Discovery

c. 1450-1750

Objectives


  • ​​Explain how cross-cultural interactions resulted in the diffusion of technology and facilitated changes in patterns of trade and travel from 1450 to 1750.

  • ​​Describe the role of states in the expansion of maritime exploration from 1450 to 1750.

  • ​​Explain the economic causes and effects of maritime exploration by the various European states.
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  • ​​​Explain the causes of the Columbian Exchange and its effects on the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

​Renaissance

Italian Renaissance works
Northern Renaissance works
Knowledge, scientific learning, and technology from the Classical, Islamic, and Asian worlds spread, facilitating European technological developments and innovation.
The Renaissance     
The Scientific Revolution

​Transoceanic Travel

A Portuguese carrack as depicted in a map made in 1565.
  • The developments included the production of new tools, innovations in ship designs, and an improved understanding of regional wind and currents patterns—all of which made transoceanic travel and trade possible.
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  • ​​New state-supported transoceanic maritime exploration occurred in this period.
The Age of Exploration

​Portuguese and Spanish Exploration

​​Lines dividing the non-Christian world between Spain and Portugal
  • ​Portuguese development of maritime technology and navigational skills led to increased travel to and trade with Africa and Asia and resulted in the construction of a global trading-post empire.
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  • ​Spanish sponsorship of the voyages of Columbus and subsequent voyages across the Atlantic and Pacific dramatically increased European interest in transoceanic travel and trade.

​English, French, and Dutch Exploration

Virginea Pars map depicting the location of the Roanoke colony in 1585 along the coastline of present-day North Carolina.
Northern Atlantic crossings were undertaken under English, French, and Dutch sponsorship, often with the goal of finding alternative sailing routes to Asia.

​The Columbian Exchange
  • ​The new connections between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres resulted in the exchange of new plants, animals, and diseases, known as the Columbian Exchange.

  • European colonization of the Americas led to the unintentional transfer of disease vectors, including mosquitoes and rats, and the spread of diseases that were endemic in the Eastern Hemisphere, including smallpox, measles, and malaria. Some of these diseases substantially reduced the indigenous populations, with catastrophic effects in many areas.

  • American foods became staple crops in various parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Cash crops were grown primarily on plantations with coerced labor and were exported mostly to Europe and the Middle East. 

  • Afro-Eurasian fruit trees, grains, sugar, and domesticated animals were brought by Europeans to the Americas, while other foods were brought by African slaves.
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  • Populations in Afro-Eurasia benefitted nutritionally from the increased diversity of American food crops.

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