Exploration

Motives of Exploration

The key drivers behind exploration were summarized as 'God, Glory, Gold', highlighting economic, religious, and social motives.

Economic motive

Explorers sought new land for new markets for natural resources and gold.

Religious zeal

The spirit of missionary work, spurred by failures of the Crusades, which motivated the Catholic Church's support of exploration.

Ptolemaic geography

The geographical theories of Ptolemy, which underestimated the size and circumference of the Earth and was challenged by new explorations.

Prince Henry the Navigator

A Portuguese prince who established a navigation school and promoted exploration along the African coast.

Dias's achievement

Bartolomeu Dias was the first to reach the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.

Columbus’s misconception

Christopher Columbus believed he had reached India when he actually encountered the Americas.

Conquistadors

Spanish explorers and conquerors who sought wealth, land, and to Christianize indigenous populations.

Cortes

The conquistador who conquered the Aztec Empire.

Pizarro

The conquistador who conquered the Incan Empire.

Colonization effects

Spanish colonization led to the destruction of native political structures and widespread conversion to Christianity.

Dutch claims

The Dutch made claims in North America but were expelled by the British, who renamed New Netherland to New York.

French influence in North America

France lost power to England post-Seven Years' War, retaining only Canada and lands west of the Mississippi.

Impact of disease

Diseases introduced by Europeans devastated indigenous populations in South and Central America.

Mestizo and mulatto society

The mixing of races in Latin America resulting in a multiracial population.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, and diseases between the Americas and the Old World.

Mercator Map

A new perspective on the world that enhanced navigation and maps during the Age of Exploration.

Mercantilism

An economic theory dominant in Europe that emphasized the importance of trade and accumulation of wealth.

Joint stock companies

Business entities where multiple investors pooled resources to fund exploration and trade ventures.