The Explorers Why did Europeans sail to

new places?

By: Mr. Casey

What’s it like in

Europe?

•Europe is

suffering from

plaque and

disease, wars,

and poverty.

The Middle

Ages

The Crusades

• Europeans

want to

recapture the

holy lands.

Europeans will

fight for 200

years over the

land.

The world according

to Europe!

This is the

known

world!

Europe is

Changing

*Europe is in the

middle of the

renaissance (1300-

1500)

Marco Polo* 1295 Marco Polo comes

back from being in Asia for

25 years. He tells stories of

golden palaces, jewels, silk,

and spices.

MARCO POLO’S

ROUTE

The Ottoman

Turks capture

Constantinople*1453 they capture the city of

Constantinople and block

trade through the city.

*Silk and spices become very

hard to come by and very

expensive

Europeans have to find a new way to Asia

The Silk Highway*Route is long and filled with dangers, but the

resources from Asia are in high demand

The Silk Highway*Europeans begin looking for a new way to Asia

New Technology Changes

Everything

Gutenberg invents

movable type and

books are easier to

print (1440)

New Technology

Magnetic Compass-

a tool that shows

which direction is

north

New Technology

Astrolabe-

a tool that helped sailors

use the sun and stars to

find their location

New Technology

Gunpowder-

an explosive made of a

mixture of saltpeter, sulfur,

and charcoal

New Technology

Caravel-a small ship designed

by the Portuguese with

a lateen (triangular) sail

gunpowder

movable typecompass

astronomy &

navigation

These new technologies allow European to

explore further than they have in the past

China was much more

advanced than any country

in Europe at that time, but

they did not focus on

exploration

Zheng He

Why venture out

and risk your life?

•Money, wealth, and power

•An explorer can get land,

get rich and famous

•Spread of Christianity

If you can convince a king or queen to pay

for your expedition, you can earn ...

• Imagine you are an entrepreneur and

you want to lead an expedition to India

and Asia; tell me what you would say to

a king or queen and how you would sell

them on giving you the resources you

need to lead your expedition. Where

would you go, how, and why? Choose

one person to speak to the king or

queen.