Age of Exploration

Motivation: Why did the explorers want to go? GOLD, GLORY, GOD

Gold (Money) Trade was very important in Europe during the Renaissance Rise of merchants & banking helped people to start their own companies & sell exotic products from the “East” Merchants began looking for quick, direct trade routes to Asia; there was lots of money to be made

Glory Renaissance inspired new possibilities (no one explored during the Middle Ages) Exploration led to fame for the explorers & sponsor country (found new places & gained more lands) Demand for new land & glory led to competition between countries

God During the Middle Ages & the Renaissance, Europe was very religious Christians wanted to stop the spread of Islam & also convert “natives” they discovered to Christianity; explorers were encouraged to spread Christianity or bring missionaries who would focus only on conversions

Means: How were the explorers able to sail so far? Technological Advances

Navigation Prior to the Renaissance, sailors used landmarks & stars to find location (was very inaccurate) Through cultural diffusion Europeans learned about new techniques: Magnetic Compass (Chinese) shows cardinal directions Astrolabe (Arabs/Islamic) used stars as fixed points to show direction Made sailing more accurate

Astrolabe

Magnetic Compass

Maps Used to be very inaccurate, but during Renaissance cartography (science of drawing maps) grew as trade increased Europeans also borrowed maps from Middle Eastern & Asian scholars & merchants Introduced grid system based on longitude & latitude

Longitude Latitude

Ships Europeans built better ships: Caravel—big, strong ships that could travel in shallow water Discovered lateen sail (triangle-shaped) from Arabs Muslims; allowed explorers to sail against the wind Used multiple small sails, rather than large single sails– improved speed

Portuguese caravel used in the 1400s

Ships Moveable rudder allowed for more maneuverability Carried new weapons like rifles & cannons to protect against the dangerous “unknown”

Mapping Activity Use the world map & instructions provided to label the world map.

Teaching the class In your groups you are going to read the information cards on your explorer. You need to answer the following questions: 1) What reason did your explorer explore? 2) What obstacles did your explorer face? 3) What regions did your explorer explore and accomplishments they gained? 4) What impact did their exploration have on the native Americans? Once you have these answered begin working on your monuments.