Geographical Discoveries and Exploration

This section explains why Europeans set out on long sea voyages between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, and introduces the explorers whose journeys linked Europe with Asia, Africa and the Americas.

The section has two sub-lessons. "Reasons for Exploration" sets out what drove the voyages: the search for new sea routes to the spices and riches of Asia, the desire of rulers for wealth, land and power, and the wish to spread Christianity, together with better ships and navigation instruments such as the compass and the astrolabe. "Famous Explorers" then follows Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan, and shows how their journeys opened new trade routes and, in time, led to European colonies across the world.

Geographical discoveries are a key part of the period of transition from the medieval to the modern age. The two sub-lessons look first at the causes of exploration and then at the people who carried it out.

5.1 Reasons for Exploration. The Age of Exploration lasted roughly from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century. Its main causes were:

• New trade routes: Spices such as pepper, cloves and cinnamon were highly prized in Europe, but they reached it overland through many middlemen and at high prices. Many textbooks also link the search to the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, which gave the Turks control over important routes between Europe and Asia. A direct sea route to Asia promised cheaper goods and greater profits.
• Wealth, land and power: Rulers, especially in Portugal and Spain, paid for voyages in the hope of gold, new lands and greater prestige for their kingdoms.
• Spreading Christianity: Many explorers and their sponsors saw the voyages as a chance to carry their faith to new peoples.
• Better technology: The magnetic compass, the astrolabe, improved maps and sturdier ships made long ocean voyages possible.

These motives are often summed up as "Gold, Glory and God".

5.2 Famous Explorers. The second sub-lesson introduces the travellers whose journeys changed the map of the world:

• Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant of the thirteenth century, travelled to China. His account of the riches of the East excited European interest in Asia long before the great voyages.
• Christopher Columbus, sailing for Spain in 1492, tried to reach Asia by sailing west and instead reached islands in the Caribbean. His voyage opened the Americas to Europe.
• Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese navigator, sailed round the Cape of Good Hope and reached Calicut on the coast of India in 1498, opening a direct sea route from Europe to India.
• Ferdinand Magellan led the expedition that became the first to sail around the world (1519–1522). Magellan himself was killed in the Philippines in 1521, and the voyage was completed under Juan Sebastián Elcano.

The section ends by showing the results of these voyages: new trade links, the exchange of goods and ideas between continents, and the beginning of European colonies in Asia, Africa and the Americas. This prepares the ground for the later lesson on how these changes affected India.