European Exploration 20 Facts

1. The ottomans controlled the oceans and they established a navy.

2. In the 15th century Portugal was poor.
3. Prince Henry was called the Navigator because he funded and encouraged exploration.
4. The Portuguese explored the coast of Africa ro find wealth.
5. Africa was rich in food, salt, gold, and slaves.
6. Mansa Musa had an entourage of 60,000 people including 12,000 slaves and huge
quantities of gold.
7. The portuguese kidnapped local people to sell into European slave markets.
8. Many European men partnered with African women and started families.
9. Most of the portuguese explorers were poor and many female traders were wealthy.
10. Vasco De Gama reached India in 1498
11. By the seventeenth century the portuguese were importing millions of pieces of
porcelain.
12. Spices were not only important for flavoring but also for food preservation.
13. The Portuguese empire started out as a trading empire.
14. The spanish empire was based on a colonial empire.
15. Columbus went to Portugal to fund his expedition but they refused so he went to spain.
16. The motto of the Iberian pathfinders was God, Gold, Glory.
17. For the explorers these lands were new and potentially very lucrative.
18. They believed that colonies existed for the enrichment of the colonizers and to convert
human souls to christianity.
19. They saw the people of the land as a form of property.
20. The systems that were built to support the colonies-- from roads and bridges to
churches--were built to extract wealth and convert people to Christianity.