,
You never saw a happier crew!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9q6HtcgWRA
Second and Third Voyages
• On a second, larger expedition (Sept. 25, 1493–June
11, 1496), sailed with 17 ships and 1,200 to 1,500
men to find gold and capture Indians as slaves in the
Indies. Columbus sailed around Hispaniola and
along the length of southern Cuba. He spotted and
named the island Dominica on November 3, 1493.
• On a third expedition (May 30, 1498-October 1500),
Columbus sailed further south, to Trinidad and
Venezuela (including the mouth of the Orinoco
River). Columbus was the first European since the
Viking Leif Ericsson to set foot on the mainland of
America.
Second Voyage
With 17 ships, 1,200 men and boys including sailors,
soldiers, colonists, priests, officials, gentlemen of
the court, and horses, Columbus set out on another
journey to the west. He left the port of Cadiz,
Spain, on September 25, 1493.
Third Voyage
 The monarchs financed yet another voyage for
Columbus. On May 30, 1498, Columbus set sail
with six ships.
 After a stop at the Canary Islands, three ships set
sail for Hispaniola and three with Columbus at
the lead, took a southern route.
On July 31, still searching for China, the
great explorer discovered the islands of
Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, and Margarita.
 He believed that he had spotted yet another
island, but actually he had discovered the
mainland of the South American continent
The Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María
Christopher Columbus:
• On his fourth and last
expedition (May 9, 1502Nov.7, 1504), Columbus
sailed to Mexico, Honduras
and Panama (in Central
America) and Santiago
(Jamaica).
• Columbus is buried in
eastern Hispaniola (now
called the Dominican
Republic).
4th voyage
Fourth Voyage
• Anxious to win back his good name and discover
riches in the Far East, Columbus set sail once
again for the new lands.
• He left Cadiz on May 9, 1502, with four ships and
150 crewmen, one being his 13-year-old son,
Diego. He arrived in Hispaniola on June 29.
Why do we Celebrate Columbus
Day?
Columbus Day is celebrated in the
United States to honor
Christopher Columbus's first
voyage to America in 1492.
Columbus actually discovered America on
October 12, 1492, but Columbus Day is always
celebrated on the the second Monday of October. It has
been traditionally celebrated on Oct. 12 throughout most
of the United States, parts of Canada, and in several of
the Latin American republics.
Living Conditions
You would work in four-hour shifts doing things cleaning
the deck, working the sails and checking the ropes and
cargo. When you weren’t working, you would sleep
anywhere you found space.
You would receive only one hot meal a day and your diet
would be biscuits, pickled or salted meat, dried peas,
cheese, wine, and fresh-caught fish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZEEbQ3hWmU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQopzzsD5kg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSJKoOaRZmE