The Maritime Revolution, to 1550
Maps
Polynesian
Migration, 2500 B.C.E-800 C.E.Map
of Viking Settlements in Iceland, Greenland, and North AmericaThis
different angle provides a more accurate perspective of Viking exploration.
European
Voyages of ExplorationThis superb and comprehensive site contains
numerous maps detailing the Portuguese and Spanish voyages in the Indian
and Atlantic Oceans in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It
also includes a multimedia map that demonstrates the wind patterns of the
Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Maps
of SpainThese three maps depict the
reconquista of the Iberian
Peninsula.
Map
of Bartolomeu Dias' VoyageMap
of Vasca da Gama's VoyageMap of
Christopher Columbus' First VoyageScroll to the bottom of the page
for a complete map.
Map
of Christopher Columbus' Second VoyageMap
of Christopher Columbus Third VoyageMap
of Christopher Columbus Fourth VoyageMap
of Magellen's VoyageTreaty
of TordesillasImages
HokuleaA small image of the reconstruction of a Polynesian ship of exploration.
The
Vikings: They Got Here First, But Why Didn't They Stay?This
intriguing essay also contains images of the ruins and artifacts of the
Viking settlement in Vinland in modern day Newfoundland.
The Great
Chinese Mariner: Zheng HeThis site contains a fabulous image of a
Chinese treasure ship in comparison to Columbus' Santa Maria.
European
Voyages of ExplorationThis excellent site provides
numerous images from this era including pictures of caravels, portraits
of major explorers, and paintings of famous events.
1492:
An Ongoing VoyageWhile not as comprehensive as the link above,
this site contains many images, primarily European drawings or paintings,
of the early encounter period between Spaniards and Amerindians.
Columbus
and Celestial NavigationThis site has images of the navigational
tools used by Iberian mariners.
Columbus
Santa MariaExplore a modern-day reconstruction of this caravel.
Benin
ArtView images of artwork from this West African kingdom.
Burried
Mirror Conflict of the GodsThis essay on the Spanish conquest of
the Aztec empire contains numerous drawings and images from both Spanish
and Amerindian sources.
Activity One:Chapter 17, "The Maritime
Revolution," of
The Earth and Its Peoples (Second Edition)
uses the term "revolution" to describe developments in maritime activity
between 1450 and 1550, because technological innovation in this period reached
a level where transoceanic travel became feasible. To review some
of these key developments, go to
The
European Voyages of Exploration: TECHNICAL ADVANCES IN SHIPBUILDING AND
NAVIGATION (be sure to click "Proceed with the Tuturial" and
read the next page as well). While reading, make a list of important
contributions that made transoceanic travel possible during this time period.
This site focuses on advances in European maritime technology. Can
you identify any ideas borrowed from other cultures? For hints see
Early Navigation Methods
and
Sinbads of the
Sea. Explain how the development
of the European caravel represented the culmination of over one thousand
years of maritime innovation in the Eurasian world.
Activity Two:Europeans were not the only people who
had access to this maritime technology. Yet it was Europeans who developed
travel across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as between
the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Zheng He, for example, sailed around
the Indian Ocean for the Ming Empire in the early fifteenth century in
ships much more impressive in size than European caravels (see the
image at
The Great Chinese
Mariner: Zheng He). Why did other Chinese not follow in his wake?
Compare his adventures with those of Vasco da Gama, the first
European to sail to India via the Atlantic Ocean. Begin by reading
The
Emperor's Giraffe and
The
European Voyages of Exploration: The Ming Dynasty's Maritime History.
While studying these essays, make a list of the variety of reasons that
the Ming Empire sent Zheng He on his voyages of exploration and why it
ended them. Now read the essay
The
European Voyages of Exploration: THE SEA-ROUTE TO INDIA & VASCO DA
GAMA (be sure to click "Proceed with the Tutorial" at the bottom of
this page and read the next page as well). Again, make a list of the
variety of reasons the Portuguese government sponsered his voyages of exploration.
Explain why it continued to fund more expeditions such as his. Both
Zheng He and Vasco da Gama completed their travels within one hundred years
of each other. Yet the legacy of each is so different for Chinese,
European, and world history. What were these legacies?
Activity Three:Transoceanic travel did not necessarily
require the sophisticated technology that the Europeans and Chinese possessed
in the fifteenth century. The Vikings
and the Polynesians crossed the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans respectively
centuries before the exploits of Zheng He, Christopher Columbus, and Vasco
da Gama. Without much written evidence, how they did so has fascinated
historians. In recent decades, anthropologists have made great strides in understanding
Polynesian methods of navigation. For further insight,
read the essay and study the images at
Traditional
Navigation in the Western Pacific, A Search for Patterns. While
exploring this site, keep the following tasks in mind. Explain how
anthropologists have approached the question of how Polynesians explored
and settled the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Explain, in general
terms, how Polynesian mariners were able to sail throughout the Pacific
without the use of technology available to European explorers in the fifteenth
and centuries such as the compass, astrolabe, and quadrant.
Activity Four:As this chapter demonstrates, Europeans
were not the first people to explore the oceans. Yet the legacy of
their exploits in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries altered world history.
Europeans would eventually dominate world trade and colonize
most of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Their technological advantages
certainly aided this development, as did the backing of strong central
governments. But other societies with advanced political development
also possessed similar technology or at least had access to it at this
time. Perhaps the legacy of the European voyages of exploration can
best be understood in terms of motivation. To analyze the motivations
of transoceanic explorers, read the essays or primary sources at
The
European Voyages of Exploration: The Ming Dynasty's Maritime History,
The Vikings:
They Got Here First, But Why Didn't They Stay?,
The
Settlement of Polynesia: Part1,
Modern
History Sourcebook: Vasco da Gama: Round Africa to India, 1497-1498 CE,
and
Medieval
Sourcebook: Columbus' letter to the King and Queen of Spain, 1494.
While reading these sources, keep the following tasks in mind. Explain
the motivations for Chinese, Viking, Polynesian, and European explorations
of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. How were they different,
and how were they similar? What allowed
European civilization to spread its influence globally? In other words,
how did European motivations guarantee continued expansion of their presence
in the world as oppossed to the others?
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