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Age of Discovery - Wikipedia. The Age of Discovery or the Age of Exploration from the end of the 1.

Europeanhistorical period marking the time period in which extensive overseas exploration emerged as a powerful factor in European culture and the beginning of globalization. It also marks the rise of the period of widespread adoption in Europe of colonialism and mercantilism. Many lands previously unknown to Europeans were discovered during this period, though most were already inhabited. From the perspective of many non- Europeans, the Age of Discovery marked the arrival of invaders from previously unknown continents. Best Way To Learn Black Hat Hacking Course. Global exploration started with the Portuguese discoveries of the Atlantic archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores, the coast of Africa, and the discovery of the sea route to India in 1.

Crown of Castile (Spain), the trans- Atlantic Voyages of Christopher Columbus between 1. Free Small Business Accounting Software For Windows 7. These discoveries led to numerous naval expeditions across the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, and land expeditions in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australia that continued into the late 1. European overseas exploration led to the rise of global trade and the European colonial empires, with the contact between the Old World (Europe, Asia and Africa) and the New World (the Americas and Australia) producing the Columbian Exchange; a wide transfer of plants, animals, food, human populations (including slaves), communicable diseases and culture between the Eastern and Western. Hemispheres. This represented one of the most- significant global events concerning ecology, agriculture, and culture in history.

The Age of Discovery and later European exploration allowed the global mapping of the world, resulting in a new world- view and distant civilizations coming into contact, but also led to the propagation of diseases that decimated populations not previously in contact with Eurasia and Africa, and to the enslavement, exploitation, military conquest, and economic dominance of Europe and its colonies over native populations. It also allowed for the expansion of Christianity throughout the world with the spread of missionary activity, becoming the world's largest religion.

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See details in expandable table. The Portuguese began systematically exploring the Atlantic coast of Africa from 1. Prince Henry. Under Henry's direction, a new and much lighter ship was developed, the caravel, which could sail further and faster.

In 1. 48. 8 Bartolomeu Dias reached the Indian Ocean by this route. He landed on a continent uncharted by Europeans and seen as a new world, the Americas. To prevent conflict between Portugal and Castile (the crown under which Columbus made the voyage), the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed dividing the world into two regions of exploration, where each had exclusive rights to claim newly discovered lands. Soon, the Portuguese sailed further eastward, to the valuable Spice Islands in 1. China one year later.

In 1. 51. 3, Spanish Vasco N. Thus, Europe first received news of the eastern and western Pacific within a one- year span around 1. East and west exploration overlapped in 1.

Castilian (Spanish) expedition, led by Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan and later by Spanish Basque navigator Juan Sebasti. Meanwhile, from the 1. Russians explored and conquered almost the whole of Siberia, and Alaska in the 1. Background. Another source was the Radhanite Jewish trade networks of merchants established as go- betweens between Europe and the Muslim world during the time of the Crusader states.

In 1. 15. 4, the Arab geographer. Muhammad al- Idrisi created a description of the world and a world map, the Tabula Rogeriana, at the court of King Roger II of Sicily. There were reports of great African Sahara, but the factual knowledge was limited for the Europeans to the Mediterranean coasts and little else since the Arab blockade of North Africa precluded exploration inland. Knowledge about the Atlantic African coast was fragmented and derived mainly from old Greek and Roman maps based on Carthaginian knowledge, including the time of Roman exploration of Mauritania. The Red Sea was barely known and only trade links with the Maritime republics, the Republic of Venice especially, fostered collection of accurate maritime knowledge. Between 1. 40. 5 and 1. Yongle Emperor of Ming China sponsored a series of long range tributary missions under the command of Zheng He (Cheng Ho).

But the journeys, reported by Ma Huan, a Muslim voyager and translator, were halted abruptly after the emperor's death. The rediscovery of Roman geographical knowledge was a revelation. Most were Italians, as trade between Europe and the Middle East was controlled mainly by the Maritime republics. Though having strong political implications, their journeys left no detailed accounts. Other travellers followed, like French Andr.

After returning, he dictated an account of his journeys to a scholar he met in Granada, the Rihla (. Between 1. 35. 7 and 1. John Mandeville acquired extraordinary popularity. Despite the unreliable and often fantastical nature of its accounts it was used as a reference.

The Mongol Empire collapsed almost as quickly as it formed and soon the route to the east became more difficult and dangerous. The Black Death of the 1. Between 1. 40. 5 and 1.

Ming emperor Yongle sponsored a series of long range tributary missions in the Indian Ocean under the command of admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho). The largest of these junks—that the Chinese termed bao chuan (treasure ships)—may have measured 1.

The first expedition departed in 1. At least seven well- documented expeditions were launched, each bigger and more expensive than the last. The fleets visited Arabia, East Africa, India, Malay Archipelago and Thailand (at the time called Siam), exchanging goods along the way. It is very likely that this last expedition reached as far as Madagascar. The travels were reported by Ma Huan, a Muslim voyager and translator who accompanied Zeng He on three of the seven expeditions, his account published as .

Travels were halted abruptly after the emperor's death, as the Chinese lost interest in what they termed barbarian lands turning inward. The silk and spice trade, involving spices, incense, herbs, drugs and opium, made these Mediterranean city- states phenomenally rich. Spices were among the most expensive and demanded products of the Middle Ages, as they were used in medieval medicine. From there, overland routes led to the Mediterranean coasts. Venetian merchants distributed the goods through Europe until the rise of the Ottoman Empire, that eventually led to the fall of Constantinople in 1. Europeans from important combined- land- sea routes. Europeans had a constant deficit in silver and gold.

Several European mines were exhausted. Sailing also into the ports of Bruges (Flanders) and England, Genoese communities were then established in Portugal. These charts specified proven ocean routes guided by coastal landmarks: sailors departed from a known point, followed a compass heading, and tried to identify their location by its landmarks. Arab navigational tools like the astrolabe and quadrant were used for celestial navigation. Portuguese exploration. Young prince Henry the Navigator was there and became aware of profit possibilities in the Trans- Saharan trade routes. For centuries slave and gold trade routes linking West Africa with the Mediterranean passed over the Western Sahara Desert, controlled by the Moors of North Africa.

Henry wished to know how far Muslim territories in Africa extended, hoping to bypass them and trade directly with West Africa by sea, find allies in legendary Christian lands to the south. He invested in sponsoring voyages down the coast of Mauritania, gathering a group of merchants, shipowners and stakeholders interested in new sea lanes. Soon the Atlantic islands of Madeira (1. Azores (1. 42. 7) were reached.

In particular, they were discovered by voyages launched by the command of Prince Henry the Navigator.

Historical Timeline Calendar Months. Most newspaper article events happen anywhere from days, to months, to years before they reach publication. Dragon Quest XI comes out today in Japan, and to celebrate, creator Yuji Horii announced plans to bring it to English as Dragon Quest XI: Echoes Of An Elusive Age.

Clarke's Bookshop (established in 1956) is situated in Cape Town, South Africa and carries both new and second hand books on Southern Africa. This bibliography is intended to embrace all fields relevant to Lollard studies. It therefore includes texts and studies about the literary, historical, cultural, and.