Why explore the profound secrets of the earth when everyone believes circumnavigating it is illogical? During the Age of Exploration, people began doing what seemed impossible: expanding into the rest of the world between the 1400s and 1800s. Expeditions across the world were very long and expensive, not to mention very dangerous. Europeans risked perilous ocean voyages to discover new sea routes in order to expand and establish powerful trading empires. Many sailors died on the way and some ships never returned from the journeys. Nonetheless, driven by competition, countries longed to be in the lead for power and control. Many explorers began venturing out into the New World seeking to gain fame and experience adventure, but it all came down
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Rather than follow the Portuguese’s route to the east, the Spanish attempted to sail westward across the Atlantic Ocean. Christopher Columbus, an Italian navigator, believed the Earth was not as large as others thought and believed he could reach Asia by sailing west. Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain finally accepted to sponsor his voyage in 1492. Days later, he landed in the Bahamas, near the islands of Cuba and Haiti, firmly believing he was in Asia. He later realized he had found a New World. Columbus is credited with discovering the Americas in 1492, even though Leifr Eiriksson and his Norse crew had already explored the North American continent centuries before Columbus. After Columbus’s rediscovery, countries raced to conquer territory and search for gold. Florentine Amerigo Vespucci, another Italian explorer for Spain, explored South America and the Amazon River. It was then he realized he was not in Asia. The continents of North and South America are named after him. Hernando Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico in less than three years. By 1550 Spain controlled northern Mexico. In South America Francisco Pizarro, another Spanish conquistador, took over the Incan empire. Most of South America was soon controlled by the
Rather than follow the Portuguese’s route to the east, the Spanish attempted to sail westward across the Atlantic Ocean. Christopher Columbus, an Italian navigator, believed the Earth was not as large as others thought and believed he could reach Asia by sailing west. Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain finally accepted to sponsor his voyage in 1492. Days later, he landed in the Bahamas, near the islands of Cuba and Haiti, firmly believing he was in Asia. He later realized he had found a New World. Columbus is credited with discovering the Americas in 1492, even though Leifr Eiriksson and his Norse crew had already explored the North American continent centuries before Columbus. After Columbus’s rediscovery, countries raced to conquer territory and search for gold. Florentine Amerigo Vespucci, another Italian explorer for Spain, explored South America and the Amazon River. It was then he realized he was not in Asia. The continents of North and South America are named after him. Hernando Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico in less than three years. By 1550 Spain controlled northern Mexico. In South America Francisco Pizarro, another Spanish conquistador, took over the Incan empire. Most of South America was soon controlled by the