The Role Of Exploration In The Fifteenth Century

In the fifteenth century, most European countries tried to find a way to make their kingdoms and countries larger and richer. In those days, they saw that the ocean and the sea were a way to reach the outside world and expand their territories . They tried to find the closest routes to the East. In the fifteenth century, there was an epidemic called Black Death that “killed about a third of the European population” (page 34). This epidemic caused uncertainty and encouraged a few people to undertake explorations on the seas and ocean. This kind of exploration was supported by their Kings and Queens, such as King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel, monarchs who ruled Spain in the 15 century. Monarchs expected this kind of exploration to enlarge their
kingdoms and to enrich their treasure chest because it means more people would have to pay tax, they would also increase their military strength, and make the kingdoms more prestigious.(page 34).
Many ordinary people thought that this kind of expansion promised them fame and fortune (page 34).Columbus, was such a person who was ordinary but had a vision and an obsession to reach the East by sailing west (page 36). Not only Columbus but also a lot of people such as Herman Cortez who finally conquered Mexico in 1504 (page 41) and Francisco Pizzaro who defeated Incan Empire in Peru (page 43). Not all people that had such obsession succeeded with their sea exploration but they had this same vision: To find fame and fortune. Most of kings in Europe sponsored their exploration. They saw this kind of venture as “an inexpensive gamble: the potential loss was small, but the potential gain was huge”(page 36). This kind of exploration also helped them to trade with outside world. The increasing demand for luxury goods from Asia and Africa made the merchants travel a lot to fulfil this demand. Those merchants traveled and traded gold, slaves, and ivory(page 35). By the 1498, Portugal had already capitalised commercial empire in India, Indonesia, and China(page 35), thanks to Bartolomeu Dias who sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and found out that was also possible to sail to India and China (page
35). By these new routes, the profitable benefits to Portugal were very great. Merchants could make more profit for goods that they imported (page 35). Not only that, but both Portugal and Spain used native people from the place that they had already conquered as slaves. The Portuguese used African slaves “to develop sugar plantations of the Cape Verde Islands” (page 35). The New World make Spain the richest nation in the 16 Th.
century. They were rich not only because of the gold, but more so because of “uncompensated Indian labor” (page 46). The sea exploration was also supported by scientific and technological advances (page 34). In 1450, Johannes Gutenberg invented a movable type (page 34). This technology made the exchange of information easier because printing was “easier and cheaper”. Not only that, but also navigational aids such as compasses and hourglasses were a technology invented to help explorers to estimate speed, determine latitude, and calculate the time. A sea exploration had problems with having enough supplies for long period time and with surviving harsh waves in the ocean. To overcome these problems, Portuguese invented a caravel, “ A fast and sturdy ship”. This new development helped the Portuguese explorers to sail “into and around the Gulf of Guinea as far south as the Congo” (page 35). As we know that those kinds of technology were a crucial development for every maritime explorer and help make their journey safer. For Portuguese the idea of the Reconquest,also justified their expansion. This idea encouraged them to defeat the Muslim
kingdoms. In 1415, the Portuguese won over Ceuta, the Muslim bastion that limited Portugal’s access to Africa (page 34) . For the Portuguese, access to Africa was very essential. They tried to get more gold because gold was very important for their commercial trade. With the increasing activity of commerce to the easts , gold had become fewer and harder to find (page 34). This kind of condition made those merchants want to find way to travel more to the outside world.
When the Spanish and Portuguese has succeeded with their exploration, both French and the English tried to follow their footsteps. Sea exploration becomes more interesting and desirable for them. In 1524, France sent Giovanni Da Verrazano to find undiscovered places (page 55). After their failure in 1497 with John Cabot’s voyages, England sent Martin Frobisher into “ the frigid waters of northern Canada” (page 56).
In conclusion, European monarchs supported sea exploration because it would bring them a lot of treasure and for ordinary people, exploration could bring a fame, money and also honours. The increase of technology helped explorations become safer and secure. Finding new sea routes also made European merchants have more profit. Conquering more territory also meant these European countries could capture slaves who could increase their productivity, which made their kingdom more powerful and respected by other countries. (844)