1. EXPLORATION
CHRISTENSEN 2015

2. AGE OF DISCOVERY Explorers wanted to trade with the east
Five main countries sent explorers:
Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, England
FACT
12 ounces of pepper could cost $125!

3. Reasons for Exploring:
Desire for Wealth
Spread of Christianity
Desire to seek Knowledge
New Technology in sailing:
More accurate Maps
Astrolabe Improved Navigation
New and Improved Ships (learned from China!)

4. Marco Polo (1254-1324) Traveled for Italy…By Land Lived for many years
From Venice to China
Lived for many years
Trade routes across land were used to get to the east
Travel by land was expensive
He returned and wrote The Travels of Marco Polo
Book told stories of the riches of the east

5. Marco Polo’s
Journey

6. One Theory about the Game…
The Marco Polo game possibly reenacts the return voyage of Marco Polo. The voyage involved a fleet of ships and a large number of voyagers. When Marco Polo finally did return, over 600 of his travel companions were missing. One theory is that the fleet was caught in a great storm that destroyed many of the ships and left the crew and passengers in the ocean. Hoping to be found, they yell for the expedition leader. Visibility is very low (hence the closed eyes) and Marco Polo tries desperately to find the swimmers (hence the pool). The yells come from all around which adds to the confusion. The game ends when he finally connects with one player which portrays the small percentage of people that survived the voyage.

7. Henry the Navigator (1394-1460)
Sailed for Portugal
Created a school for Navigators
Mapped the African coast to take part in the West-African trade.
Was a crusader as much as a discoverer.

8. Henry’s
Explorations

9. Bartolomeu Dias ( )
Sailed for Portugal down the western coast of Africa
Reached the southern tip
Discovered the “Cape of Good Hope” and the Indian Ocean
The name was in the Hope that a sea route to India had been found

10. Dias’ Journey

11. Admiral Dom Vasco da Gama (c. 1469 - 1524)
Sailed for Portugal
His fleet passed the Cape of Good Hope
Arrived at Calcutta, India
The trade route gave Portugal a Monopoly on sea trading

12. da Gama’s Journey

13. Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)
Sailed for Spain, after being denied by many other countries
Departed on his first voyage from southern Spain, on August 2, 1492
Columbus arrived in Bahamas on October 12
FACT
Columbus never actually made it to “America” or knew he had found a new continent.

14. Columbus’s Journey

15. John Cabot (1450-1498) Sailed for Italy and England
Wanted to follow in Columbus’s footsteps
First European to reach North America (probably Newfoundland, Canada) on June 24, 1497

16. Cabot’s
Voyage

17. Amerigo Vespucci ( )
Italian-born explorer of South America ( )
He was amazed at the size of South America
He was the first to suggest it was a new continent
FACT
Later maps of the New World named it after Amerigo…America!

18. Vespucci’s Voyage

19. Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475-1519)
Spanish conquistador and explorer.
He was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean (Sept 13, 1513).
He marched through the jungles of what is now Panama.
He claimed the Pacific Ocean and all its shores for Spain

20. Balboa’s Voyage

21. Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521)
Sailed for Spain
The first explorer to lead an expedition around the world.
Journey took 3 years
Killed in the Philippines
Southern tip of S. America is named the Strait of Magellan
FACT
Out of 5 ships and 250 men, only 1 ship and 18 men made it around the world!

22. Magellan’s Voyage

23. Jacques Cartier (1491-1557) Sailed for France
His original intent was to find the Northwest Passage to Asia.
Explored the St. Lawrence River to present day Montreal.
Cartier's exploration was the base for France's claim to Canada.

24. Cartier’s Voyage