Europeans Explore the East Section 3-1

Why the Age of Exploration Began God Gold Glory

For God The spreading of Christianity became of motivating factor for many Europeans The Crusades left a feeling of hostility between Christians and Muslims Many saw it as their duty to convert non-Christians

For Gold The Crusades introduced Europeans to spices and other luxury goods from Asia Muslims>Italians>other Europeans at an increased profit The Italian and Muslims had a corner on the spice trade and other nations began to look for alternative routes to the East

For Glory Several advances in technology opened the door for explorers seeking fame to complete trips that were impossible only a few years before The caravel, sextant, magnetic compass, and astrolabe were used to improve navigation at sea

Portugal Leads the Way Prince Henry est. a navigation school in order perfect their shipping capabilities He wanted to reach the vast stores of spices and other treasures that were in the East After only a few years the Portuguese had est. several trading ports on Africa’s west coast They then set the sights on East Africa and Asia

To The East Bartholomew Dias was the 1st captain to sail around the tip of Africa Vasco da Gama was the 1st European captain to reach India (he filled his ships with spices and treasure from there and returned to Portugal a hero)

Problems with the Spanish Christopher Columbus got the Spanish Monarchy to finance a trip West across the Atlantic to est. a route to Asia This opened the door for American exploration but also led to problems between Spain and Portugal over the land The Pope stepped in to keep the peace, he proposed the Treaty of Tordesillas which set up the Line of Demarcation (West is Spanish and East was Portuguese)

Trading Dominance The Portuguese set up a trading empire in the Indian Ocean region which took control of the spice trade from the Muslims

The Dutch take Control The Dutch Netherlands set out to take the Indian Ocean trade away from Portugal They had the biggest most powerful navy in Europe and est. the Dutch East India Company-an entity that could mint money, sign treaties, and raise an army The Dutch drove out the Portuguese and held off the English to remain dominant in the region

England and France Because of the Dutch dominance, England and France looked elsewhere for riches England est. a firm hold on India and both nations began to look to the Americas for wealth