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

By the late 1400s changes in technology, politics, society and economy sparked an interest in foreign lands and exploration. Factors that Sparked Exploration 1. Technological Advances 2. Political Changes 3. Social Changes 4. 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)

 Favorable Balance of Trade: selling more goods than you buy  Expanded Trade

 Standardized money –-  Coins had different values, now they all have the same value  More reliable and valuable  Encourages the growth of foreign trade and banking

 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