The Age of Discovery: European Maritime Expansion

Geography9 May 20263.22 KB

1. The Discovery: Causes and Context

Starting in the fifteenth century, several factors drove European exploration:

New Trade Routes: Following the fall of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire to the Turks, Europeans sought alternative routes to the Orient.
Technical Advances: Improvements in navigation included:
- Cartography: Development of specialized nautical charts.
- Instruments: Widespread use of the compass, astrolabe, and quadrant for orientation.
- Shipbuilding: The emergence of the caravel, a fast ship with high load capacity, featuring both square sails for speed and triangular sails for maneuverability. These ships typically carried a crew of 30 and were equipped with defensive cannons.

Portugal sought a new route to India by sailing around Africa:

Early 15th century: Discovery of the Madeira and Azores islands.
Exploration continued to the Gulf of Guinea.
1488: Bartolomeu Dias successfully rounded the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.
1498: Vasco da Gama arrived in India.

The Portuguese established strategic outposts to secure supplies, creating a vast maritime empire.

The Crown of Castile pursued a westward route across the Atlantic, a risky endeavor into uncharted waters.

Christopher Columbus: A Genoese navigator who believed the Earth was round and proposed reaching Asia by sailing west. His project was financed by the Catholic Monarchs.
The First Voyage: On August 3, 1492, Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera with three ships and 90 sailors. Despite miscalculating the Earth's size and facing a potential mutiny, he made landfall on October 12, 1492, believing he had reached Japan.
Subsequent Voyages: Columbus made three additional trips to establish safer routes and explore the coasts of Central and South America.
A New Continent: Although Columbus died in 1506 believing he had reached India, Amerigo Vespucci had already determined four years earlier that these lands were a new continent.
Circumnavigation: In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano initiated the first expedition to sail around the world.

Cultural Exchange: Contact between previously unknown peoples led to mutual cultural enrichment.
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494): To avoid conflict, Portugal and Castile divided their spheres of influence. Portugal claimed Africa, Asia, and Brazil, while Castile claimed the remainder of the Americas.
European Hegemony: The era marked the beginning of European dominance, sparking competition among other European nations to expand their trade and domains.
Scientific Progress: Exploration led to breakthroughs in mapping, oceanography, and the documentation of new plant and animal species.