Primary Motives For European Exploration

God, Glory, and gold were the primary motives for exploration. These motives helped lead to the European exploration. When technology advanced it helped make the voyages of discovery possible. The caravel, magnetic compass, cartography, printing press and astrolabe were the technology advances. Caravel fixed the sailors problem of not being able to sail against the wind. But, they still used land to help guide them where to go but the invention of the astrolabe helped sailors determine their location at sea. The Chinese soon invented the magnetic compass which told the sailors a more accurate direction. Lastly, the development of the printing press made cartography much faster. This meant that the invention of maps would go by faster. Many things led to the European exploration as you read

They first established their presence along the African coast, which then made them want to find a direct sea route to Asia. They believed that they would have to sail around the southern tip of Africa, until Bartolomeu Dias sailed far down the coast of Africa until they finally reached the tip. As the Portuguese arrived they got hit by a pretty bad storm which sent them to the other side of the tip. Dias explored the southeast coast of Africa and sailed into India and soon returned home due to exhaustion and hunger. The Portuguese kept sailing east when Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama began exploring the east African coast. When Vasco da Gama reached the port of Calicut, they were amazed by the spices, rare silks, and precious gems that filled their shops. Vasco da Gama’s 27,000 mile voyage had given Portugal just what they wanted, a direct sea route to