Unit 4, SSWH 10 c

Renaissance inspires exploration as early as the 1400s.

God: Desire to spread Christianity

Glory: Desire to become a hero for discovering new places

Gold: Desire to become rich and powerful (individually & nationally)

Advances in technology made the voyages of discovery possible

Biggest Problem: European ships could not sail against the wind

Shipbuilders built new vessels: Caravel

Adopted triangular sails from the Arabs: this allowed the ships to sail against the wind

Ship became sturdier and shallower (allowing them to sail closer into shore)

Astrolabe: an instrument sailors used to determine their location at sea (told how far north or south they were from the equator

Sextant: replaced the astrolabe in the 1700s, sailors could determine both latitude and longitude

Compass: an instrument which allowed sailors to track direction accurately (adopted from the Chinese)

Navigation Schools: created by Prince Henry, Portugal, in 1419 – map and instrument makers, shipbuilders, scientists, and

sea captains all attended his school