The trade route over land was long, arduous, and dangerous. Since Roman times, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and pepper had been brought to Europe from the lands of the East, where most spices flourished in the warm and moist climate. But most important, Europeans wanted exotic spices to enliven their meals and preserve their meats, which spoiled quickly without refrigeration. Several technological developments and changes in attitude spurred the Age of Exploration-better ships, improved navigation, a new ambition to learn more about the world. What caused the European Age of Exploration?

How did Henry Hudson’s explorations end?.

How did Drake circumnavigate the world?.

How did Coronado continue his exploration?.Who searched for the Seven Cities of Gold?.Who searched for the Fountain of Youth?.How did Magellan circumnavigate the world?.How did John Cabot’s son, Sebastian, continue exploration?.Who was the first European explorer to find a sea route to the Indies?.What did Columbus find on his discovery?.What caused the European Age of Exploration?.The medieval map was replaced with the globe inscribed with the rough outlines of the continents. Except for generations of secretive fishermen, sailors dared not venture into the dark and unmapped seas, where many people believed that monsters lurked and the sea boiled.īut over a period of 100 years, from about 1450 to 1550, a handful of European explorers would encounter and chart much of the world-the coasts of Africa and Asia, North America, South America, and the vast Pacific Ocean, dotted with islands. China, Japan, and India were mysterious lands described in legend and song. The continents of North and South America were unknown to Europeans. But during the fifteenth century, advances in exploration occurred in a relative backwater of the world-western Europe.Īt the dawn of the 1400s, most Europeans tilled the soil and had little knowledge of the world beyond their villages. We know of many explorers and travelers from the Middle East, Africa, and China before the 1400s.

Magnificence control zippy