The Age of Exploration: Introduction

Figure 1.1: Juan de la Cosa's map is the earliest
representation of the newly discovered Americas.

When one studies the Age of Exploration, many students are quick to analyze the actions of Christopher Columbus. As an explorer financed by the Spanish monarchs, Isabel and Ferdinand II, he searched for a way to India by heading west across the Atlantic Ocean. Another popular topic in the Age of Exploration is the Portuguese explorer, Vasco de Gama, who proved that Asia, specifically India, could be reached by circumventing the Cape of Good Hope, located at the southern-most tip of Africa. And that is not without reason. These two men helped change the world, uncovering new trade routes to the far east and the continent of North America.

Why did people set off to explore the world in the fifteenth century? In short, there are two main reasons: spices and religion. Numerous countries had heard of or even experienced these newly acquired goods and they too wanted Asian spices. Italy and Egypt, however. controlled the trade routes to Asia, charging very high prices for spices. In fact, pepper cost more than gold. Many countries wanted to find a route to Asia so they too could get spices, any no longer deal with expensive Italian or Egyptian traders.

Other advances, mainly by the Portuguese, came in shipbuilding. These trade-hungry Europeans began building ships called "caravels". Caravels were a specialized type of ship, using triangular sails that, unlike traditional square sails, allowed ships to sail against the wind. They also replaced oars on the ship's sides with rudders at the back of the ship drastically improving the steering of these newly developed, Portuguese trading vessels. The new ships helped Portuguese sailors take and early lead in the European race to explore the globe. 

Religion gave explorers another reason to set sail. European Christians wanted to convert more people to their religion to counteract the spread of Islam in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Simple curiosity was also an important motivation for exploration. Many people read stories of Marco Polo’s travels and other explorers’ adventures throughout the continent of Asia. After learning about these exotically new lands and the wild creatures they possessed, the wealthy became evermore curious about what the rest of the world had to offer them.

Figure 1.2: This video is a dramatic representation of Columbus's 

first voyage to the New World.  

Whatever their reasons for exploring, Europeans would not have gotten very far without advances in technology. Sailors started using technology developed by the Muslims in the early 15th century such as the astrolabe and the compass to find the sea routes they could follow to reach faraway places and return safely home. The developments made in cartography and the availability of more accurate maps allowed sailors to sail from one port to another without having to stay right along the coast. Before these advances, most sailors avoided the open sea out of fear they might not find their way back to land.