Age of Discovery

Background See also: Early world maps and Chronology of European exploration of Asia Rise of European trade After the fall of the Western Roman Empire largely severed the connection between Europe and lands further east, Christian Europe was largely a backwater compared to the Muslim world, which conquered and incorporated large territories in the Middle East and North Africa. The Christian Crusades to retake the Holy Land from the Muslims were not a military success, but they did bring Europe into contact with the Middle East and the valuable goods manufactured or traded there. From the 12th century, the European economy was transformed by the interconnecting of river and sea trade routes. [ 1 ] : 345  Before the 12th century, an obstacle to trade east of the Strait of Gibraltar , which connected the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean, was Muslim control of territory, including the Iberian Peninsula, as well as the trade monopolies of Christian city-states on the Italian Peninsula, especially Venice and Genoa . Economic growth of Iberia followed the Christian reconquest of Al-Andalus in what is now southern Spain and the siege of Lisbon (1147 AD), in Portugal. The decline of the Fatimid Caliphate 's naval strength, which started before the First Crusade , helped the maritime Italian states, mainly Venice, Genoa and Pisa, dominate trade in the Eastern Mediterranean , with merchants there becoming wealthy and politically influential. Further changing the mercantile situation in the eastern Mediterranean was the waning of Christian Byzantine naval power following the death of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos in 1180, whose dynasty had made notable treaties and concessions with Italian traders, permitting the use of Byzantine Christian ports. The Norman conquest of England , in the late 11th century, allowed for peaceful trade on the North Sea . The Hanseatic League , a confederation of merchant guilds and their towns in north Germany, along the North Sea and Baltic Sea, was instrumental in the commercial development of the region. In the 12th century, the regions of Flanders , Hainault , and Brabant produced the finest quality textiles in northwest Europe, which encouraged merchants from Genoa and Venice to sail there from the Mediterranean, through the Strait of Gibraltar, and up the Atlantic coast. [ 1 ] : 316–38  Nicolòzzo Spinola made the first recorded direct voyage from Genoa to Flanders in 1277. [ 1 ] : 328  Technology: Ship design and the compass Technological advancements that were important to the Age of Exploration were the adoption of the magnetic compass and advances in ship design. The compass was an addition to the ancient method of navigation based on sightings of the sun and stars. It was invented during the Chinese Han dynasty and had been used for navigation in China by the 11th century. It was adopted by Arab traders in the Indian Ocean. The compass spread to Europe by the late 12th or early 13th century. [ 2 ] Use of the compass for navigation in the Indian Ocean was first mentioned in 1232. [ 1 ] : 351–2  The first mention of use of the compass in Europe was in 1180. [ 1 ] : 382  The Europeans used a "dry" compass, with a needle on a pivot. The compass card was also a European invention. [ 1 ] Pintle -and- gudgeon stern-post rudder of the Adler von Lübeck (1567–1581) The ships of the Age of Discovery post-dated the fusion of the northern European [ a ] and Mediterranean shipbuilding traditions. Prior to the late 13th/early 14th centuries, northern European ships were typically clinker built , [ b ] with a single mast setting a square sail and a centre-line rudder hung on the sternpost with pintles and gudgeons . Their counterparts in the Mediterranean were built with carvel hulls, had one or more masts (depending on size) which set lateen sails, and were steered with quarter-rudders positioned on the side of the hull. [ 3 ] : 65–66  Trade, pilgrimage and war brought ships from each tradition into the other's region, ultimately leading to the copying of features that were new to each. Over the early 14th century, square sails started to be used in the Mediterranean, with the mainmast setting square rig and the mizzen carrying a lateen sail. In the first two decades of the 15th century this arrangement was copied in northern Europe where, by the late 1430s, some ships were built with carvel hulls. The result of this merging of traditions was the full-rigged ship , a carvel hull with a sternpost-hung pintle-and-gudgeon rudder and three masts: the foremast and mainmast setting square sails and the mizzen a lateen sail. Alongside this type of vessel, the caravel was used. This type was also carvel built with a sternpost-hung rudder but could be completely lateen rigged or have some square sails. [ 3 ] : 68–72  Very few wrecks of Age of Discovery ships have been found and archaeologically investigated. More is known about Roman and Greek ships of classical antiquity than those of this period. The caravel is particularly poorly understood, despite the number of "replicas" that have been constructed. [ 4 ] : 2  However, a particular set of hull construction characteristics have been identified from wrecks of this time, referred to as Iberian Atlantic shipbuilding tradition. They are found in the Molasses Reef wreck , Highbourne Cay wreck, the Red Bay wreck and some sites in European waters. [ 5 ] : 636  [ 4 ] : 2  Early geographical knowledge and maps The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea , a document from 40 to 60 AD, describes a newly discovered route through the Red Sea to India, with descriptions of the markets in towns around the Red Sea, Persian Gulf , and Indian Ocean, including along the east coast of Africa, which states "for beyond these places the unexplored ocean curves around toward the west, and running along by the regions to the south of Aethiopia and Libya and Africa, it mingles with the western sea (possible reference to the Atlantic Ocean)". European medieval knowledge about Asia beyond the reach of the Byzantine Empire was sourced in partial reports, often obscured by legends, [ 6 ] dating back from the conquests of Alexander the Great and successors. Another source was the Radhanite Jewish trade networks of merchants established as go-betweens between Europe and the Muslim world during the time of the Crusader states . Ptolemy's world map (2nd century) in a 15th-century reconstruction by Nicolaus Germanus In 1154, the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi created a description of the world and a world map , the Tabula Rogeriana , at the court of King Roger II of Sicily , [ 7 ] [ 8 ] but still Africa was only partially known to either Christians, Genoese and Venetians, or the Arab seamen, and its southern extent was unknown. There were reports of great African Sahara , but the knowledge was limited for the Europeans, to the Mediterranean coast and little else, since the Arab blockade of North Africa precluded exploration inland. Knowledge about the Atlantic African coast was fragmented and derived mainly from old Greek and Roman maps based on Carthaginian knowledge, including Roman exploration of Mauritania . The Red Sea was barely known and only trade links with the maritime republics , Venice especially, fostered the collection of accurate maritime knowledge. [ 9 ] Indian Ocean trade routes were sailed by Arab traders. By 1400, a Latin translation of Ptolemy 's Geographia reached Italy from Constantinople. The rediscovery of Roman geographical knowledge was a revelation, [ 10 ] both for map-making and worldview, [ 11 ] although reinforcing the idea that the Indian Ocean was landlocked. Medieval European travel (1241–1438) The Silk Road and spice trade routes first discovered by explorer Zhang Qian Marco Polo 's travels (1271–1295) A prelude to the Age of Discovery was a series of European expeditions crossing Eurasia by land in the late Middle Ages. [ 12 ] The Mongols had threatened Europe, but Mongol states also unified much of Eurasia and, from 1206 on, the Pax Mongolica allowed safe trade routes and communication lines from the Middle East to China. [ 13 ] [ 14 ] The close Italian links to the Levant raised curiosity and commercial interest in countries which lay further east. [ 15 ] [ page needed ] There are a few accounts of merchants from North Africa and the Mediterranean, who traded in the Indian Ocean in late medieval times (see also Indo-Mediterranean § Medieval era ). [ 1 ] Christian embassies were sent as far as Karakorum during the Mongol invasions of the Levant , from which they gained a greater understanding of the world. [ 16 ] [ 17 ] The first of these travellers was Giovanni da Pian del Carpine , dispatched by Pope Innocent IV to the Great Khan , who journeyed to Mongolia and back from 1241 to 1247. [ 13 ] Russian prince Yaroslav of Vladimir , and his sons Alexander Nevsky and Andrey II of Vladimir , travelled to the Mongolian capital. Though having strong political implications, their journeys left no detailed accounts. Other travellers followed, like French André de Longjumeau and Flemish William of Rubruck , who reached China through Central Asia. [ 18 ] Marco Polo , a Venetian merchant, dictated an account of journeys throughout Asia from 1271 to 1295, describing being a guest at the Yuan dynasty court of Kublai Khan in Travels . It was read throughout Europe. [ 19 ] The Muslim fleet guarding the Strait of Gibraltar was defeated by Genoa in 1291. [ 20 ] In that year, the Genoese attempted their first Atlantic exploration when merchant brothers Vadino and Ugolino Vivaldi sailed from Genoa with two galleys, but disappeared off the Moroccan coast, feeding fears of oceanic travel. [ 21 ] [ 22 ] From 1325 to 1354, a Moroccan scholar from Tangier , Ibn Battuta , journeyed through North Africa, the Sahara desert, West Africa, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, having reached China. After returning, he dictated an account to a scholar he met in Granada, The Rihla ("The Journey"), [ 23 ] the unheralded source on his adventures. [ 24 ] Between 1357 and 1371, a book of supposed travels compiled by John Mandeville acquired popularity. Despite the unreliable and often fantastical nature of its accounts, it was used as a reference [ 25 ] for the East, Egypt, and the Levant in general, asserting the old belief that Jerusalem was the centre of the world . Following the period of Timurid relations with Europe , in 1439, Niccolò de' Conti published an account of his travels as a Muslim merchant to India and Southeast Asia. In 1466–1472, Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin of Tver travelled to India, which he described in his book A Journey Beyond the Three Seas . These overland journeys had little immediate effect. The Mongol Empire collapsed almost as quickly as it formed and soon the route to the east became more difficult and dangerous. The Black Death of the 14th century also blocked travel and trade for a time. [ 26 ] Religion Religion played a critical role in motivating European expansionism . In 1487, Portuguese envoys Pero da Covilhã and Afonso de Paiva were sent on a covert mission to gather intelligence on a potential sea route to India and inquire about Prester John , a Nestorian patriarch and king, believed to rule over parts of the subcontinent. Covilhã was warmly received upon his arrival in Ethiopia, but forbidden from leaving. [ 27 ] An idealized depiction of the Pilgrims and the American Indians who gather to share a Thanksgiving meal. During the Middle Ages, the spread of Christianity throughout Europe fueled the desire to sermonise in lands beyond. This evangelical effort became a significant part of the military conquests of European powers, like Portugal , Spain , and France , often leading to the conversion of indigenous peoples, voluntarily or forced. [ 28 ] [ 29 ] Religious orders such as the Franciscans , Dominicans , Augustinians , and Jesuits partook in most missionary endeavours in the New World . By the late 16th and 17th centuries, the latter's presence increased as they sought to reassert their power and revive the Catholic culture of Europe, which had been damaged by the Reformation . [ 30 ] Chinese missions (1405–1433) Further information: Ming treasure voyages and Chinese exploration "Mao Kun map", believed to be based on Zheng He 's travels, showing sailing directions between ports of SE Asia and as far as Malindi, in Wu Bei Zhi (1628) The Chinese had wide connections through trade in Asia and been sailing to Arabia , East Africa , and Egypt since the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907). Between 1405 and 1421, the third Ming emperor Yongle sponsored long range tributary missions in the Indian Ocean under the command of admiral Zheng He . [ 31 ] A large fleet of new junk ships was prepared for the international diplomatic expeditions. The largest of these junks—that the Chinese termed bao chuan (treasure ships) —may have measured 121 metres (397 ft), and thousands of sailors were involved. The first expedition departed in 1405. At least seven well-documented expeditions were launched, each bigger and more expensive than the last. The fleets visited Arabia, East Africa, India, Malay Archipelago , and Thailand (then called Siam), exchanging goods along the way. [ 32 ] They presented gifts of gold, silver, porcelain , and silk ; in return, received such novelties as ostriches , zebras , camels , ivory , and giraffes . [ 33 ] [ 34 ] After the emperor's death, Zheng He led a final expedition departing from Nanking in 1431 and returning to Beijing in 1433. It is likely this last expedition reached as far as Madagascar . The travels were reported by Ma Huan , a Muslim voyager and translator who accompanied Zheng He on three of the expeditions, his account published as the Yingya Shenglan (Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores) (1433). [ 35 ] The voyages had a significant and lasting effect on the organization of a maritime network , using and creating nodes and conduits in its wake, thereby restructuring international and cross-cultural relationships and exchanges. [ 36 ] It was especially impactful as no other polity had exerted naval dominance over all sectors of the Indian Ocean, prior to these voyages. [ 37 ] The Ming promoted alternative nodes as a strategy to establish control over the network. [ 38 ] For instance, due to Chinese involvement, ports such as Malacca (in Southeast Asia), Cochin (Malabar Coast), and Malindi (Swahili Coast) had grown as key alternatives to other established ports. [ c ] [ 39 ] The appearance of the Ming treasure fleet generated and intensified competition among contending polities and rivals, each seeking an alliance with the Ming. [ 36 ] The expeditions developed into a maritime trade enterprise, with imperial control over local markets and court-monitored transactions, generating revenue for China and its partners. They boosted regional trade and production, caused a supply shock in Eurasia and led to price spikes in Europe in the early 15th century. [ 40 ] The tributary relations promoted during the voyages manifested a trend toward cross-regional interconnections and early globalization in Asia and Africa. [ 41 ] Diplomatic relations were built on mutually beneficial maritime trade and China's strong naval presence in foreign waters, with Chinese naval superiority being a key factor in these interactions. [ 42 ] The voyages brought about the Western Ocean's regional integration and increase in international circulation of people, ideas, and goods. It provided a platform for cosmopolitan discourses, which took place in locations such as the ships of the Ming treasure fleet, the Ming capitals of Nanjing as well as Beijing, and the banquet receptions organized by the Ming court for foreign representatives. [ 36 ] Diverse groups of people from maritime countries congregated, interacted, and traveled together as the treasure fleet sailed from and to China. [ 36 ] For the first time, the maritime region from China to Africa was under the dominance of a single imperial power and allowed for the creation of a cosmopolitan space. [ 43 ] These long-distance journeys were not followed up, as the Ming dynasty retreated in the haijin , a policy of isolationism , having limited maritime trade. Travels were halted abruptly after the emperor's death, as the Chinese lost interest in what they termed barbarian lands, turning inward, [ 44 ] and successor emperors felt the expeditions were harmful to the Chinese state; Hongxi Emperor ended further expeditions and Xuande Emperor suppressed much of the information about Zheng He's voyages. ^ a b c d e f g Paine, Lincoln (2013). The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World . New York: Random House, LLC. ^ Merson, John (1990). The Genius That Was China: East and West in the Making of the Modern World . Woodstock, NY: The Overlook Press. ISBN   978-0-87951-397-9 . 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