The Age of Exploration (1450-1700) was driven by the pursuit of wealth (gold and spices), fame, and the spread of Christianity, encapsulated by the three G's: gold, glory, and God. Technological advancements, like the caravel and navigational instruments, enabled European explorers to venture into new territories, leading to significant discoveries by the Portuguese and Spanish, including Columbus's voyage to the Americas. Disputes over territorial claims between Spain and Portugal were settled by papal intervention, influencing future explorations by other European nations.

1. The Age of Exploration
Europe Encounters the World

2. The age of exploration
► Before the age of
exploration people
believed:
► Earth was flat,
► Sea monsters,
► Europe at centre,
► Boiling sea in south,
► World was smaller.

3. MOLUCCA’S SPICES
Present Indonesia
►PEPPER
►CLOVES
►NUTMEG
►CINNAMON

4. Why did explorations happen when
they did?
►A variety of factors all came together to
make the time period (1450-1700) the “Age
of Exploration”
►Some of these factors were agricultural and
other resources they wished to have (gold,
silver, spices, precious stones, etc.)
►Some were pulls, motivations and things
that attracted the Europeans

5. What factors were pushing
Europeans to explore?
► Decline of Mongol
Empire in 1400s made
goods from the east
harder to get, more
expensive
► Fall of Constantinople
to the Ottoman Turks
in 1453 was a major
block to trade

6. Ottoman Turks (Muslim) Empire

7. What is the easiest way to
remember it all?
► The Three G’s:
 Gold
 Glory
 God
► Although a little
simplistic, this
mnemonic is a great
way to remember the
main motivations of
the European
explorers.

8. The First G: Gold
► Gold was a hot item that explorers were looking
for, but remember that it is really wealth, not just
literal gold that explorers were after.
► Europe needed gold (and silver) to fuel the rising
banking system
► Europeans also desired spices (Da Gama’s voyage
to India made him a 3000% profit!)
► Other natural resources would come to be sold for
profit as well (timber, sugar, tobacco, ivory, etc.)
► This competition will be enhanced by the idea of
mercantilism that emerges, the idea that there
is only so much wealth in the world, and that to
make your kingdom strong you must have more
gold and wealth than the other kingdoms

9. The second G: Glory
► Just like the first G, Gold,
Glory was a relatively new
idea in Europe
► Came out of the
Renaissance ideal of
Humanism, and the focus
on individual achievement
► With the rise of the
printing press, the idea of
gaining fame for one’s
actions was more possible
► Also, individual kings
wanted glory for their
kingdoms, competition
spreads
The Triumph of Fame, a Flemish
tapestry from 1502.

10. The third G: God
► As members of a universalizing religion, Europeans
had always seen spreading Christianity as a good
thing
► Especially after the Reformation, competition will
spring up
► Colonization will become a race to convert native
peoples to a particular brand of Christianity
► Jesuits (Catholics) are some of the most active

11. What were the new technologies
that enabled explorations?
► The caravel was a new,
faster, more maneuverable
ship
► Older ships had square
sails, caravels had
triangular sails (easier to
change direction)
► Bilge pump system
enabled ship to float
higher (less likely to run
aground, easier to explore
coasts and rivers)
► Compass, astrolabe, maps,
sextant and other
technologies from Islamic
culture all helped make
explorations possible

12. New Maritime Technology
Hartman Astrolabe (1532)
Mariner’s Compass
Better Maps
Sextant

13. New Weapons Technology

15. PORTUGUESE: LEADER IN AGE OF
EXPLORATION
►Prince Henry (the Navigator) wanted to
find source of African gold, share in the
slave trade and start a crusade with the
Muslims in Africa—rumor was that Prestor
John had built Christian kingdom in Africa
►Established school of navigation at Sagres
►Portuguese will discover Madeira, Azores,
Cape Verde and Canary Islands
►First to bring slaves from Africa to Europe in
1441

16. Portuguese Exploration cont.
►By 1471 Portuguese in control of West
African trade in gold— (Gold Coast)
►1488 Bartholomeu Dias will be the first to
round the tip of southern Africa (Cape of
Storms)
►Returned to Portugal to report finding route
around Africa to King John II—renamed
Cape of Storms the Cape of Good Hope

17. ►In 1497 Vasco da Gama will be the first
to sail around Africa then all the way to
India
►Voyage was very profitable—starts the
Portuguese Empire in Asia

18. SPANISH EXPLORATION
►In 1492 Christopher Columbus (Italian)
will be given 3 ships by Isabella and
Ferdinand of Spain
►Believed he could sail West to reach
the East
►Problems included underestimation of the
circumference of the earth and no
knowledge of North and South America

20. COLUMBUS’ VOYAGE
►Set sail on August 3, 1492 and will reach
San Salvador (Bahamas) on October 12,
1492
►Believed he had reached the East Indies
but had “discovered” the West Indies
(New World)
►Columbus called the natives Indians
(why?)--first Europeans to be introduced
to tobacco
►Never found the vast amounts of gold or
spices

21. PORTUGAL AND SPAIN DISPUTE
► Spain and Portugal
disputed each others
claims
► Pope Alexander VI
settled dispute by
drawing up Line of
Demarcation
► Treaty of
Tordesillas moved
line further West
which gave Portugal
Brazil

22. OTHER EXPLORERS
► Pedro Cabral (Portugal) landed in Brazil and
claimed area for Portugal
► Amerigo Vespucci (Italian) will say that
Columbus had discovered a New World—German
mapmakers will name new lands Americas
► Vasco de Balboa will cross the Isthmus of
Panama—discover South Seas (Pacific Ocean)
► Juan Ponce de Leon will seek the mythical
“Fountain of Youth”—explored Florida

23. VOYAGE OF MAGELLAN
►Ferdinand Magellan will be the leader of
the voyage that will be the first to
circumnavigate the earth
►Renamed the South Sea the Pacific Ocean
►Many sailors suffered from scurvy, a
disease caused by a lack of vitamin C
►Encountered islands that he called the
Philippines where he gets killed

25. SEARCH FOR NORTHWEST
PASSAGE
► Other European nations (England, France, Dutch)
will ignore Treaty of Tordesillas
► Explorers searching for Northwest Passage an
all water route through North America
► John Cabot (Italian) sailing for the English
explored the N. American coast from Delaware to
Newfoundland (basis for England’s claim to N.
America)
► Henry Hudson (English) sailing for the Dutch
explored river and bay that bears his name

26. The English explorer James Cook
was the first European to make
contact with Australia, New Zealand,