1.2 The start of the Age of Discovery

• Geschiedenis
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

1.2 The start of the Age of Discovery

Columbus (1492) on the famous voyage on which he discovered a new continent (America)

Goals for this lesson

At the end of this lesson you understand...

• What role trade with the East played in the Late Middle Ages and how it changed.
• How trade wars led to the age of discovery.
• How Portugal became the dominant world power.

Worldmap from around 1200 AD

Trade with the east

• In the Late Middle Ages, Europe traded a lot with Asia via the Middle East. 
• There was not a lot of knowledge about Asia in Europe at the time. 

Nutmeg (=nootmuskaat)

Pepper

Silk (=zijde) Type of fabric

Cinnamon (=kaneel)

Asian goods were brought to Europe via the Middle East

Marco Polo

• Italian merchant from Venice.
• Travelled to Asia between 1271 and 1295 AD.
• One of the first European discovers.
• He was only 17 years old when he started his journey to Asia.
• He wrote a book about his travels: Book of the Marvels of the World.

Paying a high price

• Products from Asia travelled to Europe through the Middle East= Silk Route.
• The middle men wanted to make a profit -> products became very expensive.

Arabian middle men took products from Asia to Europe

The Silk Route

Causes exploration

• 1: Ottomans (Turks) started asking for higher prices -> Europeans wanted new routes to the East.
• 2: Invention of the compass, astrolabe and better ships. 

New type of ship: Carvello

Have you ever steered a boat/ship?

No, never

Yes, once

Yes, multiple times

Portugal

• Portugal tries to find a route around Africa.
•  In 1488 Bartolomeu Dias reaches the Cape of Good Hope.
• In 1498 Vasco da Gama reaches India.

World power

• After the explorations Portugal became dominant  in the spicetrade.
•  Portugal became a large naval power (large fleet). 

What was the name of the famous trade route over land with Asia?

Marco Polo

Vasco da Gama

Bartolomeu Dias

Landroute to China

c. 1498

Route to South Africa

c. 1295

Route around Africa

c. 1488

Which famous European was the first to travel to Asia and write about his travels?

1. Vasco da gama
2. Bartolomeu Dias
3. Magellan
4. Marco Polo

Which country was the second country to start exploring other routes to Asia?

Denmark

England

France

Netherlands

Spain

1.2 The start of the Age of Discovery