Reasons for Exploration

547 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Renaissance Influence on Europe

Reasons for Exploration Before the Age of Exploration, little was known to the Europeans of the outside world. There was the misconception that the earth was flat and finite. Likewise, in accordance to the Bible, people thought that the earth was 7/8 land. From this belief it was thought that any voyage around Africa to India would be impossible, as it was suggested that landmass would obstruct any vessel. As well there was no knowledge of the existence of the Americas or Australia. However, it was these misconceptions that gave explorers such as Columbus reasoning to sail west to go east. Nonetheless, exploration in the 15th century was fueled by an assortment of factors. The first of these factors was the change in the views and outlook of the Europeans. The rise of towns and trade in the past century stimulated a desire for foreign goods. As a second effect it exposed the Europeans to foreign culture, hence producing interest towards the outside world. Supplementary to the rise of towns and the increase in trade were the radical ideas of the Renaissance. Secular topics w...

Show More
Related

  • Printing Press Dbq Essay

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Exploration Era was a time period when countries and people made journeys overseas to find “the New World.” With the help of the printing press, the discoveries of the Americas were known globally making people curious to explore it themselves. In the map “Distribution of Columbus’ Letter” (Document D), it shows where the letter was published and where it was translated to different. This is due to the printing press. Along with the many documents, the news of Christopher Columbus’ discoveries of “India” or the New World had sparked the curiosity of people all over the world. People became more interested in geography and seeing what’s out there along with the different resources. The New World discovery opened up a new trade route and different trade items. This would create pros and cons like economic growth and slavery. In addition the exploration of the Europeans helped us gain knowledge and get a picture of the Americas. In the “Henricus Martellus’ World Map, 1489” (Document E), it shows the world as they knew it with Europe, Africa, and Asia. The “Martin Waldseemuller's World Map, 1507” was an updated, more correct version of the world we see today. Waldseemuller’s map includes the Americas and was much bigger than Martellus’. The printing press had helped Waldseemuller use this new knowledge to create a map that would depict something

    Read More

  • Navigating The Age Of Exploration Summary

    313 Words  | 1 Pages

    The article “Navigating the Age of Exploration” by Ted Widmer explains how people view American history with only the assumptions pertaining to the present boundaries of the United States instead of seeing the world as explorers did during the Age of Exploration and expanding our boundaries to understand America’s history more fully. Widmer points out that many teachers of American history don’t teach a full continental perspective extending beyond American borders, which doesn’t give credit to the various cultures that contributed to the foundation of the United States. Today, people know little about the contributions of explorers during the Age of Exploration, and their impacts on America. During the Age of Exploration, the Europeans created

    Read More

  • Innovations In Eurasia

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is similar to the translation of Islamic Spain scholarly ideas into Italian to appeal to other cultures and be further improved upon by the adoptive countries. These similarities of adaptation to new countries and the usage of major trade networks as vehicles synthesizes the cross-cultural exchange between 1000 and 1450 to the technological of the same period. The effects of the spreading of scientific and technological innovation between 1000 and 1450 were felt across Eurasia. These phenomenon resulted in higher degrees of interregional contact and the entrance of countries into the major global stage. This, as a result, boosted economies, and as a further result boosted trade networks.

    Read More

  • Age Of Exploration Dbq

    844 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Age of Exploration brought many unforeseen changes to the people of Africa. On a path seeking gold, glory, and God, many explorers reached new parts of Africa. Explorers were seeking a more direct route to Asia and believed they must travel through Africa to reach these Asian lands. Namely, Portugal was interested in this under the direction of Prince Henry. There, he believed they could capture the riches of Muslim trade and convert the natives to Christianity. King Henry died before the route to Asia could be accomplished but he laid the groundwork for later exploration and encounters with Africa. During the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, Europeans desire to find Asia greatly impacted the lives of native Africans through the slave

    Read More

  • Middle Ages Vs Renaissance Dbq

    513 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Middle Ages and the Renaissance were different in their own unique ways. The Middle Ages, time was simpler. They relied more on the churches and their religious means. The Renaissance was during the year 1350 and didn’t last until 1700. The Renaissance means “rebirth” or “revival” (Background Essay). This was a time when art and science were popular and important. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the change of man’s point of view from the Middle Ages due to the Renaissance.

    Read More

  • history 111

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    Political factors in the 18th century involving the Islamic conquest of Spain, France, North Africa and parts of the Mediterranean, successfully hindered European expedition to the Far East for succeeding centuries. This made many early explorers like Christopher Columbus and Vasco de Gama look for new trade path to the East. Ocean expeditions were very treacherous at this time. The weather could not be predicted, the navigation techniques were still primarily ancient and maps were scandalously unre...

    Read More

  • Age Of Exploration Essay

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    The age exploration in Europe began in the 1400s. The rise of strong kingdoms, the desire for trade, improved navigation technology from Ptolemy and Al Idrisi like the astrolabe, compass, and better maps with longitude and latitude, and better ships like the caravel and naus led to a new era of exploration. After the Renaissance people knew the world was flat so they started to use the water more for sailing. The first country to send ships out was Portugal; in 1420, because they were at peace and had enough money they were the first to set out. They began mapping Africa’s coastline and trading with African Kingdoms. Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal taught Sailors when he got too old and could no longer sail. Spain soon followed after

    Read More

  • Three Explorers From The Age Of Exploration Essay

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    Age of Explorations was a time of discovery of the new world during the 15th through 17th century. Many Explorers were in search for new passage ways, new trading ports, new land, new spices, and riches. The three explorers discussed in this paper is Henry Hudson, Jacques Cartier, and Francisco Pizarro. Henry Hudson was an explorer whose main purpose was to find a route to Asia from Europe, he had a series of three voyages trying to achieve this. Jacques Cartier was sent to find riches and a route to Asia as well. Francisco Pizarro served on an expedition, which he discovered the Pacific Ocean.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of European Exploration

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the European exploration, which was in the 15th and 16th century, explorers were sailing around to explore, trade, spread, or get new things. These places were throughout Europe (Spain, Portugal, etc.), America (The colonies), and through Asia. These explorers were sailing through the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. These explorations started from Portugal with Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama and this time of exploration spread to different countries and other explorers such as Christopher Columbus, Hernando Cortez and more. All this exploration was all done with new sailing innovations and navigation schools (which was created by Prince Henry) which taught people to explore and sail across the sea. Some major points of European exploration were the discovery of the new world (America), which was a new place never explored by the Europeans. The exploration of the coastlines of the Indian Ocean and the China Sea, as well as explorers trying to find new and faster sea routes to different places, which was also important. European exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries was motivated by God (spreading Christianity), gold (wealth), and glory (becoming glorious for your country

    Read More

  • Christopher Columbus Influenced Spain and Europe

    2237 Words  | 5 Pages

    Europe was never very much aware of their surroundings, they only knew of close lands such as the Mediterranean. Ferdinand and Isabella were not willing to negotiate with Columbus until the fall of Granada. Columbus then had no chance of bringing the people of Europe to the New Land because of lack of money support from Ferdinand and Isabella. In Europe around the time of 1492, the people of Europe were striving to get to a new land where they could live out their religion and live freely. The Mediterranean supplied Europe with a basis of a self contained geographical unit. As the Europeans became more aware of their su...

    Read More

  • Expansion of western europe

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the mid 1400’s Spain and Portugal began to take separate routes of discovery. Prince Henry of Portugal, in reaction to the shortage of bullion in Western Europe, was interested in sending his captains to the African coast in search of gold. As a result, many Portuguese ports were established along the African coast and “The Portuguese were able to exploit at least a part of the African caravan trade they had sought.” (p.340) While Portugal was focused on expansion along the African coast; the Spanish were the first to discover the “new world” despite the lack of geographical knowledge the Spaniards and Columbus in particular possessed. This “new world” wasn’t quite what Columbus had though it was, however; as Columbus maintained to his death that he had reached Asia. He hadn’t, “He had landed at one of the Bahaman Islands, San Salvador.” (p. 342) Columbus’ distorted reality proved to...

    Read More

  • History Of Bartolome De Las Casas

    1174 Words  | 3 Pages

    The fifteenth century was a period of mass exploration for many areas of the world. Countries such as Spain, France, and England were beginning to send explorers to the newly discovered western hemisphere for their nations to gain both wealth and territory. Many of the explorers thought it was necessary to subordinate Indian civilizations in order to benefit both themselves and their country. Decisions that the explorers made on the other side of the world proved to introduce great controversy in Europe. Some theologians and historians, such as Ginés Sepúlveda, saw invasions of the New World as a way to introduce civilization and Christianity to “barbarians” that are “incapable of government” (Las Casas 3). However, many religious leaders,

    Read More

  • Age Of Exploration DBQ

    492 Words  | 1 Pages

    Europeans explored continents and countries in the 1400’s to the 1700’s, this is know as the Age of Exploration. The impact of Europeans on global trade was disease, new crops, and slavery.

    Read More

  • Influences Of The Renaissance Upon The Founding Of America

    498 Words  | 1 Pages

    The most posing problems with the set routes to Asia, which went around the Cape of Good Hope and along the coast of Africa, were that it was very dangerous due to enemy colonies along the route and was also very long. These problems made some people, including Christopher Columbus, decide to turn to the west to find safer and faster routes to the riches of Asia. What they found was the Americas. Believing that he would reach Asia, Columbus accidentally found a new continent, full of new riches and unclaimed lands. All of this occurred near the end of the Renaissance, beginning with the founding of America in 1492, near the end of the 15th century.

    Read More

  • Renaissance and Reformation

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    The renaissance and the reformation were two of the most significant changes in history that has shaped our world today. Both of these great time periods are strikingly similar in some ways and totally different in others. This is because the renaissance was a change from religion to humanism whether it is in art or literature; it is where the individual began to matter. However, the reformation was,” in a nutshell,” a way to reform the church and even more so to form the way our society is today. The first half of this paper will view the drop in faith, the economic powers, and the artistic and literary changes during the renaissance, while the second half will view the progresses and changes the church makes during the reformation.

    Read More

More about Reasons for Exploration

Open Document