AGE OF EXPLORATION!
Why did they explore?
GOLD!!!!!! God!!!!!!! Glory!!!!!!
3 G’s
Gold!!!! (Money)
At first they were looking for a shorter route to Asia to find spices
They also wanted salt!!! Most of all they heard about the
rumors of gold in the new land! (Coronado let that one out)
God!!!!
These empires believed that Christianity should be the only religion in the world.
Glory!!!!
Rulers were in a race with other European countries to build the biggest empire!
They each thought they were superior to each other
Spain kept fighting with France France and England were often at
war
Danger! Danger at sea!
An old sailor finally came back to land after years at sea. When his best friend saw him, he exclaimed, “You look terrible! You have a peg-leg, a hook for a hand, and an eye patch! What happened?
“Well,” said the battered sailor, “I got the peg leg after a cannonball hit me when we were battling with pirates. The hook is from when I fought with a dozen angry natives and they cut off my hand. And the eye patch is from a stormy day at sea when I got some water in my eye.”
His friend listened sympathetically, but then said, “Wait a minute…You don’t need an eye patch just because some water gets in your eye.”
“Well,” admitted the old sailor, “I wasn’t used to the hook yet….”
Obstacles!
Poor maps and navigational tools Disease and starvation Fear of the unknown Lack of supplies
Navigational tools
Astrolabe Dates back more than 1000 years! One of the first navigational tools to use the
position of the sun when determining location
Octant Used for measuring the exact position of
the sun and stars for navigational purpose
Octant – used until 1767. Replaced by the sextant
lanterns Dark below deck at night (no light bulbs in the 16th and 17th centuries)
Compass
Uses a metal needle to determine earth’s magnetic field
The world’s most important navigational instrument since the 14th century
weapons
This job was a dangerous job Swords, knives, shotguns
Bells
Sailors didn’t have watches Relied on bells to signal the time
while out to sea Also used as a distress call, or to give
warning Gave ship an identity
Flags
Displayed the nationality of the ship Also used for warning signals or to ask
for help
maps
Weren’t accurate….. The explorers still had not explored
all areas Hard to tell where they were going
even with their instruments
Map of the world 1550s
Map 1787
Disease!
Arrrrrgggg Scurvy!!!!! Deficiency of Vitamin C. (Could not store fresh fruits or veggies)
Hunger! (Food became infested with bugs and well, they just plain ran out)
Thirst (No fresh water…only beer…water they had would become infested with bugs)
Fear of the Unknown!!!
Where are we going?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
What is going to be there?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?
Is there going to be bad weather?!?!?!?!?!!
Are we going to have enough food!?!?!?!?!
Are pirates going to attack us!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Lack of supplies
How long are we going to be gone? I don’t know!?!?!?! Let’s hope we have enough food and
supplies!!!!
With everything at risk…the explorers were able to achieve ….
New exchanges…The Great Exchange
New Ships and Tools….more accurate navigational tools and sturdier ships
New lands…claimed more territory!
Our adventure ahead!
For Spain: Christopher Columbus and Francisco Coronado
For the English: John Cabot For the French: Robert La Salle and
Samuel de Champlain For the Portuguese: Henry the
Navigator Stay tuned for more adventure!!!!
Your task
You are lost at sea….. Write a letter home describing your
journey… The food (or lack there of) Disease The weather Not knowing where you are going…
Dear family, The year is 1501, we are out to sea and it has
been hard! The weather has been horrible the past couple days! We have encountered wind storms! The stormy seas is not a friend to us. Our boat almost sunk the other day because so much water got up on the deck.
Also, the food is horrible. I broke a tooth on the hardtack the other day. The salted pork is disgusting. I miss your home cooking. To make matters worse we are almost out of food!