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•At the beginning of the 15th century, Europeans knew little more than Europe and the lands around the Mediterranean and the Black Seas.

•The existence of India, China and Japan was shown by Marco Polo’s journeys and the trade routes that brought silk and spices to Europe. However, not very much was known about these lands.

•The rest of the World was a total mystery. Europeans had not explored the African and Asian interior, and they did not know that America and Oceania existed.

*journey - viaje

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Marco Polo route

Marco Polo

Marco Polo was a Venetian trader and explorer who, together with his father and uncle, was one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to China and visited the Great Khan of the Mongol

Empire.

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In the 15th century, European countries made many maritime expeditions. There were different reasons for this:

•Firstly, they needed to find new trade routes to the East. In 1453, the Turks conquered Constantinople, and took over the Byzantine Empire. This interrupted the trade routes between Europe and the Far East. Consequently, Europeans had to look for new routes to Asia, round the African coast or across the Atlantic Ocean.

•Secondly, there were a number of technical advances which improved navigation:

•New maps called “portulan charts” were developed. They showed the coastline and any obstacles at sea. Straight lines showed the shortest distance among different points. •Navigational instruments, such as the compass, the astrolabe and the quadrant, were developed. •Ships, such as caravels, were improved and, consequently, could travel longer distances

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•Portugal looked for a new sea route to India around the coast of Africa (15th century). The Portuguese monarchs and Prince Henry the Navigator organised various expeditions.

•The Madeira Islands were discovered in 1418 and the Azores in 1431. Later expeditions explored the African coast.

•In 1488, Bartolomé Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope at the southern trip of Africa, opening the sea route to the Indian Ocean. In 1498, Vasco de Gama reached India.

•The Portuguese established trading posts along the new routes. Portugal created a great empire and became a world power.

*trading posts – puestos comerciales*world power – gran potencia

Vasco de Gama

Bartolomé Dias

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•The Crown of Castile was Portugal’s biggest rival in the search for new routes to India.

•The Castilians decided to sail to the west across the Atlantic, circumnavigating the Earth.

•This plan was very risky. Crossing the Atlantic was terrifying. It involved sailing a long way from the coast into unknown waters.

Christopher Columbus with Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile

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•Christopher Columbus was a Genoese sailor. He was convinced that he could reach the eastern coast of Asia by crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Columbus thought that the world was round, although some people still believed that it was flat. •He presented his project to the Catholic Monarchs, who decided to finance the expedition. On 3 August 1492 an expedition of ninety sailors and three ships, the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa María, left the port of Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva.•But Columbus’ calculations were wrong. He thought the Earth was much smaller than it actually was. Weeks passed without Columbus and his men seeing signs of land. The crew complained, but Columbus persuaded them to continue. Finally, they saw land on 12 October 1492. Columbus thought he had reached Cipango (Japan), but the land belonged to an unknown continent. This continent was later called América.

*Genoese - genovés*reach – alcanzar*although – aunque*actually – en realidad*crew – tripulación*belong – pertenecer*unknown - desconocido Cristopher Columbus

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•After the first expedition, Columbus made three more expeditions to explore and establish Castilian dominion of these territories. On the second voyage, a faster and safer route to America was found. On his last two voyages, Columbus explored part of the coast of Central and South America.

•In 1504, Columbus finally returned to Spain, where he died two years later, still firmly convinced that he had reached India.

•However, in 1502 an Italian sailor, Americo Vespucci, had already realised that these lands belonged to a new continent. Later, the continent was named America in his honour.

*voyage - travesía

Voyages of Cristopher Columbus

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•In 1519 an expedition of five boats and 250 sailors left Seville, captained by Fernando de Magallanes, with his second-in-command, Juan Sebastián Elcano. Their goal was to find a passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to the Molucas, or Spice Islands.

•In 1520, they found a strait connecting both oceans. It was later named Strait of Magallanes. They sailed on to the Philippines. There, Magallanes was killed in a fight with the natives, and Elcano took command. The expedition headed for the Molucas and loaded up with valuable spices. Then, they sail for Spain. •After three years, only eighteen men and one ship, the Victoria, returned. They were the first to circumnavigate the world and prove that the Earth was round.

*second-in-command – contramaestre*goal – objetivo*strait – estrecho*both – ambos*head – dirigirse*valuable - valiosas

Juan Sebastián El Cano

Fernando de Magallanes

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• Portugal and Spain created great overseas empires.

• They were divided between in the Treaty of Tordesillas (1499). A line of demarcation was established. Portugal received territories east of the line: Africa, Asia and Brazil, which was discovered later. Castile received territories west of the line: most of the territories in the Americas.

• These explorations marked the beginning of European supremacy over the rest of the world.

*overseas empire – imperios marítimos*resources - recursos

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•The discovery brought major progress in science. Knowledge of the lands and oceans on the planet became more accurate. Many new plant and animal species were discovered. All this contributed to developments in Geography, Natural Science and Cartography.

•One of the most important consequences of the discoveries was the contact among different peoples. Knowledge was exchanged. However, diseases introduced by the Europeans caused a dramatic decline in the indigenous population of America.

*knowledge – conocimiento*accurate – exacto*diseases – enfermedades*decline - descenso

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Discovery

http://www.historyguide.org/earlymod/lecture2c.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/p/polo.shtml

http://www.buddhachannel.tv/portail/spip.php?article3092