Voyages of Discovery
Human Legacy,
Chapter 16.1, pages 469-475
Foundations of Exploration
• “During the Renaissance, a spirit of discovery and innovation
had been awakened in Europe. In the latter part of the 1400s
and 1500s, that spirit led Europeans to set sail on voyages of
discovery to find new lands or new routes to places already
known. Such voyages were so frequent and influential that
the period is sometimes called the Age of Exploration.”
~Human Legacy, page 469.
The Drive to Explore
• Commercial Materialism
– Desired luxuries from China &
India
• Spices, silk, perfume, jade
– Sought faster, cheaper or more
reliable routes
• Avoid Italian city-states as
middlemen
• Ottomans can’t interdict trade
• Spiritualism
– Missionary efforts
• Jesuits (Counter Reformation)
• Individualism
– Personal fame & glory
– Curiosity
Age of Exploration
Advances in Technology
• Foreign Contacts
– Navigational Aids
• Compass (China)
– Determines direction
• Astrolabe (Muslims)
– Determines latitude
• European Inventions
– Rudder (for steering)
– Lateen Sail
• Triangular
• Can be turned to catch wind from
any direction
– Shipbuilding
• Deeper draft vessels (Carrack)
– more stable
– Larger cargo hold
• Caravel
– Light , fast sailing ship
– Could carry cannons
Astrolabe & Compass
Explorers from Portugal and Spain
• “Portugal and Spain share the Iberian Peninsula, the
westernmost extent of continental Europe. As a result of their
location facing the Atlantic Ocean, these two countries were
well suited to kicking off the Age of Exploration.”
~Human Legacy, page 471.
The Portuguese
• Henry the Navigator 1394-1460
– Sponsored explorers
– Settled on Azores & Madeira
islands in Atlantic
– African coast
• Bartolomeu Dias
– Sailed around Cape of Good
Hope (Africa) 1488
• Vasco da Gama
– Circumnavigates Africa
– Establish trade centers in India
– Portuguese sail from India to
Indonesia
The Spanish
• Christopher Columbus
–
–
–
–
Sails west to reach India
Discovers Americas instead
3 voyages
Native Americans baptized as
Christians
– Brings back exotic items
• Gold, parrots, potatoes &
tomatoes
• Amerigo Vespucci
– Explores the coast of South
America (pictured)
– Determines Americas are not
Asia 1502
Columbus’ Voyages
Spanish Continued
• Balboa
– Expedition in Isthmus of
Panama
– First European to see the
Pacific Ocean 1513
• Ferdinand Magellan
– Expedition to circumnavigate
the globe 1519
• 5 ships & 250 men
• Magellan dies fighting in the
Philippines
• In 1522 the expedition
completes mission with 1 ship
and 18 men remaining
Magellan’s Expedition 1519-1522
Explorers from the Rest of Europe
• “Although the Spanish and Portuguese were the first to launch
voyages of discovery, they did not remain alone in their
efforts. By the early 1500s the English and French were
exploring the northern parts of the Americas, and within a
century the Dutch had joined the efforts.”
~Human Legacy, page 474.
The English
• John Cabot
– Expedition to Canada 1497
– Disappears with his fleet on
second expedition
• Sir Francis Drake
– Explores west coast of
Americas
– 2nd expedition to
circumnavigate the Earth
• Henry Hudson
– Attempts to find a Northeast
passage around Europe 1607
The French
• Jacques Cartier 1534
– Attempts to find a Northwest
passage around North America
– Expedition into St Lawrence
River
– Claims Canada for France
Cartier’s Voyages
The Dutch
• Involved in trade with Asia
– Spice islands
– China & Japan
• Henry Hudson
– Explores Hudson River
– Discovers Hudson Bay
– Dutch settle in New
Amsterdam (now New York)