New Route to Asia Trade with Asia was expensive because of middlemen Europeans needed a faster route to save time and money

Remember the 3 G’s (or what motivated exploration) God: Spread of Christianity Gold: Wealth; making money Glory: Expand empire; imperialism

Technological Advances Political Changes Social Changes By the late 1400s changes in technology, politics, society and economy sparked an interest in foreign lands and exploration. Factors that Sparked Exploration Technological Advances Political Changes Social Changes Economic Changes

Technological Advances Mapmaking -- called cartography Compass -- invented by the Chinese, used a magnet Astrolabe -- Used rings to sight the stars; this would tell them how north or south of the equator (Muslims)

New Ships called caravels -- had triangular sails which allowed it to sail or ‘tack’ against the wind

Political Changes Strong centralized governments -- kings and queens wanted to gain power and more land for their countries

Social Changes Increased population more people interested in adventure, more money available to spend on excursions

Political Persecution -- certain religious groups targeted Spread of Christianity

Economic Changes Mercantilism -- idea that a country’s power is dependent upon its wealth (gold and silver)

Joint-stock companies -- Businesses would combine resources and sell shares of the company’s stock to investors The profits were then divided among the shareholders based on how much stock was originally purchased Ex. Dutch East India Company