After ten weeks he sighted an island in the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador. In August 1492, Columbus sailed west with his now famous ships, Niña, Pinta and Santa María. Henry hoped to form an alliance with Prester John to fight the Muslims.Ĭolumbus, hoping to make such a voyage, spent years seeking a sponsor and finally found one in Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain after they defeated the Moors and could turn their attention to other projects. They were also looking for a legendary king named Prester John who had supposedly built a Christian stronghold somewhere in northwestern Africa. Encouraged by Prince Henry the Navigator, Portuguese seamen sailed southward along the African coast, seeking a water route to the East. Portugal led the others into exploration. Portugal: Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco de Gama and Pedro Álvares Cabral The desire to supplant the trade moguls, especially the Italians, and fear of the Ottoman Empire forced the Atlantic nations to search for a new route to the East.
Moreover, in the latter half of the fifteenth century, war between European states and the Ottoman Empire greatly hampered Europe’s trade with the Orient. The newly unified states of the Atlantic–France, Spain, England and Portugal–and their ambitious monarchs were envious of the merchants and princes who dominated the land routes to the East. Those who benefited most were merchants who sat astride the great overland trade routes, especially the merchants of the Italian city-states of Genoa, Venice and Florence. The Orient became a magnet to traders, and exotic products and wealth flowed into Europe. Marco Polo’s famous journey to Cathay signaled Europe’s “discovery” of Chinese and Islamic civilizations. Imagno/Getty Images A Faster Route to the Eastīut the most powerful inducement to exploration was trade. Bigger, faster ships and the invention of navigational devices such as the astrolabe and sextant made extended voyages possible.Ī nautical map representing Marco Polo with a caravan on the way to Cathay. Portugal, Spain, France and England were transformed from small territories into nation-states with centralized authority in the hands of monarchs who were able to direct and finance overseas exploration.Īs these religious and political changes were occurring, technological innovations in navigation set the stage for exploration. With the decline of the political power and wealth of the Catholic Church, a few rulers gradually solidified their power. Thus, the rise of Protestantism and the Counter-Reformation, along with the Renaissance, helped foster individualism and create a climate favorable to exploration.Īt the same time, political centralization ended much of the squabbling and fighting among rival noble families and regions that had characterized the Middle Ages. In the Renaissance, artists and writers such as Galileo, Machiavelli and Michelangelo adopted a view of life that stressed humans’ ability to change and control the world.
Inexplicably, Vineland was abandoned after only a few years. There they established a colony named Vineland (meaning fertile region) and from that base sailed along the coast of North America, observing the flora, fauna and native peoples. when the Vikings sailed from the British Isles to Greenland, established a colony and then moved on to Labrador, the Baffin Islands and finally Newfoundland. The first attempt by Europeans to colonize the New World occurred around 1000 A.D. The centuries following the European arrivals would see the culmination of this effort, as Americans pushed westward across the continent, enticed by the lure of riches, open land and a desire to fulfill the nation’s manifest destiny. and continued through England’s colonization of the Atlantic coast in the 17th century, which laid the foundation for the United States of America. It began with the Vikings’ brief stint in Newfoundland circa 1000 A.D. The story of North American exploration spans an entire millennium and involves a wide array of European powers and uniquely American characters.