1. An Age of Exploration
Pages

2. Objectives
Explain why Europeans wanted to move out far beyond their continent.
Describe advances in sailing.
Identify achievements of early European explorers.

3. Trade Links the World
Goods started to move between Asia, Africa, and Europe in the 1400s
The problem? The route to Asia was very LONG and EXPENSIVE

4. European Trade with Asia
Started to grow thanks largely to Marco Polo’s travels on the Silk Road
In 1295 Polo returned to Venice from China
He made many Europeans want to take part in trade with Asia

5. Trade and the Silk Road Pepper was a profitable good
People did not have refrigerators, so meat spoiled unless it was preserved with salt
The salt gave the meat a poor flavor, so pepper made it taste better
Pepper became very popular

6. Trade and the Silk Road A journey along the Silk Road took YEARS
It was also EXPENSIVE to travel
Those who did return could make as much as 60 times the amount they has spent making the journey
For this reason, Europeans wanted to find a quicker, cheaper way to Asia

7. Prince Henry of Portugal
Known as “Henry the Navigator”
People working for Henry designed a boat called the caravel
Caravels combined the smooth bodies of European sailing ships and the three sided sails of Arab boats
These sails allowed boats to sail into the wind!
For the first time ships could go in almost any direction

8. Caravel

9. Thinking Further…
If you had been a sailor of the time, why might you have been grateful to Henry the Navigator?

10. Bartholomeu Dias of Portugal
Became the first to sail around the southernmost tip of Africa
Marked a turning point in the search for a new route to Asia

11. Vasco da Gama of Portugal
Completed the trip around Africa and to Asia (1502)
Successful in reaching India
Began a period of European rule in India that lasted more than 400 years

12. What were the effects of the voyage of Vasco da Gama?
Thinking Further…
What were the effects of the voyage of Vasco da Gama?

13. Ferdinand Magellan of Spain
1519: Went on a westward journey to Asia
Magellan was trying to sail around the world!
Magellan and his crew made their way through a strait at the tip of South America (now called the Strait of Magellan)
Called the calm waters of the ocean Pacific, or “peaceful”

14. Magellan Continued… The voyage was not peaceful, though
Lack of food left the crew eating dust made from the wood on board and leather from their gear to survive
In the Philippines, Magellan was killed in battle
The crew DID finally reach ports in Asia and then Spain again (a 3 year journey!)
Of 238 men and 5 ships that set out with Magellan, only 17 men and 1 ship returned

15. Why it Matters
New technology added greatly to western Europe’s knowledge of the world
Different regions became more closely linked through trade and communication
Links led to further exploration and CONQUEST

16. Think About It How did the caravel help European explorers?
Why did Europeans want to find new routes to Asia?
What were two major changes brought about by Europe’s explorers in the 1400s and 1500s?