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By Jean Brown Mitchell Last Updated: Nov 21, 2022 Table of ContentsEuropean exploration: early voyages See all media Related Topics:Earth exploration...(Show more) See all related content → European exploration, exploration of regions of Earth for scientific, commercial, religious, military, and other purposes by Europeans, beginning about the 4th century bce. The motives that spur human beings to examine their environment are many. Strong among them are the satisfaction of curiosity, the pursuit of trade, the spread of religion, and the desire for security and political power. At different times and in different places, different motives are dominant. Sometimes one motive inspires the promoters of discovery, and another motive may inspire the individuals who carry out the search. For a discussion of the society that engaged in these explorations, and their effects on intra-European affairs, see European history. The earliest European empires are discussed in ancient Greek civilization and ancient Rome. The threads of geographical exploration are continuous and, being entwined one with another, are difficult to separate. Three major phases of investigation may nevertheless be distinguished. The first phase is the exploration of the Old World centred on the Mediterranean Sea, the second is the so-called Age of Discovery, during which, in the search for sea routes to Cathay (the name by which China was known to medieval Europe), a New World was found, and the third is the establishment of the political, social, and commercial relationships of the New World to the Old and the elucidation of the major physical features of the continental interiors—in short, the delineation of the modern world. Britannica Quiz European Exploration: Fact or Fiction?The exploration of the Old WorldPhoenician colonization in the MediterraneanFrom the time of the earliest recorded history to the beginning of the 15th century, Western knowledge of the world widened from a river valley surrounded by mountains or desert (the views of Babylonia and Egypt) to a Mediterranean world with hinterlands extending from the Sahara to the Gobi Desert and from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean (the view of Greece and Rome). It later expanded again to include the far northern lands beyond the Baltic and another and dazzling civilization in the Far East (the medieval view). The earliest known surviving map, dating probably from the time of Sargon of Akkad (about 2334–2279 bce), shows canals or rivers—perhaps the Tigris and a tributary—and surrounding mountains. The rapid colonization of the shores of the Mediterranean and of the Black Sea by Phoenicia and the Greek city-states in the 1st millennium bce must have been accompanied by the exploration of their hinterlands by countless unknown soldiers and traders. Herodotus prefaces his History (written in the 5th century bce) with a geographical description of the then known world: this introductory material reveals that the coastlines of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea had by then been explored. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now Stories survive of a few men who are credited with bringing new knowledge from distant journeys. Herodotus tells of five young adventurers of the tribe of the Nasamones living on the desert edge of Cyrenaica in North Africa, who journeyed southwest for many months across the desert, reaching a great river flowing from west to east; this presumably was the Niger, although Herodotus thought it to be the Upper Nile. What encouraged European exploration in the 1400s?For the most part, however, Europeans had neither the interest nor the ability to explore foreign lands. That changed by the early 1400s. The desire to grow rich and to spread Christianity, coupled with advances in sailing technology, spurred an age of European exploration.
What were the motivations for exploration in the 1400 and 1500s in particular what motivated Columbus?What did Columbus aim to do? In the 15th and 16th centuries, Europeans wanted to find sea routes to the Far East. Columbus wanted to find a new route to India, China, Japan and the Spice Islands. If he could reach these lands, he would be able to bring back rich cargoes of silks and spices.
What were the the primary reasons for exploration during the 15th and 16th centuries?European exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries was motivated by the search for wealth, the desire to spread Christianity, and the goal of establishing a colonial empire. Portugal and Spain's initial explorations were focused on wealth.
What were 4 key motivations for European exploration?Strong among them are the satisfaction of curiosity, the pursuit of trade, the spread of religion, and the desire for security and political power.
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