AGE OF Exploration
What gives people the motivation to travel beyond their borders and discover new lands? Curiosity, fame and fortune was the driving force for explorers in the 1600s to the 1850s. Historical explorers have played a very vital role in how our societies are shaped today. Without their discoveries the world would look very different. People from different regions would not have met and have exchanged their knowledge, which would mean most advances in technology wouldn't have been possible. Everything that we have achieved today is because of explorers and their curiosity of what lies beyond what they know. Trade and colonialism is connected to exploration as well. In history, most explorers have been barbaric in many ways to the native people of different lands. Cruelty had been demonstrated through war, slavery, discrimination, etc. However, in the same time we have learned from out past mistakes and have been able to expand global trade and improve international relations. Explorers
in the past have left their mark through their discoveries and have
helped scientists and explorers today answer many questions. But what really inspired explorers to look outside their borders? Kings and Queens pushed explorers to voyage out into the open sea and find land with gold, riches, and resources. The more land conquered, the more powerful a country becomes. And so the race for land and riches began.
Influential explorers
The following explorers have been most influential because of their discoveries that have shaped the world today. There is a very big time gap between the explorers, but they have learned from each others knowledge to help them on their quests.
William Dampier (1651–1715)
Dom Vasco da Gama (1460–1524)
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Vasco da Gama
was a Portuguese explorer. He made the sea voyage from
Portugal to India. Da Gama rounded Africa's Cape of Good Hope, and continued on to India. After many stops in Africa, there wre many problems with Muslim traders who did not want interference in their
trade routes. Da Gama actually sailed with 20 armed ships to prevent problems with Muslim traders. In one case, Da Gama ordered the massacre of a Muslim vessel with 380 people on board. When he reached India, he brutally murdered many Muslims to demonstrate his power, and bombarded Calicut to force the Portuguese on Asian trading markets. He was an important part of history, especially for Portugal, because his efforts helped them join the spice trade in India.
James Cook (1728-1779)
Peter Minuit (1580-1638)
Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635)
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Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer and navigator who mapped much of northeastern North America and started a settlement in Quebec. Champlain was important in establishing the French colonies in the New World. Champlain was very influential in the eyes of Canadian history because his discoveries were what helped Canada become colonized and develop settlements.
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)
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Christopher Columbus was an explorer, navigator, and explorer. He completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. Columbus was known for his voyage to search for a short route to India. However, instead he reached an island in the Bahamas, believing that it was India. Although he made this mistake, he was still known for his voyages that discovered a new world, and new opportunities of trade and fortune.
Competition
Though we cannot find the ultimate cause for the European expansion, we can assume that competition between European leaders Portugal, Spain, France, and England was what pushed explorers to find new land. These nations all had monarchies that were growing in strength. Kings and queens needed land so they could find new resources, expand, and have strategic war points.
At the start of the fifteenth century, European ships were nothing compared to ones used by the Arabs and Chinese traders, but Europeans learned fast, and within two hundred years they were building the best ships in the world. The Portuguese used a type of ship that had a similar construction to Arab ships. The Arabian ships sails were less triangular and could adjust to almost all winds, which made it easier to steer. The new design for the Portuguese ships made long-distance voyages to the Far East and the New World possible. Instruments existed for navigators. Compasses had been used by Europeans to navigate themselves. It is the oldest instrument for navigation |