Vasco de Gama

• Portuguese mariner
• Left July 1497
• Headed around Africa to India with stuff
• Stopped at Cape Verde
• Arrived in May 1498
• Opened the door to trade between Europe and Asia

!Screenshot 2024-01-12 at 3.00.12 PM.png

The expansion of European influence lead to increased power, wealth, and influence

• They also became much more prominent in the world
• Resulted in global trade & transport networks
• While disease spread, so did life-saving crops

Motives for exploration

• Lure of trade
• Missionary efforts

Technology of Exploration

• Different sails
• Navigational instruments
• Compasses
• Astrolabe
• Used winds to guide their journey "volta de mar"

Ferdinand Magellan

• Portuguese
• Sailed in service of Spain for his circumnavication
• Scurvy killed 29 people during the circumnavigation
• Very poor circumstances and bad food
• 40 killed in a political dispute in Phillipines
• Left with 5 ships and 280 men, returned with one ship and 18 men (17 other men returned later)

Spices

• Europeans at first didn't know the origin of spices
• Later found out and could cut out the middle-man merchants for big profits
• Afonso de Albuquerque tried to control spice trade in Indian ocean

Chinese Exploration

• Zheng He led massive naval expiditions during the Ming dynasty
• Eventually stopped these expeditions
• Unlike European exploration, the Chinese only went to mapped parts of the world

Prester John

• A mythical kingdom of Christians thought to be hidden away somewhere in the world