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400 History

People have always set out to discover new lands and oceans. The greatest age

of world exploration began in the 15th century and lasted over four centuries.

The Arabs and Chinese had already made improvements in ship design and

. NAVIGATION. These were now developed further by European seafarers.

1 MAPPING THE WORLD

This map was drawn up in 1502 and shows the world

known to European seafarers at that time. The coasts of

Europe, Africa, and western Asia have been charted, but

those of the Americas are only just beginning to take shape.

1 POINTING THE WAY

This type of mariners’ compass first

came into use in about 1250. This

one dates from the 16th century.

Brazil, in South America,

was discovered by accident in

1500 – its coastline is not yet

complete on this map

Africa’s interior

remained unexplored

by Europeans until

the 1800s

At Tordesillas in 1494

Spain and Portugal agreed to

divide the newly discovered lands

in the Americas between them

Exploration

1405– Chinese fleets

1433 explore the

Indian Ocean

1488 Diaz rounds

southern Africa

1492 Columbus

reaches the

Caribbean

1497 John Cabot

reaches Canada

1498 Columbus

reaches South

America

1498 Vasco da Gama

sails to India

1500 Pedro Cabral

reaches Brazil

1522 Magellan’s crew

sail around the

whole world

1606 Willem Jansz

reaches Australia

WHY DID PEOPLE EXPLORE THE WORLD?

The most common reason was trade. The

. OLD WORLD wanted Asian spices,
African ivory, and gold. European traders
were soon also seizing lands and trying
to convert the local populations to
the Christian faith. Many explorers,
though, were driven by a sense
of adventure or scientific inquiry.

HOW DID EXPLORATION

AFFECT THE WORLD?

European countries brought many lands

under their control. The world was opened

up and new crops,including potatoes and

tomatoes, were introduced from one land to

another. However, there were some disastrous effects.

In the. NEW WORLD, many native peoples died

because they had no resistance to the European diseases

that explorers and crews brought with them.

EXPLORATION

exploration