Age Of Exploration Research Paper

Age of Exploration Vasco da Gama once said, “I am not afraid of the darkness. Real death is preferable to a life without living.” This quote really epitomizes the legacy of the Age of Exploration. The Age of Exploration began in the 1400’s and lasted through the 1700’s. This time period of travel and discovery began for a few different reasons. One being that the Europeans greatly wanted spices from Asia. However, spices were expensive and dangerous to obtain. Traders had to travel parts of the Silk Road (a hazardous network of trade routes from Europe to Asia) to get them. Because the Silk Road was often closed due to various wars, European rulers began to pay for explorations to find a sea route to Asia so they could get spices. The main

The positive effects were the exchange of food/crops, the spread of religion, and expansion. The negative were demolished cultures, spread of diseases, and slave trade.

The exchange of food/crops brought Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. There were two main types of exchange: biological and cultural. Biological was the exchange of plants and animals. Cultural was the exchange of ideas and technology. The spread of religion began when a few European missionaries traveled to China to introduce Christianity. Unlike the colonists and explorers, their goal was to persuade the natives to accept their beliefs. Expansion began in the 1500’s and it was when European countries began to expand to the rest of the world.

During this time period, the discoveries of the New World world would obliterate the natives’ culture. During the Age of Exploration, diseases like smallpox and measles were spread all around the globe. Also, when Columbus returned to Europe from the Americas, he brought the Europeans the disease syphilis. The trade of slaves grew dramatically because of the triangular trade. Triangular trade connected Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. Europe would ship manufactured products like cloth and guns and then Africa would ship slaves to America. America would then sell products like tobacco, sugar, and cotton to

The first of these explorers is Christopher Columbus. He is one of the most eminent of all the explorers. He was born October 31st, 1451 in Genoa, Italy. Columbus explored the Americas. His exploration was funded by Ferdinand and Isabella, the monarchs of Spain. On August 3rd, 1492, Columbus and his crew of 84 men set sail from Spain on three ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. The purpose of his exploration was to find a westward sea route to Asia. Columbus landed in today’s Haiti, but he died May 20, 1506 believing he had landed in Asia.

Another explorer was Vasco da Gama. De Gama was born September 3, 1469 in Sines, Portugal. He is famous for being the first European to reach India by sea. He explored India and Africa, mainly for military purposes, on orders from the king. He died December 24, 1506.

The next explorer is Ferdinand Magellan. His exact birthdate is unknown, but we think he was born sometime around 1480 in Sabrosa, Portugal. His crew was the first to circumnavigate the earth. Magellan began his westward voyage in 1519 from Seville. Magellan never completed his mission, having died on April 27, 1521 in a local war in