The Age of Exploration

• The Age of Exploration, from the 15th to 17th century, involved extensive global exploration by European powers.
• It is also known as the Age of Discovery.
• It was driven by economic, political, religious, and technological factors.

Causes of Exploration

• Economic motivations included the desire for new trade routes to access goods like spices, silk, and gold.
• The Silk Road became expensive and dangerous due to the rise of the Ottoman Empire.
• Technological advancements included the astrolabe, magnetic compass, improved cartography, and advanced ship designs like the caravel.
• Political rivalries among European kingdoms, particularly Portugal, Spain, England, France, and the Netherlands, drove competition for trade, wealth, and territory.
• The Catholic Church encouraged exploration to spread Christianity.
• The Protestant Reformation fueled religious competition in colonial expansion.
• The Renaissance sparked interest in science, geography, and human potential, inspiring exploration.

Key Players in Exploration

• Portugal, led by Prince Henry the Navigator, pioneered maritime exploration.
• Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498, establishing a lucrative spice trade for Portugal.
• Spain sponsored Christopher Columbus's voyages in 1492, leading to colonization of the Americas.
• Ferdinand Magellan's expedition for Spain completed the first circumnavigation of the globe.
• England focused on North America, with explorers like John Cabot and Sir Francis Drake, who raided Spanish ships.
• France sent Jacques Cartier and Samuel de Champlain to explore and settle in Canada, establishing the French fur trade.
• The Netherlands established trade networks in Asia, mainly through the Dutch East India Company.

Impact of the Age of Exploration

• The Columbian Exchange expanded global trade by introducing new goods, crops, and animals between the Old and New Worlds.
• European powers established colonies across the Americas, Africa, and Asia, often exploiting native populations, in the period of Colonization and Imperialism.
• The movement of people and goods led to the widespread dissemination of languages, religions, and diseases, such as smallpox.
• European nations emphasized wealth accumulation through trade and colonization, in a system known as the rise of mercantilism.

Age of Encounter and Expansion

• From pages 389-397
• European nations wanted direct trade routes to Asia for spices, gold, and luxury goods.
• Improved navigation tools (astrolabe, compass), better maps, and new ship designs (caravel) allowed for longer voyages.
• Spain, Portugal, England, France, and the Netherlands competed for overseas territories.
• Spreading both Catholic and Protestant Christianity served as a major goal of exploration.
• A desire to expand knowledge about the world also fueled exploration.
• Prince Henry the Navigator and Vasco da Gama (route to India) were Portugese
• Christopher Columbus (discovery of the Americas, 1492), and Ferdinand Magellan (first circumnavigation) were Spanish
• John Cabot (exploration of North America), and Sir Francis Drake (global voyage) were English
• Jacques Cartier (Canada, St. Lawrence River) was French
• Henry Hudson (New York, Hudson River) was from the Netherlands
• The Columbian Exchange introduced new crops, animals, and goods between the Old and New Worlds, resulting in global trade.
• European powers established colonies, leading to economic growth and cultural exchanges.
• The transatlantic slave trade expanded as European nations needed labor for plantations.
• European languages, Christianity, and customs spread to colonized regions.

Scientific Revolution

• From pages 504-506
• A key idea was the shift from Tradition to Observation & Experimentation.
• There was an Emphasis on reasoning, empirical evidence, and systematic observation
• Scientists questioned traditional ideas based on religion and ancient texts.
• Nicolaus Copernicus proposed the heliocentric theory (the Sun at the center of the universe).
• Galileo Galilei used the telescope to observe celestial bodies and supported heliocentrism, which challenged the Church.
• Johannes Kepler discovered planetary motion followed elliptical orbits.
• Isaac Newton developed the laws of motion and universal gravitation.
• Francis Bacon & René Descartes developed the scientific method, emphasizing experimentation and reasoning.
• Advancements in technology improved navigation, medicine, and industry.
• Science challenged religious explanations of the universe, weakening Church authority.
• Scientific Revolution encouraged rational thinking and the use of reason to improve society, which was the Foundation for the Enlightenment.

Age of Enlightenment

• From pages 506-510
• Reason was emphasized over tradition, including logic, science, and human rights over monarchy and religious doctrine.
• There was questioning of absolute monarchy and the role of government in society using the social contract & government.
• Individual Freedoms, advocacy for free speech, democracy, and human rights, were promoted.
• John Locke advocated for natural rights (life, liberty, property), government by consent of the governed.
• Voltaire advocated for freedom of speech and religious tolerance.
• Montesquieu proposed the separation of powers (executive, legislative, judicial) to prevent tyranny.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau developed the idea of the social contract, emphasizing popular sovereignty.
• The Enlightenment: Inspired the American (1776) and French (1789) Revolutions, causing political upheaval.
• The Enlightenment led to development of constitutional monarchies and democratic systems, and reforms in government.
• Ideas of equality and justice influenced future movements (abolition, women's rights), and the expansion of human rights.
• Monarchs began to implement Enlightenment-inspired reforms (e.g., Catherine the Great, Frederick the Great), resulting in the decline of absolutism.