Europeans sought to gain direct access to Asian goods by exploring new trade routes, bypassing Middle Eastern merchants. Portugal led the way in the 1400s by exploring along the western coast of Africa under Prince Henry. In 1497, Vasco da Gama reached India, acquiring spices at huge profits. This opened the sea route to Asia and led Portugal to seize key ports in the Indian Ocean. Christopher Columbus mistakenly reached the Americas in 1492 while seeking a western route to Asia, leading to European discovery of the new continents.

1. Chapter 15 Section 1 The Search for Spices By: Tara Paakkunainen

2. Europeans Explore the Seas Crusades introduced Europeans to Asian goods. Black Death and breakup of the Mongol Empire disrupted trade. Most valued items were spices, such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and pepper. The cheif source of spices was the Moluccas

3. Motives 1400's, Muslims and Italian merchants controlled most trade between Asia and Europe. Europeans wanted to gain direct acces to Asian good First Portugal sought a trade that bypassed the Mediterranean and then Spain did.

4. Improved Technology Cartographers who, were map mapmakers and they created more accurate maps and sea charts. Astrolabe which could determine their latitude at sea. Portuguese developed the caravel which was an advanced ship that combined the square sails of European ship with Arab triangular sails.

5. Portugal Sails Eastward Portugal led the way for exploration by the 1400’s. At Sagres Prince Henry gathered scientists and cartographers to prepare maps and train crew members for long voyages. He then sent them out to explore the western coast of Africa. In 1460 Henry died but the Portuguese still continued their quest. The rounded tip became known as the Cape of Good Hope because it opened the way for a sea route to Asia.

6. India In 1497 Vasco da Gama led a 10-month voyage. He acquired a cargo of spices that he sold at a profit of 3,000 percent. In 1502 he forced a treaty of friendship on the ruler Calicut. He left Portuguese merchants there to buy spices when they were low and store them till the next fleet came. The Portuguese seized key ports around the Indian Ocean to create vast trading post.

7. Columbus Christopher Columbus wanted to reach the Indies by sailing west across the Atlantic. He made two mistakes first he underestimated the size of the earth and two he did not know of the two continents in his way. Ferdinand & Isabella financed his voyage. On August 3, 1492 Columbus sailed west with three small ships the Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria. In 1493 he returned to Spain. Other Europeans realized that Columbus had found a route to continents previously unknown to them.

8. Line of Demacration Both Spain and Portugal pressed claims to the lands that Columbus explored. In 1493 Pope Alexander VI set a Line of Demarcation dividing the non-European world into two zones. Spain and exploring and trading rights in any lands west of the line and Portugal had the same rights east of the line. In 1507 a German Cartographer labeled the region America and the Islands that Columbus had explored in the Caribbean became known as the West Indies.

9. The Search Continues In 1513 Vasco Nunez de Balboa found a huge body of water which he named the South Sea. On September 20, 1519 Ferdinand Magellan set out of Spain with five ships. In November 1520 Magellan’s ships charted a passage that became known as the Strait of Magellan that emerged into Balboa’s South Sea Magellan renamed it the Pacific-peaceful-Ocean. Magellan sailed across the Pacific to the West Indies and ended up sailing for four months. In 1512 the fleet reached the Philippines. Magellan was killed there in a local conflict.

10. Search Continues Only 1 ship and 18 sailors had completed the voyage. On September 8, 1522 the survivors had reached Seville, they were the first people to circumnavigate the world. In 1497 King Henry VII of England sent John Cabot to seek a more northerly route than the one Columbus had charted. He found rich fishing land off of Newfoundland which he claimed for England. French Captain Jacques Cartier explored the St, Lawrence River. Henry Hudson who was sailing for the Dutch explored the Hudson River. But neither of them had found a route to Asia but the search still continued for centuries.