Dear Mr Postman .. we've been looking forward to your next positive letter - it will be interesting to hear about the next stage of exploration ..
Henry the Navigator, the Portuguese Prince, was the driver for the exploration down the west coast of Africa and the development of useful tools such as charts to expedite this desire for knowledge during the 15th Century (1400s).
Spain was a little behind with Columbus discovering the New World: America in the late 1400s .. 1492 as the rhyme goes: initially colonization was the main objective, but once gold was discovered trade in earnest began. The continent showed its true colours with the various empires already in place - the Incas, the Aztecs .. these were overrun by the conquistadors and were also devastated by the pandemic diseases brought over from Europe.
The East Indies Spice Islands were explored by the Spanish via the Magellan Straits (south of Chile & north of Tierra del Fuego) .. connecting both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. At that time it was not possible to develop that route .. it was far too inhospitable and the innovations required in hull design and rigging had not been thought up.
The French, English and the Dutch were learning from the opportunities provided by the Portuguese and Spanish, together with the new technologies, maps and charts emanating from the Iberian peninsula and were not going to be held back in their thirst for trade, land, conquest, wealth and new possibilties .. it was a fertile time for exploration.
Most parts of the planet had been discovered by the early 1600s, with the Australian east coast finally being mapped early in the 1700s and at that time the Pacific was being more thoroughly explored; the centre of America was reached in the 1500s, but continued to be explored during the 1700s and into the 1800s. The centre of Africa and Australia providing challenges with the tropical diseases prevalent .. were explored during the mid 1800s and into the 1900s; while the seas of Antartica and the Artic had been explored, Antartica and the Artic are still being investigated, albeit the area is known.
Part 3 - the global impact with its economic and cultural influences on the Age of Exploration and Discovery
Spain was a little behind with Columbus discovering the New World: America in the late 1400s .. 1492 as the rhyme goes: initially colonization was the main objective, but once gold was discovered trade in earnest began. The continent showed its true colours with the various empires already in place - the Incas, the Aztecs .. these were overrun by the conquistadors and were also devastated by the pandemic diseases brought over from Europe.
The East Indies Spice Islands were explored by the Spanish via the Magellan Straits (south of Chile & north of Tierra del Fuego) .. connecting both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. At that time it was not possible to develop that route .. it was far too inhospitable and the innovations required in hull design and rigging had not been thought up.
The French, English and the Dutch were learning from the opportunities provided by the Portuguese and Spanish, together with the new technologies, maps and charts emanating from the Iberian peninsula and were not going to be held back in their thirst for trade, land, conquest, wealth and new possibilties .. it was a fertile time for exploration.
Most parts of the planet had been discovered by the early 1600s, with the Australian east coast finally being mapped early in the 1700s and at that time the Pacific was being more thoroughly explored; the centre of America was reached in the 1500s, but continued to be explored during the 1700s and into the 1800s. The centre of Africa and Australia providing challenges with the tropical diseases prevalent .. were explored during the mid 1800s and into the 1900s; while the seas of Antartica and the Artic had been explored, Antartica and the Artic are still being investigated, albeit the area is known.
Part 3 - the global impact with its economic and cultural influences on the Age of Exploration and Discovery
Thank you Mr Postman - that was a most informative 2nd part - til tomorrow ..
