Age of Exploration

SS6H6

Age of Exploration

• Time period: between the early 15th century until the 17th century

• (1400s-1600s)

• Led to discoveries in the Americas, Africa, and Asia

16th Century Astrolabe

Main Motivations for Exploration

Portuguese Caravel

1. Get Rich (Gold)2. Honor (Glory)3. Spread Christianity

(God)

Called the 3 G’s

Reasons for Exploration

Portuguese Caravel

1. Europeans wanted a route around Africa into the Indian Ocean

2. Supply and Demand High demand for Asian silks & spices

3. Set up colonies

Role of Religion

• Crusades: Holy wars between 1096-1272 in which various popes sent forces to capture the Holy Land from Muslim Turks

• Pope: Leader of the Roman Catholic Church

Pope Urban II: Ordered the 1st

Crusade

Role of Religion

• Crusades exposed Europeans to new technologies and products.

• Exposure to arts and sciences led to better ships and the drawing of better maps

• Europeans spread Christianity wherever they went

• Contributed to the expansion of the empires of Portugal, Spain, England, and France.

Portugal

• Located on Atlantic Coast

• Led the way in European exploration

• Portugal is on which physical feature of Europe?

Advancements in Navigation

1. Compass2. Cross Staff 3. Astrolabe4. Caravel

How do you learn about these advancements?

Prince Henry the Navigator

• Portuguese prince• Established a school for

navigation, cartography, and shipbuilding

• Set up colonies in Africa

School of Navigation

• Established a school of navigation at Sagres, Portugal

• Cartography: Mapmaking

Possible site of the school of

navigation

Colony

• Colony: territory controlled by people from a foreign land

• Mercantilism: Use of colonies to increase a nations wealth by gaining access to labor and natural resources

Colony

Market

Natural Resource

s

Labor

Portuguese Empire

• Time Period/Routes: 15th century: led the world in sea exploration and explored the western coast of Africa

• Motivation: find a trade route around Africa to Asia

• Important People• Prince Henry• Portuguese prince• Established a school for

navigation, cartography, and shipbuilding

• Set up colonies in Africa

Portuguese Empire

• Empires/Territory• Most profitable: Brazil• Brazil was a Portuguese

colony until 1822 • Mainly set up trading

posts

Spanish Empire

• Time Period/Routes: 15th Century: Spanish explorers were searching for a trade route through or around North & South America to Asia

• Motivation: Wanted to find a quicker route to the gold & spices in Asia.

• Other Motivations:1. Looking for gold &

spices2. Used missionaries

to convert natives to Christianity

Spanish Empire

• Empire Territories• Ruled huge amounts of

territory in North and South America for 300 years

• Philippines in Asia

British Empire

• Time Period: 17th Century

• British empire was the largest in history

• Motivation: Used colonies such as Australia and Georgia as penal (prison) colonies to relieve overcrowded jails in England

British Empire

• Empire Territories• controlled: Canada,

Australia, India, much of Africa, and numerous islands

French Empire

• Time Period: French possessed colonies around the world from 1600 to 1900

• Motivation: Imperialism.

French Empire• Empire Territories• The French Empire

consisted of colonies in North America, Asia, and the West Indies

• The French lost many of these to Britain, but it still controlled part of Asia, North America and eventually parts of West Africa