Exploration of America

History of the Famous Explorers and the Discovery of America

The events that led to the Exploration of America by many famous European explorers

The Exploration of America
Events in Europe led to the discovery and the subsequent Exploration of America. New lands and new trade routes brought wealth and riches to the countries in Europe. This opened the door for European countries to build empires and gain power. There were constant wars and power struggles in Europe. Their policies of  Colonialism and Imperialism were designed to forcefully extend a nation's authority, power and influence by territorial gain and by the establishment of economic and political dominance. The discovery of the 'New World' provided new lands and people to dominate, the opportunity for new sources of wealth and, for some, the quest to forcefully spread Christianity among the indigenous people. But Events led to the Exploration of America?

The Events that led to the Exploration of America

The beliefs of people during the Middle Ages included the idea that the world was flat and if explorers reached the edge of the world they would simply fall off! The number of maps were limited and only covered the known lands - people of the period had no idea of the size of the world or that the massive continent of America existed. Exploration was a costly and dangerous business. But there were significant reasons and events that ultimately led to the exploration of America:

• The Exploration of America: Towards the end of the 1400's the Turks cut off the old and established trade routes between Asia and Europe seriously impacting the trade and wealth of the countries in Europe
• The Exploration of America: The Portuguese decided to try to find a new way to Asia, bypassing the Turks, and began to explore the west coast of Africa
• The Exploration of America: The exploration was hazardous and time consuming - the trade route via Africa was too long
• The Exploration of America: Christopher Columbus was convinced that there was another route to Asia by sailing westward across the Atlantic Ocean
• The Exploration of America: The voyage of Christopher Columbus were deemed to be successful when he landed on some islands which he believed to be the East Indies
• The Exploration of America: Other famous explorers followed Christopher Columbus and proved that a new continent had been discovered and that it blocked the way to India and China
• The Exploration of America: The explorers believed that it would be possible to find a route that led to Asia and searched a southwest passage or a northwest passage through the continent of America
• The Exploration of America: Their search for new trade routes to Asia led to the exploration of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of America
• The Exploration of America: The New World was called 'America' which was taken from the Latin version of the first name of the early Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci who worked for Spain
• The Exploration of America: On 20 September 20, 1519 Ferdinand Magellan led 5 Spanish ships and 251 men in what was to become the first voyage around the World proving that the earth was round
• The Exploration of America: In 1538 a world map including the continents of North and South America was produced by Gerardus Mercator

All of these momentous events led to the Exploration of America by many famous European explorers.

The Exploration of America - The Geradus Mercator World Map

Facts and Timeline of the Exploration of America
The following facts file is a timeline of the Exploration of America indicating the name of the explorer and the part of America he explored by explorations of the Atlantic Coast, the Gulf Coast, the interior of North America and the Pacific coast. Fast, interesting information and list of the names of the explorers credited with taking a part in the Exploration of America. Facts about the Exploration of America and the important events that each explorer initiated. Also refer to the French in America and the Spanish in America.

The Exploration of America

• Interesting Facts and information
• Exploration of  the New World
• Fast Facts and info about the Exploration of the New World
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