Exploration and Technology• Explain the reasons for European

exploration• Explain the technology that made

ocean exploration possible.

1450 – Johannes Guttenberg develops a new kind of printing press1492 – Christopher Columbus lands at San Salvador

The 1400’s was an age and advancement of learning , science, and artIt was the Renaissance

Gutenberg Press-helped the spread of ideas-before, most books were hand-written-made it much faster to print books

Renaissance Paintings

Renaissance Architecture

A Rush of New Ideas“The Travels of Marco Polo”

written almost 200 years earlier – his trip to Cathay (China). Europeans were amazed to read about Chinese inventions such as the compass and gunpowder. Europeans also wanted the silks and spices Marco Polo wrote about…

Europeans did not travel by boats to Asia, they took difficult land routes, and had to cross mountains. The Silk Road

Sailors lacked the technology, or scientific knowledge, to reach Asia by sea. They had no accurate maps. So scientists and sailors began working to solve these problems.

How were people traveling during the 1400’s?What was easier, horse and wagon or boat?What kept Europeans from sailing to Asia?

The World Awaits

Prince Henry, of Portugal, opened a school of navigation. Navigation is the science of planning and following a route.

New Technologythe caravel – were smaller, lighter, and faster ships of the time. the astrolabe – used to figure out the positions of the sun, moon, and starsthe compass – used to help sailors find their longitude, or distance east or west of the prime meridian

Lateen sail

Viking Ship

Stern post rudderSternpost rudder with lateen sail

Nautical technology from the east brought a wave of sailing possibilities. It changed history – the lateen sail and the stern post rudder.

The Ottoman Empire takes Constantinople – 1453

A new route other than the Silk Road, was needed.

Few Europeans had any idea that there were other continents beyond Europe, Africa, and Asia.

In A.D. 1000 Leif Erikson led the Vikings from Norway and sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean, stopping in Greenland, Canada, and present-day Newfoundland.

The Vikings fought with Native Americans, and later chose to leave. They did write about their voyage, but few people read about them.

Sailing west across the Atlantic was not considered until Christopher Columbus.

America at the time

South America – Incan Empire 12 million citizens

Central America – Aztec Empire 5 million people live under Aztec rulecovered 80,000 square miles of present day Mexico.

North America – Native American people living from Eastern Woodlands to The Southwest desert

Ptolemy was a Greek Astronomer who lived in the second century. He was the first person to put north at the top of a map and the first to use longitude and latitude.

Ptolemy’s maps greatly influenced Europeans in the 1400’s.

His maps only showed what continents?

Columbus believed he could reach Asia by sailing west across the Ocean Sea, the Atlantic. He thought it would be a more direct route to Asia than sailing around Africa.

Proving this took money.

Entrepreneurs – a person who sets up or runs a business. In the case of Columbus, the business was an expedition west. And the cost was ships, crew, and supplies.

Cost – effort made to achieve or gain something.

Risks – a ship could sink, an explorer might not find any valuable goods.

Benefit – is a reward gained, the chance of finding riches or land. The riches could potentially repay the money paid by the trip’s supporters.

The Business of Exploring

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain

Christopher Columbus , an Italian

The Reconquista – In Spain, Muslims had to give up their religion. By 1492, the King and Queen had claimed all lands once held by Muslims.

They also forced many thousands of Jews to leave Spain.

Religion is a major force in Europe. Catholic beliefs helped Christopher Columbus win support. He also promised the king and queen great riches and new lands and said he would bring Catholic beliefs to the people of Asia.

1492 – Columbus and his crew traveled about 4,100 miles to an island in the Caribbean.

The Nine, Pinta, and the Santa Maria

He claimed the land for Spain, and called it San Salvador.Columbus thought he reached Asia, or the Indies. They did not find any silk or spices.

The Taino people welcomed Columbus and his people. Columbus believed he had reached Asia and was now in the Indies. This belief explains why he called the people he met on the island Indians.

Columbus Returns to SpainWhen Columbus and his crew got back to Spain, they were treated like heroes. They had crossed the crossed the Atlantic ocean and returned home. When King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella saw the gold, animals, plants, and people from the Indies, they paid for another expedition. The Spanish rulers made reasons for this second expedition clear. Columbus was expected to find more riches, start settlements, and convert the people he met to the Catholic religion.

SummaryIn the 1400’s, stories of riches in Asia made sailors want to explore. Faster ships and new tools made exploration possible. While most people looked to the east for a route to Asia, Columbus sailed west and reached land across the Atlantic Ocean.