AGE of EXPLORATION, help please????

Question

What was the time period for the Age of Exploration/Discovery?? Wikipedia says early 15th to early 17th, but some other sites say early to mid 15th century, and others say late 15th to early 17th....which is it?

Answer 1

I think I'd go with these dates:

Historical Atlas of Exploration
1492-1600

Renowned historian and museum curator Konstam, in association with the National Maritime Museum, has produced a masterly account of exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries. After the formation of nation-states at the end of the Middle Ages, Spain, Portugal, France, Holland, and England sent expeditions to find routes to China and the Indies. Because of its geographic position and the leadership of Prince Henry the Navigator, Portugal was at the forefront, charting the route around Africa. Spain explored the Caribbean and southeast North America, the Dutch and Portuguese reached the Indies late in the 15th century, and the English and the French explored what would become Canada and the northern United States. Lavishly illustrated with maps, charts, and paintings, this book includes informative chapters on the construction of ships and the navigational science of the era. Essential for all public and college libraries, this is an enjoyable book for lay readers as well as specialists." - Library Journal

"Developed in conjuction with the Mariner's Museum of Virginia, the Historical Atlas of Exploration doubles as an encyclopedia of medieval adventurerers. Author Angus Konstam, chief curator at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, has organized the book geographically; for example, 'The Coastline of North America' covers John Cabot, Juan Ponce de León and Giovannie da Verrazano, while 'The Conquest of Central America' includes Hernán Cortés and Vasco de Balboa as well as sections on the Mayans and Aztecs. Each straightforward entry includes biographical information on the explorer, along with maps and details about the voyage." - Publishers Weekly

Answer 2

Mid 15th century is the 1450s, when Portugal started the European age of exploration. Portugal discovered the route around the southern tip of Africa in 1488.

The age of exploration started winding down by the early 17th century (1600-1630). By then, the European powers had mostly mapped out the Globe and were now busy establishing and maintaining colonies.

So it's mid 15th to early 17th centuries.

Peace.

Answer 3

Narrowly, the "Age of Discovery" (or "Exploration") focuses on the ground-breaking voyages of the 15th century. But I prefer to BIGGER view, which would make it about 1419- 1779.

This era is generally regarded as beginning with the early 15th century voyages of the Portuguese, inaugurated by Prince Henry the Navigator in 1419. A major impetus for these efforts was the rise of the Ottoman Turks, cutting off the land route to the Orient and its coveted spices, but another key piece is recent TECHNOLOGICAL advances (compass & ship-building) that made open sea voyages of many weeks POSSIBLE for the first time.

Columbus was, of course, part of all this, but NOT the beginning!! so a starting date in the LATE 15th century is definitely a mistake.

But where to draw the line on the END? This depends on what your point is. The label is just that -- a label later historians to organize events. (It's not as if the participants specifically "signed on" for this "Age")

The MAIN part of this Age covers the 15th-16th centuries, including the early explorations of the Americas and Magellan's circumnavigating the globe.

But this leaves the story only half-told. Much of the PACIFIC remained to be explored -- that did NOT end with Magellan. The key to this comes with the extensive Pacific explorations (and map drawing) of Captain James Cook -- his third and final voyage ran from 1776-79 (with his death in Hawaii).

Cook's story is well told in the recent book, *Farther Than Any Man: The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook* by Martin Dugard (2001). The title is based on an entry in Cook's journal from his second voyage, in which he wrote of his ambition to go "....farther than any other man has been before me...as far as I think it possible for a man to go".

If you're getting Star Trek deja vu here, you're right. The name "Captain James T Kirk", the three-year mission of the Starship Enterprise, to explore strange new worlds, "to boldly go where no man has gone before" is ALL based on Cook's adventures, esp. his FIRST Voyage on "the Endeavor". (And, if you're a Peter Pan fan, Cook was also the inspiration for Barrie's "Captain Hook".)

Answer 4

Politics, for the first time, became global, as well as economies and governments. If a man invented a better gun in Europe, chances are that his design would, within a year, reach the hands of Native American chiefs, Japanese Samurai, and just about any other person who would want something of the sort. Any one of these people could, as a direct result of this new technology, be killed, immortalized, or changed by the events half a world away. Similarly, a ship being taken over in the Caribean could lead to war in Europe and privateering in the Indies. The planet reached a new age of interconnectedness.

Answer 5

i would say 15th century. that's around the time of the renaissance and when all interest in exploration became a priority to many countries.