Early European Exploration

While Spain and Portugal had a head start and some Papal authority (based on the Treaty of Tordesillas,) they were certainly not alone in the race to explore the world. As explorers working on behalf of the Spanish and Portuguese governments returned home, their tales of wonder and possibility were published by printing presses (remember this invention from Module 4?), which reached the eager eyes of monarchs and adventurers throughout Europe.

A map showing the effects of the Treaty of Tordesillas. Spain = red; Portugal = blue.

The Treaty of Tordesillas was a Papal edict (a ruling from the head of the Catholic church), essentially dividing the globe into halves. The map above shows Spanish (red) and Portuguese (blue) exploration, demonstrating the effects of the Treaty of Tordesillas. With few exceptions, Spain was awarded half the earth starting at 46º 37´ West longitude (most of North and South America along with sections of the Pacific islands), while Portugal was awarded the other half (the east coast of South America, Africa and the land bordering the Indian Ocean). Portugal mostly explored the coast to set up trading ports, while Spain explored the interior of the Americas to colonize and gain natural resources.

The Explorers

Just as Spanish and Portuguese monarchs sponsored foreign adventurers to line their national coffers, so, too, did other European monarchs. Explorers headed out on voyages on behalf of their own nationalities as well as their neighbors. Select the famous early explorers below to read more:

Bartholomew Dias, Vasco de Gama, and Pedro Álvares Cabral

These Portuguese explorers traveled first to the southern tip of Africa, then continued around to India. They were the first to find a way to Asia without crossing into the Ottoman territory. While the subsequent trade with Africans increased the Portuguese wealth, it also led to the collapse of the Swahili Coast, disrupted trade patterns, and began trans-Atlantic slavery.

Christopher Columbus

Though Italian, he explored the Caribbean islands for Spain in a series of 4 voyages; his crew began with friendly relations with the Taino, but it became exploitative and violent within months. While he never reached Asia (as he intended), his voyages inspired a larger trade network called the Columbian Exchange.

Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizzaro, and Hernando de Soto

These Spanish conquistadores (soldier-explorers) subjugated the two largest empires of the Americas. Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs and Francisco Pizzaro (and later Hernando de Soto) took over the Inca. In doing so, they also increased Spanish wealth with the discovery of gold in Central America and silver in South America.

Ferdinand Magellan

This Portuguese explorer sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, around South America, through the Pacific Ocean, and into the Philippians to circumnavigate (sail completely around) the globe. He attacked the people of the Philippians and died. His crew finished what he started. This voyage proved there were several ocean-bound ways for Europeans to reach Asia.

Henry Hudson, John Cabot, and Jacques Cartier

These explorers (the first two sailing for England, the latter for France) were the first Europeans to explore North America since the Vikings. While Henry Hudson died trying to find the northern “Northwest Passage” to Asia, and Jacques Cartier also failed after 3 voyages, their explorations set the stage for French and English colonization of North America. Fun Fact: Jacques Cartier misunderstood the Iroquois word for village “kanata” to mean the entire area. Thus the country name of Canada!

A map showing routes taken by European explorers. Countries included: France, England, Spain and Portugal.

This map shows the routes of many of these explorers; Portuguese exploration is in Purple; Spanish exploration is in Red; French Exploration is in Orange; English Exploration is in Green.

Results of European Exploration

The first thing an explorer would do upon finding new lands was to declare them for the nation that sponsored him. After that, quite often the nation would get to work building colonies on the new lands to extract wealth and provide security for their claim. Thus, began the colonization of the "New World" and a European presence in Asia.

A map of early European colonies. See text on the page for details concerning the map. — The map above shows early colonization efforts - the effect of exploration. England is in Red and controls small coastal parts of India, West Africa, the eastern coast of the US, and the northern coast of Canada. France is in Blue and controls small coastal parts of West Africa and India, and parts of Canada and the USA near the Great Lakes and Mississippi River. Portugal is in Green and controls modern Brazil and small coastal parts of Africa and India. Spain is in Yellow and controls most of Central America and the western half of South America. The Netherlands is in Orange and controls small parts of South America, Southern Africa, and Indonesia. Russia is also included in Purple and controls parts of Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and North Asia.

Practice Activity

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