Age of Exploration and
Discovery
History >> Renaissance for Kids
The Age of Exploration (also called the Age of Discovery) began in the 1400s and
continued through the 1600s. It was a period of time when the European nations began
exploring the world. They discovered new routes to India, much of the Far East, and the
Americas. The Age of Exploration took place at the same time as the Renaissance.
Why explore?
Outfitting an expedition could be expensive and risky. Many ships never returned. So
why did the Europeans want to explore? The simple answer is money. Although, some
individual explorers wanted to gain fame or experience adventure, the main purpose of
an expedition was to make money.
How did expeditions make money?
Expeditions made money primarily by discovering new trade routes for their nations.
When the Ottoman Empire captured Constantinople in 1453, many existing trade routes
to India and China were shut down. These trade routes were very valuable as they
brought in expensive products such as spices and silk. New expeditions tried to
discover oceangoing routes to India and the Far East.
Some expeditions became rich by discovering gold and silver, such as the expeditions
of the Spanish to the Americas. They also found new land where colonies could be
established and crops such as sugar, cotton, and tobacco could be grown.
Henry the Navigator
The Age of Exploration began in the nation of Portugal under the leadership of Henry
the Navigator. Henry sent out ships to map and explore the west coast of Africa. They
went further south than any previous European expedition and mapped much of
western Africa for the Portuguese. In 1488, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias was
the first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa and into the Indian Ocean.
Christopher Columbus
Soon the Spanish wanted to find a trade route to the Far East. Explorer Christopher
Columbus thought that he could sail west, across the Atlantic Ocean, to China. He could
not get the Portuguese to fund his expedition, so he went to the Spanish. Spanish
monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand agreed to pay for Columbus' trip. In 1492 Columbus
discovered the New World of the Americas.
Portugal and Spain
Portugal and Spain became the early leaders in the Age of Exploration. Through the
Treaty of Tordesillas the two countries agreed to divide up the New World. Spain got
most of the Americas while Portugal got Brazil, India, and Asia.
Spain sent over conquistadors to explore the Americas and to conquer the peoples
there. Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico and Francisco Pizarro
conquered the Inca Empire in Peru. They made Spain rich with the gold and silver they
found in the Americas.
Portugal sent out Vasco da Gama who found a trade route around the southern tip of
Africa and to India. They also explored much of the Far East and were the first
Europeans to establish a trading colony in China at Macau.
Colonies
Other countries such as Great Britain and the Netherlands established colonies in the
New World. Eventually Great Britain would surpass all of the European nations in terms
of the size of their world wide empire including the thirteen colonies in the Americas that
later became the United States.
Geography
The Age of Exploration was one of the most important times in the history of world
geography. A significant portion of the unknown world was mapped during this short
period. Also, many advances were made in navigation and mapping which helped future
explorers and travelers.
Interesting Facts about the Age of Exploration
● During the Age of Exploration Europeans referred to the entire area of Southeast
Asia and India as the "East Indies".
● The first expedition to circle the globe was led by Portuguese explorer
Ferdinand Magellan. Unfortunately, Magellan was killed during the expedition
and did not complete the voyage.
● Some areas of the world were not fully mapped or discovered until well after the
Age of Exploration including Eastern Australia, the interior of Africa, the Arctic,
and the Antarctic.
● Many explorers such as Captain James Cook and Sir Francis Drake searched
for a Northwest Passage to East Asia, but it wasn't until 1906 that explorer
Roald Amundsen completed the journey.
