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At the beginning of the 15th century, Europeans knew little more than Europe
and the lands around the Mediterranean and the Black Seas.
The existence of India, China and Japan was shown by Marco Polos journeys
and the trade routes that brought silk and spices to Europe. However, not very
much was known about these lands.
http://iespebilingue.wikispaces.com
The rest of the World was a total mystery. Europeans had not explored the
African and Asian interior, and they did not know that America and Oceania
existed.
*journey - viaje
http://iespebilingue.wikispaces.com
http://iespebilingue.wikispaces.com
Firstly, they needed to find new trade routes to the East. In 1453, the
Turks conquered Constantinople, and took over the Byzantine Empire.
This interrupted the trade routes between Europe and the Far East.
Consequently, Europeans had to look for new routes to Asia, round the
African coast or across the Atlantic Ocean.
Secondly, there were a number of technical advances which improved
navigation:
New maps called portulan charts were developed. They showed
the coastline and any obstacles at sea. Straight lines showed the
shortest distance among different points.
Navigational instruments, such as the compass, the astrolabe and
the quadrant, were developed.
Ships, such as caravels, were improved and, consequently, could
travel longer distances
http://iespebilingue.wikispaces.com
http://iespebilingue.wikispaces.com
Vasco de Gama
Bartolom Dias
The Crown of Castile was Portugals biggest rival in the search for new routes to
India.
The Castilians decided to sail to the west across the Atlantic, circumnavigating
the Earth.
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This plan was very risky. Crossing the Atlantic was terrifying. It involved sailing a
long way from the coast into unknown waters.
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*Genoese - genovs
*reach alcanzar
*although aunque
*actually en realidad
*crew tripulacin
*belong pertenecer
*unknown - desconocido
Cristopher Columbus
After the first expedition, Columbus made three more expeditions to explore
and establish Castilian dominion of these territories. On the second voyage, a
faster and safer route to America was found. On his last two voyages, Columbus
explored part of the coast of Central and South America.
In 1504, Columbus finally returned to Spain, where he died two years later, still
firmly convinced that he had reached India.
http://iespebilingue.wikispaces.com
However, in 1502 an Italian sailor, Americo Vespucci, had already realised that
these lands belonged to a new continent. Later, the continent was named America
in his honour.
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Fernando de Magallanes
*second-in-command contramaestre
*goal objetivo
*strait estrecho
*both ambos
*head dirigirse
*valuable - valiosas
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The discovery brought major progress in science. Knowledge of the lands and
oceans on the planet became more accurate. Many new plant and animal
species were discovered. All this contributed to developments in Geography,
Natural Science and Cartography.
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One of the most important consequences of the discoveries was the contact
among different peoples. Knowledge was exchanged. However, diseases
introduced by the Europeans caused a dramatic decline in the indigenous
population of America.
*knowledge conocimiento
*accurate exacto
*diseases enfermedades
*decline - descenso
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Discovery
http://www.historyguide.org/earlymod/lecture2c.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/p/polo.shtml
http://iespebilingue.wikispaces.com
http://www.buddhachannel.tv/portail/spip.php?article3092