1. AGE OF EXPLORATION
A SEARCH FOR SPICES

2. REASONS FOR EUROPEAN EXPLORATION
European demand for gold, spices, natural resources
Support for diffusion (spread) of Christianity
Political & economic competition between European empires

3. WHY ARE SPICES IMPORTANT?
spices originally lure Europeans
preserve & improve food,
make medicine, cosmetics
& perfumes
“SPICE ISLANDS” –
East Indies (present
day Indonesia,
Malaysia &
New Guinea), & India

4. WHERE DO THE SPICES GO? Muslims/Arab traders
go to eastern Mediterranean
ports w/ spices, then…
Italian traders get spices & travel west across Mediterranean to sell for 40x original price!
Portugal & Spain seek new route to Asia b/c routes were no longer safe & wanted to make $ by obtaining spices w/o Arab middlemen

5. REMEMBER: 3 G’s and a T GOLD: some seek riches/power
GLORY: Some want to learn about new people/ideas & take credit
GOD: some want to spread Christianity
TECHNOLOGY: made voyages possible

6. TECHNOLOGY: MERCATOR PROJECTION
Cartographers make maps
New kind of map that showed true direction (latitude/longitude)

7. TECHNOLOGY: ASTROLABE
Used to determine latitude at sea
Originally used by Ancient Greeks, then improved by Muslims
Brass circle w/ adjustable rings  sights stars for direction

8. TECHNOLOGY: CARAVEL larger, faster, & more maneuverable
Multiple masts, triangular sails & new kind of rudder enabled sailors to steer into the wind
Cannons on side

9. TECHNOLOGY: COMPASS Magnetic
First developed by Chinese & Europeans improved it for sailing

10. WHO STARTS SAILING FIRST?
PORTUGAL leads the way
Prince Henry (“the Navigator”)
builds school for navigators, cartographers & explorers
sponsored voyages along west coast of Africa  searching for route to Asia for spices & gold from Africa

11. BARTOLOMEU DIAS rounded southern tip of Africa  Cape of Good Hope
(they were hopeful they
would find a route to Asia)
Got beaten up by a storm & had to go back

12. VASCO DA GAMA
sails around Cape of Good Hope all the way to Calicut, India
buys spices (like pepper & cinnamon) & sells them at 4,000X the original price!

13. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
Spain joins the race! Hires Columbus (Italian) to sail west hoping to hit EAST INDIES
Instead reached WEST INDIES (Bahamas off Florida)
But thought he reached Asia  tensions growing between Spain & Portugal

14. MORE ON COLUMBUS Made several more voyages through Caribbean islands
Wrote King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella (Spain) that native people, the Tainos, were easy to convert & enslave
(brain pop video)

15. FERDINAND MAGELLAN In search of westward route to “Spice Islands”
1519 – reaches water passage at southern tip of South America (Strait of Magellan)
Connects to Pacific Ocean & his crew CIRCUMNAVIGATES the globe
He dies in Philippines
Out of 237 men, only 18 make it home

17. JACQUES CARTIER 1534 French explorer
Reached a gulf off east coast of Canada
Led to a river he named
“St. Lawrence” & he
followed it inland to
Mont Royal (Montreal)
Helped to start New France

18. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 1580’s English captain
Raided Spanish ships & colonies
Eventually leads British
navy to victory over
Spanish Armada in 1588

19. NATIONALISM The Dutch (Netherlands) create a bustling trading empire
throughout Indian ocean
Pride in your country
Driving force behind competition for exploration
Colonies set up in newly conquered lands to establish control (harsh)
All leads to decimation of indigenous (native) peoples