1. Reasons for the Age of Exploration
Motives
and
Advances

2. Why now? Why explore now, in the late 1400s/1500s?
1. Motives – they had a
REASON
2. Advances in knowledge
and technology helped
make voyages possible

3. Motives for Exploration

4. New trade routes to Asia
Why Asia??
Spices!
Used to help preserve food
Cover taste of not-so-fresh food
Why find a route by water?
Muslims and Italians controlled the route
Often closed trade routes
Goods went through many trading hands, raising $$

5. Explorers had many motives
New knowledge
Fame and GLORY
Personal wealth
Adventure

6. Nations Motivations for Funding explorers
Claim lands’ riches!

7. Spread Religion Catholics wanted to spread Catholicism
Protestants wanted to spread Protestantism
Missionaries followed the paths blazed by explorers to bring native people to their faiths

8. Advances in Knowledge and Technology

9. Renaissance Age of Exploration began during the Renaissance
Renaissance was a time of learning, which led to advances that made it easier for explorers to venture farther than they could imagine.
Key Advances:

10. Cartography The art and science of mapmaking
Italian scholars translated an old Greek book called Guide to Geography, by the famous ancient Greek Ptolemy. This renewed the interest in mapmaking.
Explorers’ discoveries made maps more precise.
1500s – maps showed Earth as a sphere
1507 – first map that clearly shows North and South America separated from Asia
Gerardus Mercator – created maps using improved longitude and latitude,
All of this helped make navigation easier for explorers.

11. Improved Ship Design
1400s – Portuguese and Spanish using caravels (small, fast, easily maneuverable ships)
Caravels had shallow bottoms made it easier for explorers to travel along coasts
Caravels also had triangular sails (lateen), which can pick up wind from every direction

12. Improved navigational tools
Compass was much improved in the 15th century
Compasses helped sailors find their bearing, or direction of travel
Astrolabe helped sailors figure out their distance north or south of the equator

13. Improved weapons
Europeans had a huge advantage over the people they met
Sailors could fire cannons at targets near the shore without leaving their ships
Weapons of native peoples were often no match for European guns, armor, and horses

14. Question time!
1. What were some key motives for Europeans during the Age of Exploration?
2. Which motive do you think was the strongest for encouraging European exploration? Why?
3. What key advances in knowledge and technology allowed Europeans to explore these new areas?
4. Which advance do you think was the most important? Why?