Age of Discovery: Spanish, Portuguese, British, French and Dutch Explorers

many great discoveries have been made during the history of our world and one of the greatest was made in 1492 when Christopher Columbus sailed across the unexplored vastness of the Atlantic Ocean and discovered America but do we know what happened then and why why was America discovered at this particular moment in history why were so many voyages of discovery made at this time why hadn't they been made before what was happening in the civilized world to make this moment the great age of discovery and exploration let's look back about 1,000 years in history to learn why things happen then as they did a thousand years ago North and South America as well as Australia New Zealand and much of Asia and Africa were unknown to any except the people who lived there at that time the culture of Europe centered around the Mediterranean area this was an age when life centered around the castles of the feudal lords there was little travel or schooling and people lived in isolation from each other it took the great religious pilgrimages the Crusades between 1096 and 1270 to set Europe stirring thousands of men from Europe went east in attempts to rescue the Holy Land from the Turks these men the Crusaders did not settle in the Holy Land but while there they did learn of a way of life very different from their own when the Crusaders returned to Europe from the east they brought back with them not only new ID and new cultures because that attracted people exotic spices for foods silks and satins to wear and precious stones of marvellous beauty many people in Europe soon came to want these things trade grew up with the lands of the east the Mediterranean Sea became an important part of the trade route that grew between Europe and the East the CPC DS they had almost a monopoly on the sea travel to the east and on the ports through which trade passed back in to all parts of Europe at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Constantinople became vitally important to this trade here and at other Mediterranean ports LAN caravans from China India and Persia met the ships from Venice and Genoa the trading cities of the Mediterranean grew richer and busier beautiful buildings lined the streets of these trading cities and now began the period in history that we call the Renaissance meaning the rebirth of interest in culture and learning people took a renewed interest in the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans there was an active revival of the sculptors art and painting flourished again many beautiful objects were used to decorate the homes and the men and women who could afford it dressed in rich silks and satins they wore gold and silver and precious stones because canning and refrigeration were unknown then food was heavily spiced to help preserve it and to disguise its tasted odor even the most common foods when enriched by exotic spices from the east became more palatable and more attractive to the eye and the taste [Music] these spices the silks and satins and the precious stones came from the east part way by land caravans and part way by ships the harbours of these trading cities were colorful places bustling with activity the merchant Prince's who ruled these trading cities were powerful men but their power like the wealth of their cities rested chiefly on the ships that brought back the goods from the east as their power grew other cities came to resent the Italian monopoly and the high prices it helped to create the situation grew worse when the Ottoman Turks over on the Near East in the 15th century the turks attacked constantinople several times and it finally fell to them in 1453 the Turks well knew the great value that Europe placed on its trade with the East so they levied high tolls on those who traveled the land they now held few traders could afford to meet the Turks demands so goods became scarce and prices rose the merchants in the cities of Europe grew more and more unhappy as they saw their trade fall off and their business suffer the feeling grew until great discontent existed throughout the Western world at the same time knowledge and ideas were being spread by means of the newly invented printing press as people read they were stimulated to think of ways in which to get around the Italian monopolies and the Turks some began to wonder whether they could sail out into the Atlantic and then around Africa in order to reach the east by sea but no one knew just how large Africa was or how long such a voyage might take all those sailors had mastered the Mediterranean they still regarded the Atlantic as a fearsome and dangerous ocean no one knew whether or not it was bounded by land like the Mediterranean they knew only that the Atlantic was driven by strange currents and swept by fierce storms many a Mediterranean ship had been lost when it ventured out into this terrible and unknown ocean but along the western coasts of Europe where the ocean was a familiar thing venture some men had begun to learn how to sail in the Atlantic their small ships with improved rigging were built to sail against the wind and to ride out the rough Atlantic storms even so once out of sight of land there was little but sailors instinct to guide them back to land but there lived in Portugal at this time a very wise man the youngest son of King John the first Prince Henry the Navigator as we call him he was a man with a keen interest in the trackless ocean Prince Henry knew that great power and renown would come to the nation that found a new route to the east he was certain that such a new route could be found somewhere across the unknown seas under his direction Portugal established an Academy for sea captains winds and currents were noted and charted the magnetic compass became a standard piece of navigational equipment for ships sailors learn to determine position at sea by sighting at the Sun with an instrument called the astrolabe these new charts and new instruments help sailors to find their way over unknown seas it was natural for Portugal to take the lead in exploring the Atlantic and the coast of Africa her geographical location gave her an advantage under Henry's gardens Portugal sent out many expeditions Madeira and the Azores were discovered other expeditions explored the coast of Africa in 1455 one expedition reached the Gulf of Guinea some people thought that the tip of Africa had been reached and that India was not far away further voyages showed this to be an error and it was not until 1487 that a Portuguese sea captain Bartholomew Diaz finally reached the southern tip of Africa but the Portuguese were not working alone at this moment the 40 oz or anyone else ventured further events in Spain caused history to take a different turn the Moors from Africa had conquered most of Spain for many years the Spanish people that waged a bitter war of liberation against the domination of their Moorish conquerors it was a bitter bloody war battle followed battle and Spain's slowly recaptured its territory finally in 1492 the last great Moorish stronghold of Granada fell two Spanish armies Spain was free again with the Moors defeated Spain was at last united under Ferdinand and Isabella to become an exuberant and energetic nation to this new land of promise came amount of courage and vision from Genoa we know him as Christopher Columbus Columbus believed that the world was round so he proposed to reach the east by sailing west Columbus sought help from Queen Isabella it took great courage and vision for isabella to investor countries limited resources in this very strange and revolutionary idea Spain was able to provide only three small ships for the voyage the Nina and the Pinta were open craft only the Santa Maria was decked over all three were pitifully small by today's standards no one of them over 60 feet in length on August 3rd 1492 this small fleet sailed from Paolo Spain on its first historic voyage two months and nine days later on October 12 Columbus landed on the island of San Salvador he thought he had reached the islands off the coast of India and that's why he called the natives India altogether Columbus made four voyages to the New World the news of his discovery set off a chain reaction of other voyages in 1497 Vasco da Gama reached India via the Cape of Good Hope in the same year John Cabot the Englishman reached the coast of North America in 1499 Amerigo Vespucci touched the continent of South America he realized that this was not India after all but a new continent it is one of the ironies of fate that this land came to be called after him because he wrote about it rather than after Columbus who first reached it but it remained for Magellan's expedition beginning in 1519 to prove that Columbus was right to prove that the world was round that you could reach the east by sailing west voyage followed voyage discovery followed discovery until we today look upon this brief but vital period of history truly as the age of discovery but why was this the age of discovery why didn't it occur earlier why not later because of three major conditions three major conditions that had to be present at the same time first Eastern trade had become so important to Europe at this particular moment that there was deep and great discontent with the Italian monopoly and the high prices it created this content created needs and these need stimulated men to find new trade routes to the east but new trade routes meant sailing into the unknown Atlantic and this call for better ships and better navigational instruments than men had at that time and so condition number two the achievement at this moment of the inventions with which men could satisfy their needs better ships and better navigational instruments need created the tools but these alone could not have produced the age of discovery needs and instruments were not enough a third condition had to be present simultaneously with the other two there had to be at this particular moment men and women of courage and vision to plan the voyages to man the ships to plot the courses for those ships all three conditions the driving need the tools to work with and the vision all three came into existence at the same moment in history to make possible the age of discovery an age that is typifies by Christopher Columbus and those who sailed before and after him an age that is repeated over and over again in man's history when these three conditions are present at the same moment for man continues to search for new frontiers in space in science in human relations this too can be an age of discovery you