Ch. 2 Exploration and Expansion

Voyages of Discovery

The Age of Exploration

During Renaissance, spirit of discovery & innovation awakened in Europe Late 1400-1500s, that spirit led Europeans on voyages of discovery to find new lands/routes to places already known Voyages so frequent & influential that the period is called the Age of Exploration

The Drive to Explore

Exploration was driven in large part by the search for wealth Europeans wanted luxury goods -spices, silk, perfume, & jade from China & India Italians controlled the flow of goods-charged high prices for rare goods European explorers hoped to find new, faster routes to Asia to get into this trade

Other Motives for Exploration

Wealth was not the only goal that drove people to explore Some sought fame & glory-others hoped to spread their faith into new lands Reformation &Counter-Reformation brought a new religious zeal to Europe, some saw the new lands as a chance to introduce new populations to Christianity One final motive-simple curiosity-as writings by medieval travelers such as China traveler Marco Polo, were very popular in Europe

Advances in Technology

Europeans couldn’t have made exploratory voyages without technology advances borrowed from Chinese & Muslims

First used in China, a compass told sailors where North was

Finding a Way Without Seeing Land

The Muslim astrolabe allowed navigators to figure their location from the sun & stars position in relation to the horizon

Sailors now plotted courses even if they could not see land

Europeans learned to build ships that rode lower in water than earlier ships

Bigger Ships Were Built A new ship- the caravel, light, fast & steered by a rear rudder, not side oars Equipped with triangular lateen sails that could catch wind from any direction, it could even sail directly into a headwind Caravels could be equipped with cannons so that it quickly became the most popular ship for exploratory voyages

The Portuguese

Portugal became the first European country to begin exploring-largely thru the efforts of Henry the Navigator

Early 1400s Henry brought sailors, mapmakers, & astronomers to his court

Henry sent expeditions west & south to explore the western coast of Africa

The Goal: Get Around Africa

Portugal began to settle the Azores & Madeira Islands in the Atlantic & learned about Africa’s coast, including the fact that gold & slaves were available there

His ultimate goal was to find a water route around Africa to India

1488-Bartolomeu Dias --the 1st European to sail around the southern tip of Africa, but violent storms forced them to turn back

All the Way to India

1497-Vasco da Gama set out for India-stopped at several African ports Though the trip took over 10 months, da Gama eventually reached Calicut, India The Portuguese hurried to send another expedition to India led by Pedro Cabral He sailed far to the west--sighted & claimed Brazil for Portugal

Setting Up a Trade Empire Portuguese set up trading centers to ship goods back to Europe They also sailed from India to find other trading ports, such as Indonesia Portugal thus became one of the richest & most powerful nations in Europe

The Spanish

Like Portugal, Spain was eager for new routes to the riches of the East

1492 the Spanish rulers, King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella, agreed to pay for a voyage by Italian sailor Christopher Columbus

Columbus believed that he could sail west from Spain to reach China

Hi, I’m Chris!

Columbus Was Right, But Wrong Although Columbus was correct in theory, his estimate of earth’s size was wrong He also had no idea that the Americas lay across the Atlantic When Columbus reached Guanahani Island after 2 months at sea, he thought he had reached Asian islands off India’s coast As a result, he called the people living there Indians

Columbus – A Hero?

March, 1493-Columbus returned to Spain bringing many exotic items including parrots, jewels, gold, & plants unknown in Europe He also brought several Native Americans back to Spain, where they were baptized as Christians Columbus made 3 more voyages to the Americas, still believing that he had reached Asia 1502-explorer Amerigo Vespucci sailed along the coast of South America & concluded that it was not Asia but a new land Later map-makers named the land America in his honor

Reaching the Pacific

Now knowing that they had found a new land, the Spanish set out to explore it 1513-Vasco Nunez de Balboa led a difficult 3-week expedition across Panama Balboa became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean The Spanish realized they needed to cross another ocean to reach Asia

How Large Was the Pacific?

To answer that question, Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan, working for Spain, sailed west around the world

1519-Magellan set out with 5 ships & 250 men

During his long difficult journey some of his men mutinied, or rebelled

Getting Back to Spain Was Tough!

After months at sea, Magellan’s fleet reached the Philippines, where Magellan was killed in a fight against the native people

His men sailed on, arriving in Spain in Sept. 1522

Just 18 survived the trip, but they were the 1st to circumnavigate the globe

The English 1st English voyage was launched just after Columbus reached the Caribbean 1497-John Cabot sailed from England to the Atlantic coast of Canada Cabot also thought that he had reached Asia Returning to England, Cabot set out to repeat his voyage, but he never returned His entire fleet vanished, presumably sunk

Drake’s Expedition English soon realized they had not reached Asia but a previously unknown land Q. Elizabeth sent Francis Drake around S. America to explore its west coast Hit California then sailed north to get around North America to the Atlantic The weather proved too cold, & he ended up heading west around the world to get back to England-the 2nd man to circumnavigate the globe

Looking for the a Shorter Route England’s rulers wanted to find a shorter route to Asia than Magellan had found

1607-Henry Hudson sent North to find a Northeast Passage around Europe

Finding nothing but ice, he returned to England

Later, Hudson set out on 2 more voyages for the English & 1 for the Dutch

The French The French wanted to find a passage to Asia They sent explorers to look for a Northwest Passage that would take them around the northern reaches of North America Jacques Cartier left France in 1534, sailing past the island of Newfoundland into the St. Lawrence River He claimed all the land along the river as the province of New France, or as it came to be called later, Canada Later explorers added to Cartier’s claims, but none found a Northwest Passage

The Dutch

Early 1600s- Netherlands, once owned by Spain, became a powerful trading nation The Dutch were already heavily involved in trade with Asia but hoped to find new products & new trading partners They soon became involved in the exploration of the Americas as well Dutch hired explorer Henry Hudson, the same man who sailed for England before

Hudson’s Folly

1609, he once again set out to find a Northeast Passage around Asia, but failed Instead he headed west to seek a Northwest Passage through the Americas He didn’t find that either, but he did explore the river that now bears his name Though named for Hudson, it had actually been discovered years earlier by Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian explorer sailing for France Hudson also reached & explored Hudson Bay

Graphic Organizer

Portugal Spain England France Holland

Bartolomeu Dias : Sailed around the southern tip of Africa. Vasco de Gama: Sailed to Calicut, India stopping at several African ports.

Christopher Columbus: Sailed for China, ended up in the Caribbean thereby discovering America. Amerigo Vespucci : Sailed the coast of South America.

John Cabot: Reached Canada Francis Drake: South America, California and to the Atlantic. Henry Hudson: Looked for the Northeast Passage

Jacques Cartier: Found New France = Canada

Henry Hudson: Looked for a Northeast Passage, found the Hudson Bay and River.