Countries known to Europe in the 15th century

Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler

whose travels are recorded in Il Milione (Book

of the Marvels of the World), a book which

did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned the mercantile trade from his father and uncle. The three of them embarked in 1269 on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisoned, and dictated his stories to a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a wealthy merchant, married and had three children. He died in 1324, and was buried in San Lorenzo.

1- Necessity of finding new trade routes to the East.

Spice Routes around Africa to Indies after 1453 Constantinople fall to Turks

If you can’t see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh8dmW18s38

2- A number of technological advances in navigation:

New maps (portulan charts)

Navigational instruments

Ship improvements

Portolan charts are navigational maps based on compass directions and estimated distances observed by the pilots at sea. They were first made in the 13th century in Italy, and later in Spain and Portugal. With the advent of the Age of Discovery, they were considered State secrets in Portugal and Spain. They were very valuable in the description of Atlantic and Indian coastlines.

The word portolan comes from the Italian adjective portolano, meaning "related to ports or harbours."

An astrolabe is an elaborate instrument, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and vice-versa, triangulation, etc. It was used from classical antiquity to the Renaissance.

There is often confusion between the astrolabe and the mariner's astrolabe. While the astrolabe could be useful for determining latitude on land, it was an awkward instrument for use on the heaving deck of a ship or in wind. The mariner's astrolabe was developed to address these issues.

A quadrant is an instrument that is used to measure angles up to 90°. It was originally proposed by Ptolemy as a better kind of astrolabe. Several different variations of the instrument were later produced by medieval Muslim astronomers.

A compass is a navigational instrument that measures directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions (or points) – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined. Usually, a diagram called a compass rose, which shows the directions (with their names usually abbreviated to initials), is marked on the compass. When the compass is in use, the rose is aligned with the real directions in the frame of reference, so, for example, the "N" mark on the rose really points to the north.

PORTUGUESE EXPEDITIONS

-From the early 15th century.

-They tried a new route to India surrounding Africa.

-Various expeditions were developed during the 15th century leaded by the Portuguese monarchs and Prince Henry the Navigator.

-They discovered Madeira Islands, the Azores and all the African coast to the Cape of Good Hope, opening the sea route to India.

-Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco de Gama were noted explorers at the end of the 15th century.

-They established trading posts along the African coast and the new route to facilitate later journeys.

-Portugal created a great empire becoming a world power.

He was an important figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and the Age of Discoveries. He was responsible for the development of European exploration and maritime trade with other continents.

Henry was the third child of King John I of Portugal. He encouraged his father to conquer Ceuta (1415), the Muslim port on the North African coast across the Straits of Gibraltar. He learnt of the opportunities from the Saharan trade routes that terminated there, and became fascinated with Africa in general.

In "Crónica da Guiné" Henry is described as having no luxuries, not avaricious, speaking with soft words and calm gestures, a man of many virtues who never allowed any poor person to leave his presence empty-handed.

If you cant see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkJNGRgplD4

He was a nobleman of the Portuguese royal household, was a Portuguese explorer. He sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, the first European known to have done so.

The Crown of Castile was the main rival of Portugal in this search for new routes and territories.

The Crown of Castile took another way and decided to sail to the West across the Atlantic in a risky attempt to arrive to India.

They thought that the Earth was round but they did not know about the size of it or the existence of America, another continent discovered by the Crown of Castile in its journey to India.

This is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UxcdH6zxxY

-Christopher Colombus was convinced that the world was round, so he planned his route to India crossing the Atlantic Ocean.-The Catholic Monarchs decided to finance his expedition.-He began the expedition on August 1492. It was formed by three ships and 90 sailors.-They reached land on October 1492. Theythought it was India, but instead they werediscovering America without knowing it.

-After the first expedition, Colombus made three more, always financed by the Crown of Castile, he was improving the routes and conquering territories for the Crown.-Colombus died in 1506 in Spain, without knowing what he really had discovered.-In 1502 Amerigo Vespucci was the first in realising that it was a new continent, and later it was name America in his honour.

- Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westwardroute to the "Spice Islands".-Magellan's expedition of 1519–1522 became the first expedition to sail from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific Ocean (then named "peaceful sea" by Magellan; the passage being made via the Strait of Magellan), and the first to cross the Pacific. His expedition completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth, although Magellan himself did not complete the entire voyage, being killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines. -Elcano continued the expedition taking command.

-Portugal and Spain signed a Treaty in Tordesillasin 1494 to avoid problems in the unexplored regions. He divided the world's map in two:

- But they were not alone in the world, and other European countries began their expeditions as well.-During the next five centuries there were a big rivalry between these European countries.-The discoveries brought progress in science (geography, cartography and natural sciences), new plants and animals were discovered.-Social and knowledge exchanges were also a consequence.-Diseases from European people caused dramatic effect on native people of America, that was a very bad consequence for them.