5. THE AGE OF DISCOVERY WHY DID THE PORTUGUESE AND CASTILIANS MAKE THEIR JOURNEYS? -
Until the 15 h century, Europeans did not know much about other territories. They only had knowledge ofEurope, North of Africa, and parts of the Middle Ages. They knew a little about the Far East due o the narratives of merchnts and travellers like Marco Polo. This changed when Portuguese expeditionsrevealed the size of Africa and Castilian expeditions demonstrated the existence of an unknown continent: America. Reasons for theirs discoveries: 1. In 1453, the Turks conquered Constantinople and ended the Byzantine Empire. Due to this fact, now Europeans needed to find alternative trade routes to Asia. 2. Technical advances allowed to navigate over long distances: - Cartography was better than in Middle Ages - caravels were quick sailing ships. - there were nwe navigational instruments:the compass and the astrolabe (wich measured latitude by the position of the Sun). 3. Ideological side : After the Reconquest had ended in Granada in 1492, the Atlantic expeditions represented another type of victorious expansion.
5. THE AGE OF DISCOVERY -
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THE PORTUGUESE EXPEDITIONS Portuguese expeditions explored the coast of Africa in the search for new routes to India. Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal played an important role in promoting them through the School of Sagres. The earkiest expeditions explored the Atlantic coas and discovered madeira and the Azores. Later, the Portuguese reached the Gulf of Guinea (West Africa) After that, Bartolomé Díaz went round the Cape of Good Hope reaching the Indian Ocean. And later, Vasco de Gama reached India.
5. THE AGE OF DISCOVERY COLUMBUS’ VOYAGES
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The Genoan navigator Christopher Columbus was convinced tat he could reach Asia by sailing west. The Catholic Monarchs refused several times the proposal made by Columbs but finally they accepted to finance his voyage in 1492. The Capitulations of Santa Fe was a document which granted Columbus many privileges if he was successful (the title of admiral (almirante) and other titles, and the 10% of all the benefits gained) Columbus expeditions left Huelva in three ships on 3 August, 1492. After a stay in the Canary Islands, they sailed into the Atlantic and reached the Bahamas on 12 th October 1492. Columbus had discovered a new continent. After three more voyages to the West Indies (Indias occidentales) and Central America, he still believed that he had reached Asia. Columbus’ discovery created a rivalry between the Portuguese and Castillians by the domination of the Atlantic. In 1494 the Treaty of Tordesillas was singned. It established that all territory more than 370 leagues (leguas) west o Cape Verde belong to Spain. So, the coast of Brazil was east of this line and was later colonised by Portugal.
5. THE AGE OF DISCOVERY THE FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD - An expedition led by the Portuguese Fernando de Magallanes left Sevilla to look for a route between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. - In 1520, he navigated the southern tip of South America, which is called the Strait of Magellan today. - Magallanes died in the Philippines, after that Juan Sebastiรกn Elcano led the expeditions which completed the first voyage around the world.