Age Of Exploration Essay

Age of Exploration: Portugal

The Age of Exploration, also known as the Age of Discovery, was a European time period roughly between the 1400s and the 1700s that marked the time of exploration of other colonies overseas. There were many different reasons to why exactly exploration and discovery were such big things among the Europeans. Since it was the Renaissance, a time of major revival, Europeans were given a sense of adventure and excitement that they were doing what no one, or at least they thought no one, had done before. Apart from that, they also had economic motives. New land meant new resources, which would benefit them greatly, therefore, the search for land and resources was a major motive. Also, the Europeans wanted to develop

They were actually located in a pretty strategic area, as they were the closest of all exploring nations, if only considering routes by sea, to the areas yet to be colonized. They used the seas to their advantage and grew very dependent on them. They took the lead in exploration by setting off to find the first “all water” route to Asia. Henry the Navigator, the prince of Portugal, became the patron of exploration in Portugal. He set up navigation schools for sailors that wanted to partake in the exploration of the world, and actually earned his title as Prince Henry the Navigator, not because he went on voyages, but because of the fact that his navigation school was so

They were leaders of exploration and started the Age of Exploration in their hopes to find a route to Asia only traveling by sea. Many people were important to Portugal’s discovery of India and its development of African trade posts. Prince Henry the Navigator, who earned that title by establishing a navigation school for sailors who wanted to explore the world, was a great supporter of these journey, sponsored many trips, and gave many great ideas that sailors and explorers put to use. Bartholomeu Dias was the first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa, soon to be known as the Cape of Good Hope. Even though he did not achieve his intended task, he was still able to achieve what was a major accomplishment. Later, Vasco de Gama became the first European to reach India by sea. Portugal’s successful journey to Asia allowed for them to have a colony, and allowed them to establish trade routes both in Africa and India. They were one of the most important exploring nations of the world, and without them, there would be no India, no connections between Europe and Asia, no connection with Africa, and no