 What were determining factors that led to the Age of Explorations?

 We are going to take a look at what made the European Explorations possible.  Who led in the explorations?  What inventions were needed for the explorations to be succesful?

 The 3 G’s  Gold  God  Glory

 Desire for new sources of wealth was the main reason for European exploration.  Muslims and Italians controlled the trade (had to bypass them from east to west)  Monarchs of England, Spain, Portugal, and France – sought to bypass the Italian merchants.  #Sea route

 After the crusades 1096 to 1270, European nations wanted to spread Christianity throughout the world.  “to serve God and His Majesty, to give light to those who were in darkness and to grow rich as all men desire to do”  - Bartolomeu Dias

 1200s – impossible for a sea captain to travel 3,000 miles and return.  1400s- new vessel created called the caravel could sail against the wind.  Sailors also began to use the astrolabe.  - Brass circle with carefully adjusted rings marked off in degrees.  A captain was able to tell how far north and south the equator was.

 Portugal

 How could one achieve one of the three G’s?

 Leader in developing and applying sailing innovations.  First to establish trading post along the West coast of Africa.

 Son of Portugal’s king.  1415 – helped conquer the Muslim city of Ceuta in North Africa.  Found pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and other spices, gold, silver, and jewels.

 1419 – founded a navigation school on the southwestern coast of Portugal.  - mapmakers, instrument makers, shipbuilders, scientist, and sea captains perfected their trade.  1460 – Henry died but with his help Portugal began creeping down Africa and making more trading post.

 Believed they had to sail around the Southern tip of Africa.  Captain Bartolomeu Dias reached the Southern tip of Africa.  Vasco da Gama reached the port of Calicut, on the Southwestern coast of India.  da Gama was given a hero’s welcome. His 27,000 mile journey found a sea route to India.  #Gold,God,Glory

 Desired a direct route to Asia.  1492 – An Italian sea captain, Christopher Columbus convinced Spain to finance his journey.  October 1492 – reached an island in the Caribbean.  His journey increased tensions between Spain and Portugal

 1493 – Pope Alexander VI stepped in to try to keep peace and suggested an imaginary line north to south that separated the two empires.  1494 – Treaty of Tordesillas, both groups signed the treaty and agreed to abide by it.

 European nations scrambled to establish profitable trading outposts along the shores of South and Southeast Asia.  Portugal built trading post along the Indian Ocean.

 1509 – extended control by defeating a Muslim fleet  1510 – Captured the Port Goa on India’s west coast  Captured the city of Malacca

 They were able to bring back goods at a fifth of the price they would have paid through the Arabs and Italians.  By the 1600’s the rest of Europe had begun to descend upon Asia.

 Dutch and the English began to challenge power over the Indian ocean trade.  The Dutch East India Company was richer and more powerful than England’s companies and were able to drive them out.

 1 paragraph of what your paper will be on and why it interest you.  i.e. Hitler’s rise to power  - Fall of Constantinople  - Assassination of Abraham Lincoln  - Rise of Communism in Russia  - Longstreet vs. Lee: Gettysburg  - The Death of Emmitt Till  - United States influence in the Middle East