Essay on voyages of discovery

Discoveries all started because people wanted to find out about the
world, wanted riches and powers and national pride. Explorations
took place and they needed men to undertake the voyages of
discoveries, money to buy ships and provisions and a common
motive to encourage businessmen and financiers. Since
businessmen and merchants had grown rich, they no longer
depended on the feudal lords for protection. Few journey men had
money to qualify as masters. This led to the formation of trading
with other countries.

Trade with the East

Italian cities were in lead financially and culturally. Spices, carpets,
ivory, jewellery, porcelain and tea came overland caravan routes to
the ports of Asia Minor from there Venetian ships brought these
luxuries to Italy. These luxuries would then be re-sold to other
European countries. Merchants from other towns in Europe felt
that they had to find an alternative trading route which would
bring eastern merchandise directly into their own ware house
without going through the hands of Italian merchants and they
hoped to export their own products and sell them to India and
China for example woolen cloth which was too bulky for camel
caravan.

Robbers attacked the caravans more frequently but profits were

much high and merchants continued to take risk which they
considered worthwhile. There was also a lot of interest in
geography and sciences people asked questioned like whether the
world is round or flat and scientists tried to solve these questions.
There were new better instruments which made navigation much
more safer and accurate. These instruments were the compass
which was used to show the direction in which one is sailing and
the astrolabe which enabled seamen to work out the distances
north or south of the equator. Ships were now faster and stronger
than before although they still depended on wind to move them.
After many years travelers were loaded with jewels and treasure.
Portugal was now free to explore and countries like Spain, England,
France and Portugal had a lot of money to spend exploring. The
Portugal seamen were the first to set out in search of the new
trade route in the east.

Prince Henry the navigator

Prince henry was the youngest son of king of Portugal. He
devoted his life in studying geography, seamanship and
training explorers. He built a large observatory at Sagres in
Portugal where expects would study stars, winds and tides
and gather information which might be used to his sailors. He
sent ships to explore the west coast of Africa.
Madeira was discovered in 1418 and then the Canaries
There was a Portuguese ship was the first to cross the equator
in 1471. An expedition was sent to try to find a route round
the southern Africa to India in 1486.
A route round Africa

Bartholomew Dias was in command of this venture. Diaz little

ships were blown away westwards and then southwards. His
ships were now sailing northwards up the east coast of Africa.
The Portuguese ship sailed as far as the Great Fish River. On
the turn journey after seeing unknown dangers they saw the
southern cape of Africa. He called it the Cape of Storms
because of their recent adventure. The king of Portugal felt
this was surely the way to India and named it the Cape of
Good Hope. Vasco da Gama commanded the fleet sail from
Lisbon. His route lay along the south and the east coast of
south Africa. On Christmas day da Gama reached the land in
which he called Natal. He got back to Portugal with his ship
loaded with silks and spices and received with a great joy. The
sea route to India had been found at last and only the
Portuguese knew the way.
Portuguese trading posts

The Portuguese wanted to prevent other European nations

from using the new trade route that they had discovered so
they set up permanent fortresses in the East. The Arabs would
have driven out the Portuguese if they hadn’t been strong.
Macao in china belongs to Portugal. The Portuguese controls
the provinces of Mozambique, Angola and Portuguese Guinea
in Africa up until the 1970s. The Cape of Good Hope was not
the first to be used as a harbour because: storms were
frequently in the area, Hottentots who lived there attacked
anyone who tried to land. The Portuguese had trading treats
with the Indian Princes. They had forts to defend their ships
and merchants. They controlled harbours along the way were
ships could call for fresh food and water. When Diaz was
returning to Portugal from India via the Cape of Good Hope
there were Spaniards looking for other routes.

Christopher Columbus was a citizen of Genoa in Italy. He was

an experienced sailor in the Mediterranean Sea. Boasted that
he would discover a great new empire for Spain. He was given
three ships which he set sail in august 1492.He took out food
and water in the Canary Islands. The men discovered Cuba
and Haiti. Columbus made a big mistake he returned to Spain
with two natives that he had captured together with a little
silver and gold. He had reached the spice islands (near India).
He discovered Jamaica, Trinidad and the northern coast of
America. Gold, ivory and spices were no were to be found.
Balboa managed to cross the Isthmus of Panama to Pacific.
Aztecs lived in small houses and possessed large quantities of
gold and silver.