Before the age of exploration Europe had a rebirth of culture and ideas which started in Italy. This rebirth brought the ideas of Humanism as well as the development of knowledge and is known as the Renaissance. As Europe, especially Italy, grew, there was a growth of cities and trade. Information and knowledge was more available to the society; there began a questioning of political and religious practices; and there was discoveries being made from old maps and charts (Beck, Roger B.) The age of exploration was a direct result of the Renaissance as Italy's dominance in trade resulted in other European powers searching for new trade routes (Rayment, W.J. ).
The age of discovery or also known as the age of exploration roughly began in the 15th century, and it lasted through the 17th century in which the discovery of new trade routes, new land, and new goods was discovered. In addition, some explorers set sail to simply learn more about the world. Whatever the reason was the affect this time period had significantly helped in the advancement of geographic knowledge at the time (Briney, Amanda). The age of exploration was a direct result of the Renaissance as Italy's dominance of the mediterranean resulted in Italy being one of the most powerful European powers. Italy controlled the trade coming in from the East, and more importantly the spice trade from India which resulted in power and wealth. Spices were in high demand and this made the price of such precious goods rise during this time period. To obtain such goods the Silk roads were used, but were often dangerous to travel as wars plagued the areas the silk roads crossed. This resulted in the Royals financing the sailors to discover new trade routes to India to obtain more wealth and power. The other European powers such as Portugal, Spain, and the English began to explore and travel by sea as it was a new, less expensive way to trade. One of the main reasons to explore and discover new trade routes and land was to become wealthy through goods such as gold and spices. That would eventually lead the European empire to conquer the new lands they discovered. Portugal was one of the first to travel to Africa, but as exploration increased new reasons to travel rose. New land that had not been discovered was explored by the Spanish, French, dutch, and the English. Whatever their reasons though, the information gained during the Age of Exploration significantly helped advance the many European powers (Rayment, W.J).
The age of discovery or also known as the age of exploration roughly began in the 15th century, and it lasted through the 17th century in which the discovery of new trade routes, new land, and new goods was discovered. In addition, some explorers set sail to simply learn more about the world. Whatever the reason was the affect this time period had significantly helped in the advancement of geographic knowledge at the time (Briney, Amanda). The age of exploration was a direct result of the Renaissance as Italy's dominance of the mediterranean resulted in Italy being one of the most powerful European powers. Italy controlled the trade coming in from the East, and more importantly the spice trade from India which resulted in power and wealth. Spices were in high demand and this made the price of such precious goods rise during this time period. To obtain such goods the Silk roads were used, but were often dangerous to travel as wars plagued the areas the silk roads crossed. This resulted in the Royals financing the sailors to discover new trade routes to India to obtain more wealth and power. The other European powers such as Portugal, Spain, and the English began to explore and travel by sea as it was a new, less expensive way to trade. One of the main reasons to explore and discover new trade routes and land was to become wealthy through goods such as gold and spices. That would eventually lead the European empire to conquer the new lands they discovered. Portugal was one of the first to travel to Africa, but as exploration increased new reasons to travel rose. New land that had not been discovered was explored by the Spanish, French, dutch, and the English. Whatever their reasons though, the information gained during the Age of Exploration significantly helped advance the many European powers (Rayment, W.J).