5. GREAT EXPEDITIONS EUROPEAN EXPANSION
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Spain and Portugal led great expeditions. Different events permitted an expansion overseas: Trade routes: - In 1453 the Turks conquered Constantinople and traditional routes to teh Orient were blocked. - It was necessary to find alternative routes for the luxury goods, such as silk or spices. 2. Expansion policies: - After the reconquista, Portugal and Spain competed to expand their territorie. - The conquest was focused to the Atlantic Ocean. 3.Technical advances: - Some crucial nautical instruments: 1. Compass: - It has a magnetised needle used to locate North, South, East and West. 2. Rudder: - It is a piece of wood fixed to the back of a boat used for controlling its direction. 3 Astrolabe: - It determines the distance of a celestial body, and calculate time and latitude.
5. GREAT EXPEDITIONS -
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PORTUGUESE EXPEDITIONS Henry the Navigator promoted explorations. The objective was to reach India, so they did successive explorations of Africa’s Atlantic coast. They discovered Madeira and Azores They explored the Gulf of Guinea In 1488, Bartolomé Díaz SAILED AROUND THE Cape of Good Hope. In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India and settled in Calicut, the city of spices
5. GREAT EXPEDITIONS CASTILIAN EXPEDITIONS - Christopher Columbus believed he could reach Asia by sailing west. - He knew that the Earth was round, but he thought it was much smaller, so he wasn’t aware that he had discovered America. - The catholic Monarchs supported his project and signed the capitualciones de Santa Fe, granting him privileges if he were successful: - 10% of the benefits - The title of admiral
5. GREAT EXPEDITIONS COLUMBUS’ VOYAGES 1ST VOYAGE -
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The threee caravels, the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa María, departed from Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) on the 3rd of August 1492. They landed on the island of Guanahani (Bahamas) on the 12 th of October and named it San Salvador. Columbus visited more islands and founded the first settlements.
2ND, 3RD AND 4TH VOYAGES -
Columbus explored the West Indies and Central America. Spain and Portugal competed over the control of the new route. They signed the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. This treaty established an imaginary line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde.