1418-1620
Motives for Exploration

Spread Christianity

 Only one religion in Europe: Christianity
(Catholicism)
 European leaders were very religious and believed it
to be their duty to spread Christianity to others
 Explorers read aloud (in Spanish) “The
Requirement”. It offered native people the
opportunity to convert to Christianity or suffer the
consequences.
Imperialism

 A policy of extending a country's power and
influence through diplomacy or military force.
 Kings of Spain and Portugal wanted to claim as
much land as they could.
 Natural resources of the land
 Native people as slaves
 Larger empire=more power
New Trade Routes

 SPICES!!!
 Preserve food during winter (salt)
 Cover up the taste of food that had gone bad
 Only accessible in the Indies (China, Japan, and India)
 Very difficult, very expensive, very dangerous
 Muslim traders brought goods to the East Coast of the
Mediterranean Sea. Italian merchants brought them into
Europe
 Each group raised the price
 Bandits and pirates

New Knowledge

 Knew very little about the world beyond Europe,
Northern Africa and the Middle East
 Few people believed the world was flat
 Map included Europe, Asia, and top of Africa
 Knew of only one ocean which they called the Ocean
Sea
Glory, Fame and Wealth

 Europe was involved with many wars
 Fought each other and fought others
 War is EXPENSIVE!
 Needed gold, silver, and gems to pay for the wars
 Believed Asia was loaded riches.
 New ideology: Getting rich and dominating other
people was viewed as positive
 Europe had recent success in taking over and
exploiting island societies (Malta, Sardinia, Canary
Islands
Review

 Spread Christianity
 Imperialism
 New Trade Routes
 New Knowledge
 Glory, Honor, and Wealth
Advances Allowing for
Exploration

 People around the world had been traveling by sea for
a long time
 Prince Henry the Navigator began a school for
navigation. His ideas were based on ideas known to
ancient Phoenicians and Egyptians
 Evidence of earlier journeys between Europe and the
Americas
 Two Native Americans shipwrecked in Holland around
60 B .C. became major curiosities in Europe
 Vikings to Newfoundland in the year 1000 A.D.
Cartography

 Cartography is the science and art of making maps.
 Prior to the 1400s, only portolan charts existed.
 Used by pilots to lay courses from one harbor to
another
 Gerardus Mercator created a map projection that he
designed to help with navigation. The lines of
latitude and longitude are straight, and land masses
are distorted near the poles
Improved Ship Design

 A knarr was a Viking ship that routinely crossed the
Atlantic Ocean
Ship Design Cont.

 Portugal and Spain began building new and
improved ships known as caravels (from the
Egyptian caravos)
 Small, fast, easy to maneuver
 Specials bottoms made it
easier to travel along
coast lines where the
water was shallow.
 Lateen Sails
New Navigational Tools

 Compass helped sailors know what direction they
were going (N, S, E, W)
 Magnetic needles.
 Astrolabe allowed sailors to determine their latitude
(how far north or south of the equator they were).
Improved Weaponry

 Spanish brought horses.
 Sailors could fire their cannons onto shore without
leaving their ship.