Social

• The names of the ships that Columbus had

  The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria
• The Atlantic Ocean at the time of the Renaissance


  • A vast and unknown area
  • Maps of the time suggest sea monsters
• Belief in the potential of the individual

  • Led explorers to be curious on what was beyond the horizon
  • They had enough confidence in their dreams and their abilities to take on the challenge of dangerous tasks
• Reasons monarchs supported voyages

  • Increased opportunity for trade
  • Desire to acquire gold
  • Expansion of Christianity
• Prince Henry 'The Navigator'


  • Funded many voyages
  • Looked for a mythical character called Prester John
• • European explorers who came to Canada were accompanied by missionaries
  • Most were Francophones in the West of Canada
• Navigational tools explorers used

  • Compasses
  • Astrolabes
  • Cross-staffs
  • Back staffs
• The Caravel


  • Developed by the Portuguese
  • Borrowed the idea of using multiple masts from Arab vessels
  • A fast ship, able to manoeuvre quickly
• Important Voyages


  • Bartholomeu Dias (Portugal) 1488 - voyages to the cape of Good Hope
  • Christopher Columbus (Spain) 1492 - voyages to the Caribbean and back
  • John Cabot (England) 1497 - Voyage to Newfoundland
  • Jacques Cartier (France) 1534 - Voyaged to Quebec
• Portugal


  • The first European country to become involved in organised exploration
  • Prince Henry sent expeditions south along the coast of Africa to make contact with gold producing areas
  • Established trading posts along the way
  • Eventually dozens of ships carrying gold and other goods between Africa and Portugal
• The Atlantic Slave Trade


  • The Portuguese were involved in slave trade in Africa
  • They brought African slaves to work on sugar plantations on islands in the Atlantic Ocean
  • Slavery existed in Africa before the arrival of Europeans
  • During 1500-1800, Europeans bought, captured, and transported slaves
  • Millions died on route from the terrible conditions on the slave ships or from over work
• Prince Henry's practices in Africa

  • Hired members of the local population as interpreters
  • Enabled the Portuguese to get reliable information about the area they wanted to explore
  • Enabled the Portuguese to establish relations with indigenous people
  • Often resulted in trade
• Bartholomeu Dias' expedition around the Cape of Good Hope


  The mission was not complete because the crew mutinied
• When Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas

  The Portuguese were threatened and they intensified their exploration
• Vasco Da Gama's voyage to India


  1. Made it to India five years after Columbus reached the Americas

  2. The sea route around Africa to the East had been established by the Portuguese
• Portuguese ships had begun to make yearly trading trips to the Indian Ocean


  • Arabs were not happy with the Portuguese
  • They felt that the Portuguese were invaders and were stealing from their trading territory
• Battle between Arab ships and a small Portuguese fleet off the Indian port of Diu


  1. The Portuguese defeated the Arabs because they had more advanced military weaponry

  2. Afterwards, Portugal set up forts and trading colonies across southern Asia

  3. Portugal became the most powerful trading country in Europe
• Magellan's expedition


  1. Sailed across the Atlantic and along the coast of South America

  2. Made it to the Pacific Ocean and after four months, landed in the Philippines

  3. Magellan died in this area

  4. The ship continued onwards and brought many spices back to Spain

  5. It was the first recorded Voyage to circumnavigate the world
• • Elizabeth I knights Sir Francis Drake for stealing gold and merchandise from the Spanish ships
  • This created a major conflict between England and Spain
• Christopher brings many different items back to Spain to present to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain
• Treaty of Tordesillas


  • Portugal and Spain were competing for resources and land
  • They couldn't come to an agreement about their territory of the New World
  • The Pope intervened and came up with a treaty that divided the world between Portugal and Spain, the world superpowers
  • Other European leaders were irritated
  • England and France simply ignored it
• Reasons for European imperialism

  • They believed they were the best
  • They wanted to extend their power
  • They were greedy
  • They wanted resources, land, and money
  • They wanted to feel superior
• Francis Drake


  • The first Englishman to circumnavigate the world
  • His attacks on Spanish treasure ships brought wealth to England and earned him the gratitude of Queen Elizabeth I
• Queen Elizabeth I


  • A true Renaissance monarch
  • Well educated, read Latin and Greek, great patron of the arts
  • Under her reign, England defeated Spain, the most powerful country in Europe at the time, in a great naval battle
  • Sponsored explorers like Francis Drake and settlements in North America
  • Contributed to England's transformation into a prosperous trading country and a world power
• Patriotism


  • The military and economic success of England gave its people a sense of confidence and pride
  • Their sense of identity became linked with the achievements of their country
• European perceptions of Indigenous peoples

  • Fascinated by the reports that filtered back to Europe
  • Showed that the Indigenous peoples were closer to nature than Europeans
  • Many of their communities operated on principles of equality and sharing
  • Challenged some people's thinking about European society
  • Some philosophers began to ask whether Indigenous peoples had happier lives than Europeans
• European expansionism and imperialism

  • Europeans saw themselves as superior to the peoples of the Americas
  • Needed the resources of the Americas to support the European economy and to fuel the establishment of colonies
  • Saw the competition for land and resources as necessary for their survival and supremacy
  • Also contributed to the establishment of trade in African slaves
• The Renaissance and the Age of Exploration


  • The first steps on the road to the global village we live in today
  • The invention of the printing press allowed knowledge and ideas to be exchanged across the whole of Europe
  • Humanism, with its curiosity, optimism, and belief in the individual, encouraged people to look beyond the world they knew
  • The rise of trade and business gave people the motivation to venture into the unknown
  • By the end of the Renaissance, Europeans had travelled to most of the continents of the world
  • For the first time in recorded history, the people of these continents had made contact with one another
  • Wherever the Europeans arrived, they imposed their religion, ideas, values, and economic system—their worldview
  • The Renaissance had an enormous impact on the way we live today