Chapter 3 A Time of Exploration lesson 2 Background to European Exploration
An End to East- West Trade
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To get goods from China and other places in Asia, merchants set off on the ancient Silk Road.
The Silk Road also known as the Silk Route, was not really a road, but a group of overland
trade routes between China and Italy.
A profit is money left over after the goods and the costs of getting them have been paid for.
European merchants continued to enjoy huge profits until 1453 when the Turks captured the
important trading city of Constantinople.
This gave the Turks control of the Middle East, and they closed the trade routes to Asia.
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Portugal Leads the Way
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Portugal’s monarch, King John I had already decided to spend as much money as needed to find
a new route to Asia.
Navigation is the skill of controlling the course of a ship.
Prince Henry brought together sailors, shipbuilders, and cartographers, or mapmakers.
Prince Henry also hired people who helped improve two important navigation tools – the compass
and the astrolabe.
Prince Harry became known as Henry the Navigator.
Prince Henry believed that the most direct way to reach Asia from Europe by seal would be to go
north around Europe and then sail east across the Indian Ocean.
Altogether Prince Henry organized more than 50 voyages, but he did not go on any of them. For
this reason he is sometimes called “the explorer who stayed at home.”
As the Portuguese explored the western coast of Africa, they found new markets where they
discovered that they could trade their goods for slaves.
By 1460 Portuguese traders were buying about 800 slaves from African traders each year.
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Chapter 3 A Time of Exploration lesson 2 Background to European Exploration
Dias and Da Gama
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King John II ordered Bartolomeu Dias to sail to the southern tip of Africa to find out if ships could
reach Asia by sailing around Africa.
An expedition is a journey or exploration.
Bartolomeu Dias took 3 ships and reached the southern Africa in 1488.
Upon reaching the southern Africa a storm blew the ships out to sea. When the winds died down
Dias realized that the storm had blown the ships around to the east coast of the continent.
Dias and his crew became the first group of Europeans to sail around the southern tip of Africa.
On their way back to Portugal Dias sighted what is now called the Cape of Good Hope. Dias
originally named it the Cape of Storms.
Almost 10 years later Vasco da Gama reached India. He sailed around the Cape of Good Hope
with four ships and 170 sailors. Only 55 lived to return home.
As a reward for his successful expedition, da Gama was given the title Admiral of the Sea of
India. The trade that developed between Portugal and India helped Portugal become wealthier
and more powerful.
Portugal soon became one of the most important trading powers in the Indian Ocean.
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I helped my child study all lesson 2 notes for at least 30 minutes tonight, Wednesday, November 18th
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