The Age of Discovery was an important era in world history, which forever altered the fortunes and futures of so many people and countries. The period itself, produced many technological and theoretical changes, and helped pave the way to the modern society in which we now live in. In short, the Age of Discovery was responsible for discovering, mapping, and unifying the globe in such a way that the world would never be the same.
To begin with, the Age of Discovery started during the middle of the fifteenth century and concluded during the late seventeenth century. It was named so, because much of the previously inaccessible and unknown lands were discovered by European explorers during this time and immense knowledge was added to the realm of geography (Parry, 1). Perhaps just as important, the marriage of science and technology to the workforce and the subsequent victory of thought over authority led to many discoveries unknown at that time (Parry, 1). Much of what was discovered during this time would help lay the foundation of what today is considered the modern western world (Parry, 1).
Unlike today, where knowledge and technology improve at a relatively frenetic pace, the intellectual temper during the sixteenth century was quite different. People back then did not expect or imagine that great leaps and bounds would be made in the realm of knowledge and were instead rather conservative and tended to respect institutions of authority (Parry, 2). Because of this reality, people generally didn’t question authority or the status quo which produced a relatively slow and unimaginative pace in the terms of scientific exploration. In fact, many scientists were afraid to run too far away from what was considered main...
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...n made ships carrying the products Europeans most desired, and the rough outline of the worlds continents were mapped (Parry, 322-323). Needless to say, the European countries were a lot better off after the Age of Reconnaissance concluded.
In conclusion, the Age of Discovery The Age of Reconnaissance was a time of great change both in the scientific and religious world. As a result, Europe itself was transformed from a backwater region into an economic and military behemoth which laid the foundation for the western world to expand and flourish in later centuries. In short, this age sped up and catapulted the world into modern times and instilled a sense of intellectual wonder in those who took part in it.
Works Cited
Parry, J. H. The Age of Reconnaissance. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981.
The essay starts off by stating, “One could say that the dominant scientific world-view going into the 16th century was not all that “scientific” in the modern sense of the
...overies in geography, technology, and navigation, all of which were important in the years to come. Thus, the scientific method laid the framework for the development of a more modern and accurate understanding of the world.
Wolf, A. A History of Science, Technology and Philosophy in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Vol. 2. New York: Harper, 1959.
Discoveries in Europe were critical in the upbringing of science. “Europeans scientific revolution matched the new “America” perfectly, they were making it perfect; so they said” (Science in America,Watts). Exploration presented different kinds of plants, animals, and diverse beliefs for people, which showed the different ways science could affect everyone, while not even knowing it. “The first settlers in North America from England were hard-pressed to survive, but they soon continued the European tradition of scientific inquiry. Individuals who used native talent to improve living and working conditions performed much of the scientific work done in the 19th century. Those inventors improved existing technology, while only sometimes using scientific methods to test their ideas. The success and importance of inventions helped raise the prestige of science in the United States, however, and created the common belief that knowledge, hard work, and science would result in progress” [American philosophy. (2013)]. Scientific observations concerning the natural world were made non-fiction by experiments, which show the technological advances.
The Age of maritime exploration in Europe represented a new era of global inter-connectivity and interaction. Due to technological development, Europeans were capable to forging into new and formerly undiscovered territories. The Europeans growing desire to satisfy their demand for luxurious good as well as the desire to discover precious materials like silver and gold served as a particularly crucial motivation for maritime exploration. Maritime exploration also introduced Europeans to new culture, foods, and peoples.
During two centuries which were the 15th and 16th centuries, several leaders of European nations were sponsoring expeditions abroad in the hope that explorers would find great wealth and very great extent of undiscovered lands. In the so called “Age of Discovery” the Portuguese were the first people to participate in it. About 1420 was when it started of small Portuguese ships known as caravels zipped along the African coast and which were carrying spices, gold, slaves and other goods from Asia and Africa to Europe.
Wolf, A. A History of Science, Technology and Philosophy in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Vol. 2. New York: Harper, 1959.
Building upon this foundation are the people who, whether actively or accidentally, played a part in raising the banner of discovery high and prompting others to press forward in the expansion of collective knowledge. Finally, delving into the deeply held convictions and motives which spurred the intrepid adventurers into previously only theorized territories gives special insight to answering the question, why? By becoming intimately aware of the broad shift in knowledge held by the world during the pivotal Age of Discovery and ensuing Age of Reconnaissance, historians may further develop their own guiding principles of expanding knowledge and discovery. The Age of Discovery marked a pivot point for European perceptions about the extent of their world. For the first time, it was understood that all seas might be one, and that perhaps there was a whole new unexplored world beyond the horizon.
Experiencing Nature places greater emphasis on Spanish Empire’s contribution to late 16th and 17th century empiricism than most books that concern themselves with the Scientific Revolution. Barrera-Osorio centers his argument around technological advancements achieved and implemented as a result of Spanish activity in the New World. The manner in which Barrera-Osorio traces the changing understanding of Nature alongside advancements in cosmography and navigation offers initial insight into a relationship I am interested in investigating further.
“The results of Socrates' martyrdom and Plato's unexcelled prose that followed are nothing less than the whole world of Western man as we know it. If the idea of truth had been allowed to perish unrediscovered by the Renaissance it's unlikely that we would be much beyond the level of prehistoric man today. The ideas of science and technology and other systematically organized efforts of man are dead-centered on it. It is the nucleus of it all.” This statement by Robert Pirsig, an American philosopher, encompasses the whole of the Renaissance into an allusion of medieval expansion. The works of these great philosophers paired with the discoveries of the Renaissance can be the attributing factors that led man kind out of the dark ages and into a new era
The struggle for power and balance between the young, developing academies and the formidable Church affected the lives of prominent Italian Scientists, such as Copernicus and Galileo, during the Scientific Revolution
Also, this was a time in which science and the knowledge of the world came into focus as well
5. Burns, William E. Science in the Enlightenment: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2003. Print.
Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, radical and controversial ideas were created in what would become a time period of great advances. The Scientific Revolution began with a spark of inspiration that spread a wild fire of ideas through Europe and America. The new radical ideas affected everything that had been established and proven through religious views. "The scientific revolution was more radical and innovative than any of the political revolutions of the seventeenth century."1 All of the advances that were made during this revolutionary time can be attributed to the founders of the Scientific Revolution.
Findon, Joanne. Science and Technology in the Middle Ages. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2004.