Essay On The Age Of Discovery

The Age of “Discovery”, a period that brought notable changes to regions spanning the globe, began in the 15th century. Following the end of the highly influential Renaissance period, many people in Europe developed an interest in the foreign lands of the world. This resulted in the beginning of the Age of Discovery, which was marked as the period of great global exploration and expansion. The country of Portugal fueled the start of this period. Portugal, which had been blocked from making advancements in trade in the past due to the overwhelming presence of more influential countries, spearheaded exploration during this time. After successfully taking control of regions in Africa and the Atlantic archipelagos following minor exploration expeditions,

Portuguese born and Spanish serving explorer Ferdinand Magellan tried to find the westward route to South East Asia that had eluded Christopher Columbus in the previous decades. Commanding five ships, Magellan helped his crew successfully circumnavigate the Earth and return to Spain with goods from the “Spice Islands”. Unfortunately, Magellan died during the Battle of Mactan on the trip back to Spain. In addition, Capitan James Cook made voyages that led him all the way to modern day Alaska, which he was able to map

Most notably, Portugal captured and enslaved many Africans whilst moving south to continue exploring the world, growing richer with every one sold. As many as 150,000 Africans were enslaved and sold by the Portuguese within the first 50 years of the Age of Discovery. Similarly, Christopher Columbus kidnapped approximately three to four dozen Caribbean natives before returning home to Spain. In addition, during Cortes’ exploration of Mexico, many native Aztec people became infected with smallpox. This disease, which the Europeans brought from their overcrowded cities, spread like wildfire; it killed off a substantial amount of the native