Age of Exploration

■Essential Question:
–What factors encouraged the

European Age of Exploration?
From the 1400s to the 1700s, Europe experienced
an “Age of Exploration”
The Renaissance encouraged
curiosity & a desire for trade
Motivations:
Why did Europeans want to explore?
As a result of exploration, European

nations grew powerful & spread their
influence throughout the world
Gold (Money)
Merchants
A desire forbegan lookingofforwealth
new sources quick,was
direct
the
trade
mainroutes
reasontofor
Asia to avoidexploration
European Muslim &
Italian merchants & increase profits
The Crusades & Renaissance

stimulated European desires
for exotic Asian luxury goods
Glory
Kings who
Thesponsored voyages
Renaissance of exploration
inspired new
gained overseas colonies,
possibilities for powernew sources of
& prestige
wealth for their nation, & increased power
Exploration presented Europeans

the opportunity to rise from poverty
and gain fame, fortune, & status
God
European Christians, especially Catholics,
wanted to stop the spread of Islam &
convert non-Christians to the faith
Explorers were encouraged to

spread Christianity or bring
missionaries who would focus
only on conversions
Means:
The Age of Exploration
How were explorers able to sail
so far & make it back again?
Before the Renaissance, sailors did not have the

technology to sail very far from Europe & return
Navigation
Trade & cultural diffusion during the Renaissance
introduced new navigation techniques to Europeans
Astrolabe
Magnetic compass madeMaps
usedwere
starsmore accurate and
to show direction
sailing more accurate used longitude & latitude
European shipbuilders built a better ship;
The caravel was a strong ship that could travel
in the open seas & in shallow water
Caravels had
triangular lateen
sails that allowed
ships to sail
against the wind
A moveable
rudder made the
Cannons & rifles caravel more
gave ships protection maneuverable
Who wereThe
the Age of Exploration
explorers, where did they go, &
how did they change world history?
Europeans were not the first to explore
the oceans in search of new trade routes
Islamic merchants explored the Indian Ocean

& had dominated the Asian spice trade for
centuries before European exploration
Early Exploration
From 1405 to 1433, Zheng He

led the Chinese treasure fleet on
7 expeditions to SE Asia, India,
& Africa during the Ming
But in the late 1400s, the European sailors did
what neither Muslim nor Chinese explorers could:
Begin global (not regional) exploration &
create colonies to increase their wealth & power
Portugal was the
In Portugal, Prince Henry early leader in the
the Navigator started a Age of Exploration
school of navigation to train
sailors
He brought in Europe’s
best map-makers, ship-
builders, & sailing
instructors
He wanted to
discover new
territories, find
a quick trade
route to Asia,
& expand
Portugal’s
power
Prince Henry’s navigation school &
willingness to fund voyages led the Portuguese
to be the 1st to explore the west coast of
Africa
Vasco da Gama
was the 1st explorer
to find a direct
trade route to Asia
by going around
Africa to get to
India
Portugal gained a
sea route to Asia
that brought them
great wealth
During the Age of
Exploration, Portugal
created colonies along the
African coast, in Brazil, &
the Spice Islands in Asia
The Spanish government
saw Portugal’s wealth &
did not want to be left out
More than any other
European monarch,
Ferdinand & Isabella
of Spain sponsored &
supported overseas
expeditions
Like most educated men of Columbus reached the
the Renaissance, Columbus Bahamas in America
believed the world was but thought that he had
round & thought he could reached islands off the
reach Asia by sailing west coast of India
He made 4 trips to
“India” never
knowing he was in
Despite the fact that Magellan became the
Columbus never found first explorer to
Asia, Ferdinand Magellan circumnavigate the Earth
still thought he could (go all the way around)
reach Asia by sailing West
During the
Age of Exploration,
Spain created colonies in
North & South America
Spain sent explorers called conquistadors
to the New World to find gold, claim land,
& spread Christianity
Cortez
conquered
the Aztecs
Pizarro
conquered
the Inca
The influx of gold from
America made Spain the
most powerful country in
Europe during the early
years of the
Age of Exploration
England, France, & the Netherlands became involved
in overseas exploration & colonization as well
After failing to do so,
Champlain founded the
French colony of Quebec
The French
Thesearched
French would explorer
soon Samuel
carve out ade Champlain
large colony along
Canada for a northwest passage to Asia
the Mississippi River from Canada to New Orleans
Unlike other
European nations
whose kings paid
for colonies, the
English colonies
were paid for
by citizens who
formed joint-stock
companies
English colonies
formed along the
Atlantic Coast of
North America by
colonists motivated
either by religion
or wealth
The English explorer James Cook was
the first European to make contact with
Australia, New Zealand, & Hawaii
Like England, the The Dutch had colonies in
Netherlands (the Dutch) America & Africa, but the
allowed private companies Dutch East India
to fund exploration Company dominated trade
in Asia
Conclusions
As a result of the Age of Exploration, European

knowledge & influence of the world increased greatly
Exploration Quiz 1
1. Why did Europeans want to explore?
2. List 3 types of technology that helped Europeans
explore.
3. How did Prince Henry help sailors?
4. What is a missionary? Why do missionaries go to
foreign lands?
5. List 2 explorers. Beside each name list one
discovery the explorer made.
6. List the continents that make up:
1. Old World
2. New World

Age of Exploration

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■Essential Question:

–What factors encouraged the

As a result of exploration, European

The Crusades & Renaissance

Exploration presented Europeans

Explorers were encouraged to

Before the Renaissance, sailors did not have the

Islamic merchants explored the Indian Ocean

From 1405 to 1433, Zheng He

As a result of the Age of Exploration, European

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