3. 1 Why were the discoveries made?
At the begining of the 15th century. Europeans knew little more than Europe
and the lands around the Mediterranean and the Black Seas.
4. The rest of the world was a total mistery.
Europeans had not explored the African and Asian interior, and they did
not know that America and Oceania existed.
6. Activities
Answer these questions
1 What countries did Europeans know of at the begining of 15th century?
2 How did they know of them?
3 Why did the Europeans launch maritime expeditions?
7. What were the new sea routes?
From the early 15th century, Portugal had been looking for a new sea route
To India around the coast of Africa. The portuguese monarchs and
Prince Henry the Navigator organised various expeditions.
-The Madeira
-The Azores
-Bartolome Dias rounded
Cape of Good Hope
-Vasco de Gama reached
India.
8. Spanish and Portuguese rivalry
The Crown of Castile was Portugal’s biggest rival in
the search for new routes of India.
The Castilians decided to sail to the west across
the Atlantic, circumnavigating the Earth.
This plan was very risky. Crossing the Atlantic was
terrifying. It was a long way into unknown waters.
9. The Caravels
The caravel existed for hundred of years,
the caravel of the 15th and 16th centuries
was faster and more spacious than its predeccessors
It had square sails for speed and triangular sails for manoueuvre.
Caravels had a crew of less than thirty men.
Without oarsmen, there was more space in the hold for cargo.
Long voyages were possible . The ships also carried cannons to defend
themselves from pirates and enemy ships.
10. Activities
1 Complete these sentences
1.1 In the early 15th century, Portugal wanted to find a new sea route to_________
1.2 After the Portuguese had discovered the Madeira Island and the Azores, they
sailed round the________
1.3 The Portuguese were the first European people to reach the________
1.4 The Spaniards decided to sail towards the________
2 True or False Correct the false information
2.1 Carvels were first built in the 15th century
2.2 They had a small crew
2.3 The caravels had oarsmen and square sails.
2.4 The 15th and 16th century caravels could carry more cargo
11.
12. Christopher Colombus
Was a Genoese sailor. He was convinced
he could reach the eastern coast of Asia
by crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
He presented his project to the Catholic
Monarchs who decided to finance the
expedition.
On 3 August 1492, an expedition of ninety
sailors and three ships, the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa
Maria, left the port of Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva.
They saw land on12 October 1492. Columbus thought he had reached Cipango(Japan),
but the land belonged to an unknown continent.
13. Columbus made three more expeditions to explore and established Castilian
dominion of these territories. On the second voyage, a faster and safer route
to America was found .
On his two last voyages, Columbus explored part of the coast of Central and
South America.
In 1502 an italian sailor, Americo Vespucci, had already realised that these lands
belonged to a new continent. Later, the continent was named America in his honour
Americo Vespucci
14. Activity
1 Answer the questions
a.Approximately how long was Colombus at sea during his first voyage?
b.Where did he finally land?
c.Where did he think he was?
d.Where did he go on his next three voyages?
e.What was their purpose?
f.How did America get its name?
15.
16.
17. Magellan’s expedition
In 1519, an expedition of five boats and 250 sailors
left Seville, captained by Ferdinand Magellan, with his second-
In-command, Juan Sebatian Elcano. The goal was to find a passage
between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to the Molucas, or Spice
Island, in Asia.
In 1520, they found a strait connecting both oceans. It was later
named the Strait of Magellan.
-They sailed on to the Philippines. There Magellan was killed in a fight with the natives,
and Elcano took command. The expedition headed for the Molucas and loaded up with
valuable spices. Then , they set sail for Seville.
-After three years, only eighteen men and one ship, the Victoria, returned. These journey
proved that the Earth was round.
18.
19. What were the consequences of the discoveries
-Portugal and Spain created great overseas empires.
to prevent problems between the two countries, unexplored regions were divided
between them in the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494.
-These explorations marked the beginning of European supremacy over the rest
of the world.
-The discoveries brought major progress in science. Many new plants and animals
species were discovered.
-One of the most important consequences of the discoveries was the contact
between different peoples.
-However, diseases introduced by the Europeans caused a dramatic decline in the
Indigenous populations of America
