History test age of exploration

• Europeans were ready to venture beyond their borders in the early 1400s
• The Renaissance encouraged a new spirit of adventure and curiosity
• Europeans explored the world around them due to a desire for "God, Glory, and Gold"
• European crusaders battled Muslims for control of the Holy Lands in Southwest Asia starting around 1100
• Italian trader Marco Polo reached the court of Kublai Khan in China in 1275
• Main reason for European exploration was the desire for new sources of wealth
• Merchants and traders hoped to benefit from the profitable trade of spices and luxury goods from Asia
• Muslims and Italians controlled the trade of goods from East to West
• European traders sought to bypass Italian merchants by finding a sea route directly to Asia
• Desire to spread Christianity also motivated Europeans to explore
• European countries believed they had a sacred duty to convert non-Christians throughout the world
• Advances in technology made voyages of discovery possible
• European shipbuilders designed a new vessel, the caravel, in the 1400s
• Triangular sails adopted from the Arabs allowed the caravel to sail effectively against the wind
• Sailors used the astrolabe to determine their location at sea
• Magnetic compass, a Chinese invention, helped explorers track direction accurately
• Portugal led the way in developing and applying sailing innovations
• Portugal established trading outposts along the west coast of Africa and pushed farther east into the Indian Ocean
• Prince Henry of Portugal founded a navigation school and supported overseas exploration
• Portuguese sailors reached Asia by sailing around the southern tip of Africa
• Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498, establishing a direct sea route to Asia
• Spain financed Christopher Columbus's voyage to find a route to Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean
• Columbus reached the Caribbean in 1492, leading to European colonization of the Americas
• Treaty of Tordesillas eased tensions between Spain and Portugal by dividing lands in the Atlantic Ocean between them
• Portugal built a trading empire in the Indian Ocean, taking control of the spice trade from Muslim merchants
• Dutch and English challenged Portugal's dominance over the Indian Ocean trade in the early 1600s
• Dutch East India Company became richer and more powerful than England's company, eventually driving out the English and establishing dominance
• Dutch established trading headquarters at Batavia on the island of Java and expanded their trade outposts in the region
• Europeans in the East, 1487–1700
• The Dutch conquered several nearby islands and seized the port of Malacca and the Spice Islands from Portugal
• Throughout the 1600s, the Netherlands increased its control over the Indian Ocean trade
• Amsterdam became a leading commercial center due to goods from the East traveling to the Netherlands
• By 1700, the Dutch ruled much of Indonesia and had trading posts in several Asian countries
• The Dutch also controlled the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa as a resupply stop
• British and French Traders
• By 1700, Britain and France had gained a foothold in the region
• The English East India Company focused on establishing outposts in India and trading Indian cloth in Europe
• In 1664, France entered the Asia trade with its own East India Company
• The French company established an outpost in India in the 1720s, but it never showed much profit
• European Influence in Southeast Asia