1. The Age of Exploration
Causes
God – spreading religion to new lands/people
Gold – getting rich from gold, silver, spices, cotton, etc.
Glory – claiming the most land for your country, bragging rights
Why? Reasons
Better, faster ships
New technology to help navigate ships
Stronger leaders paying for the trip (Kings & Queens)
Drawbacks
Diseases
Starvation
Shipwrecks
Fighting the natives
Fighting other European empires over land
Spain, Portugal, France and England
Prince Henry the Navigator (Portugal) – School for exploration, encouraged exploration of
Western Africa, his students developed new technology for navigation (astrolabe, caravel, compass)
Cartography – map making
Exploration – taking a journey by sea to find new lands
Missionaries – people travelling the world to spread their religion
Conquerors – European countries sending explorers to take over a lot of land and people
Merchants – explore to find valuable goods to sale and profit from