European Age of Exploration

Definition

The European Age of Exploration refers to the period from the late 15th century to the early 17th century when European powers embarked on extensive overseas exploration, driven by a desire for new trade routes, wealth, and territorial expansion. This era marked significant advancements in navigation, shipbuilding, and cartography, which facilitated long-distance maritime travel and the establishment of global trade networks.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. The Age of Exploration was fueled by advancements in technology, such as the compass and improvements in ship design, enabling longer voyages.
2. Key figures of this era include explorers like Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, and Ferdinand Magellan, who opened up new territories for European powers.
3. The establishment of trade routes during this period led to the rise of powerful trading companies such as the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company.
4. Explorers often claimed new lands for their home countries, leading to extensive colonization and significant impacts on indigenous populations worldwide.
5. The competition among European nations for territory and resources during the Age of Exploration laid the groundwork for future geopolitical conflicts and colonial rivalries.

Review Questions

• How did technological advancements during the Age of Exploration impact European maritime activities?
  • Technological advancements such as the astrolabe, magnetic compass, and improved ship designs like the caravel significantly enhanced European maritime activities. These innovations allowed sailors to navigate more accurately and sail further distances than ever before. As a result, explorers could embark on longer voyages across uncharted waters, leading to discoveries of new lands and sea routes that would reshape global trade and political dynamics.
• Discuss the economic motivations behind European exploration during this period and how they influenced colonial policies.
  • Economic motivations were a driving force behind European exploration during the Age of Exploration. Nations sought new trade routes to access valuable spices, gold, and other resources without relying on overland routes controlled by rival powers. This quest for wealth influenced colonial policies by encouraging the establishment of trading posts and colonies in newly discovered lands. The mercantilist approach dominated European thinking, leading to intense competition among nations to amass wealth through colonial exploitation.
• Evaluate the long-term consequences of the Age of Exploration on global interactions and indigenous societies.
  • The Age of Exploration had profound long-term consequences for global interactions and indigenous societies. The establishment of trade routes facilitated cultural exchanges but also led to the spread of diseases that devastated native populations. Colonization resulted in significant cultural disruption, land dispossession, and exploitation of indigenous peoples. Furthermore, this period laid the foundations for modern globalization as interconnected economies emerged, altering social structures and political landscapes across continents.

Related terms

Mercantilism: An economic theory that emphasizes the importance of accumulating wealth, particularly gold and silver, through a favorable balance of trade, which heavily influenced European exploration and colonial policies.

Columbian Exchange: The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, and diseases between the Americas and the Old World following Christopher Columbus's voyages.

Treaty of Tordesillas: A 1494 agreement between Spain and Portugal, sanctioned by the Pope, that divided newly discovered lands outside Europe between the two powers along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Azores.