Exploration and Navigation Quiz

Voyages of Discovery

• European navigators explored the world in a little over a century, opening new sea routes to India and the East.
• They discovered a new continent previously unknown to them, leading to European colonialism.
• Early world maps based on Ptolemy's work were limited in accuracy, especially regarding Africa and the Americas.
• Navigation was challenging due to poor ship design and primitive instruments.
• Dead reckoning (estimating position based on speed and direction) was the primary method, along with limited knowledge of wind and currents.

Ferdinand Magellan

• Magellan was a Portuguese soldier and explorer.
• He quarreled with the Portuguese king, and sailed for Spain
• In 1519, he led an expedition to the Spice Islands.
• His expedition used five ships and around 260 men.
• He sailed south across the Atlantic, through the Strait of Magellan and into the Pacific Ocean.
• He was the first European to cross the Pacific, reaching the Philippines in 1521.
• Sadly, Magellan was killed in the Philippines in a local war but his expedition continued under Juan Sebastian del Cano
• The expedition returned to Spain in 1522 using a single ship with only 17 crew members.

Technological Advancements

• The caravel, a new oceangoing ship design, helped Portuguese sailors.
• Navigation instruments (e.g., magnetic compass, astrolabe, cross-staff/quadrant) improved accuracy.
• Calculating latitude was possible, but determining longitude remained challenging until the 18th century.

Early Portuguese Explorations

• The Portuguese were pioneers in exploration.
• They sailed along the African coast reaching the Gulf of Guinea, further south to Cape Cross, and around the Cape of Good Hope, into the Indian Ocean and to Calicut in Southern India.
• These expeditions led to establishing trade routes, marking a critical phase for globalization.

Test your knowledge on the Age of Exploration and the significant journeys of European navigators. This quiz covers key figures like Ferdinand Magellan and the advancements in navigation that shaped world maps and colonialism. Explore the challenges faced during these historic voyages and their impact on global exploration.