Discovery of new lands in the 15th century. Travel History: Famous Travelers of the Age of Discovery

GREAT GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERIES, the term accepted in the literature to refer to the largest geographical discoveries made by European travelers in the period from the end of the 15th century (when the idea of ​​a continuous sea route to the countries of the East first appeared in Europe) to the middle of the 17th century (when only sea routes to these countries were already discovered, and as for others, it has been established that they, if they exist, cannot be of practical importance). Other dates are found in foreign literature, usually the middle of the 15th - the middle of the 16th centuries. The term "Great geographical discoveries" is conditional, but there are reasons for its use: the most important geographical discoveries have never been made with such intensity and had such significance for the development of Europe and the whole world as during this period. Since the end of the 20th century, on the eve of and during the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America and the sea route to India, a sharp controversy has unfolded around the role of the Great Geographical Discoveries. In particular, public figures and scientists in a number of Latin American, Asian and African countries refused to "celebrate the beginning of their oppression" and denied the term "discovery" itself, replacing it with a "meeting of cultures" or "concealment" of one culture by another.

Background of the Great geographical discoveries. A number of reasons contributed to the Great geographical discoveries. The growth of cities and the development of commodity-money relations in Europe led to a shortage of precious metals, which necessitated the search for new lands, where they hoped to find gold, silver, as well as spices, ivory (in the southern countries), valuable furs and walrus tusks (in the north). ). The development of the European economy assumed closer trade ties with the East, which was considered the center of all wealth. In the middle of the 15th century trade routes to the East through Asia Minor and Syria were blocked as a result of the Ottoman conquests; there was an urgent need to open direct sea routes for trade without intermediaries. Religious and political reasons also played their role. After the fall of Byzantium, the Ottomans threatened all of Europe, and in search of allies, Christians hoped to find fellow believers in the East. The legend about the Christian state of Prester John, known since the 12th century, was revived, which from the 15th century began to be identified with Christian Ethiopia. The Europeans sought to find this power and conclude a military alliance with it against the Muslims in order to stop the Ottoman offensive, recapture Constantinople and, resuming the Crusades, return the Holy Sepulcher.

Great geographical discoveries became possible thanks to the achievements of European science and technology. High-speed and maneuverable sailing ships - caravels were created; instruments and tables that made it possible to plot the desired course and determine the location of the vessel (astrolabe, compass, Regiomontanian tables). More accurate steel geographic Maps. An important role was played by the assumption that the Earth was spherical, which had spread towards the end of the 15th century. At the same time, the invention of printing in Europe in the middle of the 15th century made reference literature on navigation and descriptions of the latest discoveries relatively accessible, provoking further searches. The successful expansion was facilitated by the naval superiority of the Europeans over the peoples they encountered.

During this period, Spain and Portugal were the most prepared for the Great geographical discoveries, which had convenient ports, long and rich maritime traditions; their geographical position facilitated voyages in the Atlantic Ocean. Portugal, having completed the Reconquista on its territory in the middle of the 13th century, was ready for significant maritime expansion by the beginning of the 15th century. By the end of the 15th century, with the completion of the Spanish Reconquista and the unification of the country, Spain also prepared for sea voyages, using the captured Canary Islands, which became a convenient base for further expeditions.

Traditionally, the Great geographical discoveries are divided into 2 periods: the end of the 15th - the middle of the 16th century - the period of the most important discoveries, in which Portugal and Spain played the main role; the middle of the 16th - the middle of the 17th centuries - the period of the predominance of the geographical discoveries of England and Holland. At the same time, Russian explorers made outstanding discoveries in Siberia and the Far East.

First period. By the beginning of the 1st period of the Great Geographical Discoveries, the Portuguese, having been moving south along the western coast of Africa for several decades, were mastering the wealth of the occupied territories (reached the Gulf of Guinea). An outstanding role in organizing their voyages for 40 years (until 1460) was played by Enrique the Navigator. It is possible that the turn of the coastline to the east at the entrance to the Gulf of Guinea, which was not provided for on the maps of that time, is associated with the emergence of the very idea of ​​a sea route to the countries of the East, which contradicted the views of the ancient geographer Claudius Ptolemy. In the 1460-70s, the advance of the Portuguese to the south was temporarily suspended, since it took time to develop the riches of the coast of the Gulf of Guinea (gold, ivory, etc.); it resumed in the 1480s at a faster rate. In two expeditions in 1482-84 and 1484-86 (or 1487), D. Kahn advanced 2500 km south, reaching the coast Namib Desert(22° south latitude). In 1487-1488, B. Dias rounded the southern tip of Africa and entered the Indian Ocean.

In the 1480s, H. Columbus put forward a project for a western route to the countries of the East. In the voyage of 1492-93 under the Spanish flag, he first crossed the Atlantic Ocean in subtropical latitudes and discovered lands beyond the ocean - the Bahamas, the island of Cuba, the island of Haiti. 10/12/1492, when he first landed in the Bahamas, is considered the official date of the discovery of America. Later, Columbus made 3 more voyages (1493-96, 1498-1500, 1502-04), during which the discovery of the Greater Antilles was completed, many Lesser Antilles were discovered, as well as sections of the coast of the mainland near the mouth of the Orinoco River and from the Yucatan Peninsula to Darien Gulf. The differences between Spain and Portugal regarding the rights to open lands were settled by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. However, other countries, whose interests the treaty ignored, did not want to recognize it, in 1497 England joined the Great Geographical Discoveries: J. Cabot, trying to reach Japan and China, discovered the island of Newfoundland (1497) and the coast of North America (1498).

Further discoveries are connected, first of all, with the Portuguese expeditions in the Indian Ocean basin, the Spanish and Portuguese expansion in Latin America. In the voyage of 1497-99, Vasco da Gama discovered the continuous sea ​​route from Western Europe around South Africa to India (1498). In 150, the Portuguese P. Alvaris Cabral, on his way to India, discovered a section of the coast of Brazil, after which its colonization by the Portuguese began; in the same voyage, the island of Madagascar was discovered. Having established themselves under the viceroys of Almeida and Albuquerque on the east coast of Africa and the west coast of India, having crushed the resistance of Egypt in the naval battle of Diu (1509), the Portuguese captured Malacca in 1511, which became the base for further advancement. In 1512 they reached the Spice Islands (Moluccas), later China and Japan. The Spaniards were more active in the New World: A. de Ojeda and A. Vespucci (1499-1500), V. Yanes Pinson (1499-1500), D. de Lepe (1499-1500), R. de Bastidas (1500-1502) and others traced the coast of South America from the Gulf of Darien to 16° north latitude. In 1509-28, the Spaniards explored the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and Gulf of Mexico; in 1513, H. Ponce de Leon, in search of the legendary "fountain of youth," discovered the Florida peninsula and the Gulf Stream. A. Alvarez de Pineda in 1519 passed along the entire northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. But already at the beginning of the 16th century, it became obvious that the lands discovered across the ocean were not Asia, but a new, previously unknown, part of the world. But while the wealth of America was not yet discovered, it was perceived as an obstacle on the way to the countries of the East. In 1513, V. Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and went to the Pacific Ocean, which he called South Sea. In search of a strait leading to this sea, D. Diaz de Solis in 1515-16 explored the Gulf of La Plata. The Spanish expedition of F. Magellan managed to find the strait, whose ships then crossed the Pacific Ocean and reached the Philippines and the Moluccas, realizing the plan of Columbus - to pave the western route to the countries of the East. After the death of Magellan, part of his companions, led by J. S. Elcano, returned to Spain through the Indian and Atlantic oceans, making the first ever circumnavigation of the world (1519-22).

At the same time, a conquest unfolded in America. After the expeditions of F. Hernandez de Cordova and J. Grijalva in 1517-18 explored the way to Mexico, the Aztec power located in its central part was conquered by E. Cortes (1519-21). In the 1520-30s, the Spaniards (Cortez, P. de Alvarado, K. de Olid, etc.) conquered other regions of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, traced the Pacific coast Central America from the California Peninsula to present-day Panama. In 1527-29, A. de Saavedra sailed from Mexico to the Moluccas and China, he could not return due to headwinds, but discovered part of the Admiralty, Marshall and Caroline Islands. A. Nunez Caveza de Vaca (1529-36), E. de Soto (1539-42) and F. Vasquez de Coronado (1540-42) explored the southern part of the modern USA. In 1526-35, the conquistadors led by F. Pizarro reached the Inca power of Tahuantinsuyu and conquered it central regions. In 1535-37, D. de Almagro made a trip to the south from Peru, he was the first European to cross the Andes and reach 36 ° south latitude. In 1540-53, P. de Valdivia, trying to conquer Chile, moved south to 40 ° south latitude. In 1536-37, G. Jimenez de Quesada, in search of the gold-rich country of Eldorado, discovered and conquered mountainous Colombia, where the highly developed civilization of the Chibcha Muisca was located. The lower and middle reaches of the Orinoco River were explored in 1531-32 by D. de Ordas, and F. de Orellana in 1541-42 crossed South America in its widest part along the Amazon. Other conquistadors, advancing from the Gulf of La Plata, examined the course of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers.

French explorers have been participating in the Great Geographical Discoveries since the 1520s. In search of a passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, J. Verrazzano in 1524 passed along the east coast of North America from 34 to 46 ° north latitude, and in 1534-36 J. Cartier explored the bay and the St. Lawrence River (before the confluence of the river Ottawa). Having received information about the Great Lakes, he decided that we were talking about the Pacific Ocean or about the passage to it. The lakes were discovered by the French in the 1620s and 30s (S. Champlain and others).

Second period. At the beginning of the 2nd period of the Great geographical discoveries, Spain and Portugal, having captured vast territories, began to develop them and lost the initiative to England, and then to Holland. Since the already open sea routes to the countries of the East around Africa and America were controlled by Portugal and Spain (and the latter was also too long and risky), at that time the search for the Northwest Passage and the Northeast Passage was especially active. In 1553, the English expedition of H. Willoughby and R. Chancellor was sent in search of the Northeast Passage, establishing trade relations with Russia. At the end of the 16th century, an active search for the Northeast Passage was conducted by Holland, which equipped three expeditions in a row (1594, 1595, 1596-97). V. Barents played a key role in them, although he did not officially lead them. However, the Dutch could not advance further than Novaya Zemlya (where the first polar wintering known in history took place in 1596-97), and navigation in this direction was stopped. In search of the Northwest Way, the Englishmen M. Frobisher, J. Davies, G. Hudson, R. Bylot, W. Buffin, L. Fox and others from the 1570s to the early 1630s discovered in the polar part of North America many islands, straits, bays, including Hudson Bay (1610). However, they failed to find either a passage to the Pacific Ocean or special riches. In the 1630s and 1640s, navigators came to the conclusion that the Northwest Passage, if it existed, was of no commercial importance. In general, the search for the Northeast and Northwest passages, although not successful (they were discovered only in the 19th and 20th centuries), contributed to the accumulation of knowledge about the northern seas and lands; rich areas of fishing and whaling were discovered. The English pirate F. Drake made his contribution to the Great geographical discoveries: having completed the second round-the-world voyage after Magellan in 1577-80, he discovered the strait separating Antarctica from Tierra del Fuego, and the area Pacific coast North America.

The Spaniards in the 2nd half of the 16th - early 17th centuries organized three voyages from Peru across the Pacific Ocean in search of the biblical country of Ophir, as well as the Unknown Southern Land (which, as it was then believed, occupies vast spaces in the hard-to-reach southern latitudes). In 1568 A. Mendaña de Neira discovered Solomon islands, but he erroneously determined their longitude, and therefore tried in vain to find them in 1595. During the expedition of 1605-07, which was also looking for them, led by P. Fernandez de Quiros, the New Hebrides archipelago was discovered, and L. Vaes de Torres, who commanded two ships, for the first time passed through the strait between New Guinea and Australia, mistaking the latter for the northeastern ledge Unknown Southern Land. The discovery of Torres was classified and became known only in the 18th century. An important discovery was made by members of the expedition of M. Lopez de Legazpi, which marked the beginning of the colonization of the Philippines: in 1565, when returning to Mexico, A. de Urdaneta found that about 40 ° north latitude, in contrast to southern latitudes, winds and currents favor the crossing of the Pacific Ocean in eastbound. Thanks to this, regular communications between Asia and America became possible.

At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, the Dutch ousted the Portuguese from Indonesia. In the voyage of 1605-06, the Dutchman V. Janszon was the first to reach the coast of Australia, mistaking it for the island of New Guinea. In search of convenient routes from southern Africa to the island of Java, H. Brouwer in 1611 discovered the best route that ran south of the previous one. Using it, the Dutch from time to time reached the western coast of Australia and in 1616-36 discovered a significant part of it. In 1642-43, the Dutchman A. Tasman circled Australia without approaching its shores, established that it was not part of the Unknown Southern Land, and discovered the island, later named after him. During the voyage, the South and North Islands were also discovered ( New Zealand). In a voyage of 1644, Tasman traced an unbroken line of the northern coast of Australia for 5,500 km, proving the existence of a new continent. But these lands did not interest the Dutch, and further searches were abandoned.

Simultaneously with the sea expeditions of the countries of Western Europe, Russian explorers penetrated into Siberia at the end of the 16th century, crossed all of North Asia in the first half of the 17th century and reached Sea of ​​Okhotsk, tracing the course of all the great Siberian rivers, and Russian sailors bypassed everything north coast Asia. In 1648, the expedition of F. Popov - S. Dezhnev for the first time passed from the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the Bering Strait. It was proved that Asia does not connect with America anywhere, but this discovery did not receive wide popularity and was later again made by V. Bering.

Significance of the Great Geographical Discoveries. As a result of the Great geographical discoveries, the Europeans' understanding of the world has significantly expanded. Europeans discovered for themselves two parts of the world, America and Australia, as well as the Pacific Ocean, basically determined the contours of all inhabited continents. As a result of the first world travel it was proved in practice that the Earth has the shape of a ball, it was established that all the continents are washed by a single World Ocean, many of its currents were discovered. It became obvious that, contrary to the opinion of ancient scientists, there is much more water on the earth's surface than land. At the same time, many inland areas of America, Africa and Australia, as well as the depths of the World Ocean, remained unexplored.

The great geographical discoveries provided extensive new material for the natural sciences, ethnography, and history. Knowing the life of societies with different religions and customs, Europeans were convinced of the diversity of the world. Reflections on the golden age and the uncorrupted faith of the inhabitants of America echoed the ideas of the Renaissance, the Reformation, and social utopia. At the same time, acquiring the experience of communicating with overseas residents, Europeans were more clearly aware of their cultural and historical identity. The information received about distant countries enriched European literature and art.

The great geographical discoveries had a profound impact on the socio-economic processes in Europe, contributed to the initial accumulation of capital. The colonies served as sources of raw materials and markets for European goods. With the movement of the main trade routes from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, some regions fell into decline (Italy, Southern Germany), while others, on the contrary, became noticeably stronger (Spain and Portugal, later England and Holland). The large-scale importation of American precious metals doubled the amount of gold in circulation in Europe and tripled the amount of silver in circulation, contributed to the rapid rise in prices for essentials throughout Europe, ruining some sections of the population and enriching others (see Price Revolution). The expansion of trade links, first between Europe and other parts of the world, then between America, Asia and Africa, led to the formation of a world market. An important part of international relations was the rivalry for control over trade routes, the desire of the rising powers to acquire their own colonies, the struggle for their redistribution. Thanks to the wealth of the colonies, the mother countries strengthened their positions in Europe. At the same time, the rate of economic development depended on the method of using the imported wealth. As a result, England and Holland began to move forward, while Spain and Portugal fell behind. However, the Great Geographical Discoveries also had a negative meaning for Europeans: mass emigration to the colonies led to an outflow of productive forces from Spain and Portugal. Europeans got acquainted with new agricultural crops (potatoes, corn, tomatoes, tea, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, cotton), which markedly changed their diet. Especially great was the importance of the potato, which, partly replacing bread for the poor, significantly reduced the threat of famine in modern Europe.

The colonial system that arose during the Great geographical discoveries as a whole united the world, at the same time dividing it into two main groups of countries: on the one hand, the metropolises that grew rich quickly, on the other, the colonies, the impact on which European expansion was rather destructive. Influence of the Great Geographical Discoveries and colonial conquests on the fate of the peoples of Asia, Africa and America was not the same. In Asia, until the 18th century, Europeans established their control only over strategically important points, but their influence gradually went far beyond these territories. The trade monopoly regime established by the Portuguese was based on inciting and maintaining political and religious contradictions, which influenced the situation in Western and South Asia as a whole. The most devastating was the impact of European expansion on Africa, where the slave trade devastated entire areas, increasingly influencing the historical path of the continent's development. In Latin America, the cruelty of the conquistadors and the diseases introduced by Europeans initially led to a marked reduction in the local population. Subsequently, a more reasonable policy led to the emergence of a Latin American society and culture that absorbed both European and Indian features, but processed them into a new whole.

The great geographical discoveries contributed to noticeable changes in the geography of religions. Christianity, as a result of the grandiose activities of European missionaries, spread widely in Asia, Africa, and especially in America. Where the Spaniards and the Portuguese preached, Catholicism was established, where the British and the Dutch were various reformist movements, mainly of the Calvinist persuasion.

Lit .: Peschel O. History of the Age of Discovery. 2nd ed. M., 1884; Atlas of the history of geographical discoveries and research. M., 1959; Hart G. Sea Route to India. M., 1959; Svet Ya. M. History of discovery and exploration of Australia and Oceania. M., 1966; Bakless J. America through the eyes of the discoverers. M., 1969; First images of America: The impact of the New World on the Old / Ed. F. Chiappelli. Berk. A. o., 1976. Vol. 1-2; Chaunu R. European expansion in the later Middle Ages. amst. A. o., 1979; Sanz C. Descubrimientos geograficos. Madrid, 1979; Godinho V. M. Os descobrimentose a economia mundial. Lisboa, 1981-1983. Vol. 1-4; Magidovich IP, Magidovich VI Essays on the history of geographical discoveries. M., 1982-1983. T. 1-2; Albuquerque L. de. Navegadores, viajantes e aventureiros portugueses: séculos XV e XVI. Lisboa, 1987. Vol. 1-2; Gil J. Mitos at utopias del descubrimiento. Madrid, 1989. Vol. 1-3; Cortesdo J. Os descobrimentos portugueses. Lisbon, 1990; Three caravels on the horizon. M., 1991; Découvertes et explorateurs: Actes du colloque international, Bordeaux 12-14 juin 1992. R.; Bordeaux, 1994; Implicit understandings: observing, reporting and reflecting on the encounters between Europeans, and other peoples in the early modern era / Ed. S. W. Schwartz. Camb., 1994; El Tratado de Tordesillas su época. Valladolid, 1995; Pagden A. Lords of all the world: Ideologies of empire in Spain, Britain and France. L., 1995; La época de los descubrimientos y las conquistas, 1400-1570 / Ed. J. Perez. Madrid, 1998; Martinez Shaw C., Alfonso Mola M. Europa y los nuevos mundos: siglos XV-XVIII. Madrid, 1999; Parry J H. The age of reconnaissance: discovery, exploration and settlement, 1450-1650. L., 2000; Randles W.G.L. Geography, cartography and nautical science in the Renaissance: the impact of the great discoveries. Aldershot, 2000; Voyages and exploration in the North Atlantic from the Middle Ages to the XVIIth century. Reykjavik, 2001; Kofman A.F. America of Unfulfilled Miracles. M., 2001; Ramsey R. Discoveries that never happened. St. Petersburg, 2002; Soler I. El nudo y la esfera: el navegante como artifice del mundo moderno. Barcelona, ​​2003.

Geographic discoveries

People traveled and made discoveries at all times, but during the history of mankind there was a period when the number of travelers and their discoveries increased dramatically - the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries.

The great geographical discoveries are a period in the history of mankind that began in the 15th century and lasted until the 17th century, during which new lands and sea routes were discovered. Thanks to the brave expeditions of navigators and travelers from many countries, a large part of the earth's surface, seas and oceans washing it was discovered and explored. The most important sea routes were laid that connected the continents with each other.

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The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that economic development our country should be based on a preliminary analysis historical information, that is, it is necessary to be aware of the importance of the territories that were conquered by our ancestors.

The purpose of this work is to consider the expeditions and geographical discoveries of domestic researchers and scientists. As part of achieving this goal, the following tasks were set:

Briefly describe the economic and political situation of the country in a certain period of time;

· indicate the names of Russian travelers and discoverers of the era of great geographical discoveries;

· describe the discoveries of new lands and routes.

Places of development. pioneers

At the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century, the formation of Russian state which has evolved along with world civilization. It was the time of the Great Geographical Discoveries (America was discovered in 1493), the beginning of the era of capitalism in European countries (the first European bourgeois revolution of 1566-1609 began in the Netherlands). The great geographical discoveries are a period in the history of mankind that began in the 15th century and lasted until the 17th century, during which Europeans discovered new lands and sea routes to Africa, America, Asia and Oceania in search of new trading partners and sources of goods that were in great demand in Europe. Historians usually correlate the "Great geographical discoveries" with pioneering distant sea ​​voyages Portuguese and Spanish travelers in search of alternative trade routes to the "India" for gold, silver and spices. But the development of the Russian state took place in rather peculiar conditions.

The Russian people contributed to the great geographical discoveries of the 16th - the first half of the 17th centuries. significant contribution. Russian travelers and navigators made a number of discoveries (mainly in the northeast of Asia) that enriched world science. The reason for the increased attention of Russians to geographical discoveries was the further development of commodity-money relations in the country and the associated process of folding the all-Russian market, as well as the gradual inclusion of Russia in the world market. During this period, two main directions were clearly outlined: northeast (Siberia and the Far East) and southeast (Central Asia, Mongolia, China), along which Russian travelers and sailors moved. Of great educational importance for contemporaries were the trade and diplomatic trips of Russian people in the 16th-17th centuries. to the countries of the East, a survey of the shortest land routes for communication with the states of Central and Central Asia and with China.

In the middle of the 16th century, the Moscow kingdom conquered the Kazan and Astrakhan Tatar khanates, thus annexing the Volga region to its possessions and opening the way to the Ural Mountains. The colonization of new eastern lands and the further advance of Russia to the east were directly organized by the wealthy merchants Stroganovs. Tsar Ivan the Terrible granted huge possessions in the Urals and tax privileges to Anikey Stroganov, who organized a large-scale resettlement of people to these lands. The Stroganovs developed agriculture, hunting, salt making, fishing and mining in the Urals, and also established trade relations with the Siberian peoples. There was a process of development of new territories in Siberia (from the 1580s to 1640s), the Volga region, the Wild Field (on the rivers Dnieper, Don, Middle and Lower Volga, Yaik).

The great geographical discoveries contributed to the transition from the Middle Ages to the New Age.

The conquest of Siberia by Ermak Timofeevich

Of great importance in the history of geographical discoveries of this era was the survey of the vast expanses of the north and northeast of Asia from the Ural Range to the coast of the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, i.e. throughout Siberia.

The process of conquering Siberia included the gradual advance of the Russian Cossacks and service people to the East until they reached the Pacific Ocean and secured themselves in Kamchatka. The ways of movement of the Cossacks were predominantly water. Getting acquainted with the river systems, they went by dry route only in the places of the watershed, where, having crossed the ridge and having arranged new boats, they descended along the tributaries of new rivers. Upon arrival in the area occupied by some tribe of natives, the Cossacks entered into peace negotiations with them with a proposal to submit to the White Tsar and pay yasak, but these negotiations did not always lead to successful results, and then the matter was decided by arms.

The annexation of Siberia was started in 1581 by a campaign of a detachment of the Cossack ataman Ermak Timofeevich. His detachment, consisting of 840 people, carried away by rumors about the untold riches of the Siberian Khanate, was equipped at the expense of large landowners and salt producers of the Urals Stroganovs.

On September 1, 1581, the detachment plunged onto plows and climbed along the tributaries of the Kama to the Tagil Pass in the Ural Mountains. With an ax in their hands, the Cossacks made their own way, cleared the rubble, felled the trees, cut the clearing. They did not have the time and energy to level the rocky path, as a result of which they could not drag ships along the ground using rollers. According to the participants of the campaign, they dragged the ships uphill "on themselves", in other words, on their hands. On the pass, the Cossacks built an earthen fortification - Kokuy-gorodok, where they wintered until spring.

The first skirmish between the Cossacks and the Siberian Tatars took place in the area modern city Turinsk ( Sverdlovsk region), where the soldiers of Prince Epanchi fired at Yermak's plows with bows. Here Yermak, with the help of squeakers and cannons, dispersed the cavalry of Murza Yepanchi. Then the Cossacks occupied the town of Chingi-tura (Tyumen region) without a fight. Many treasures were taken from the site of modern Tyumen: silver, gold and precious Siberian furs.

November 8, 1582 n.st. Ataman Ermak Timofeevich occupied Kashlyk, the then capital of the Siberian Khanate. Four days later, the Khanty from the river. Demyanka (Uvatsky district), brought furs and food supplies, mainly fish, as a gift to the conquerors. Yermak greeted them with "kindness and greetings" and released them "with honor." The local Tatars, who had previously fled from the Russians, reached out for the Khanty with gifts. Yermak received them just as kindly, allowed them to return to their villages and promised to protect them from enemies, primarily from Kuchum. Then the Khanty from the left-bank regions began to appear with furs and food - from the rivers Konda and Tavda. Yermak imposed an annual obligatory tax on all those who came to him - yasak.

At the end of 1582, Yermak sent an embassy to Moscow, headed by his faithful assistant Ivan Koltso, to inform the tsar of the defeat of Kuchum. Tsar Ivan IV gave the Cossack delegation of Ivan Koltso a gracious welcome, generously endowed the envoys - among the gifts was chain mail of excellent workmanship - and sent them back to Yermak.

In the winter of 1584-1585, the temperature in the vicinity of Kashlyk dropped to -47 °, icy northern winds began to blow. Deep snow made it impossible to hunt in the taiga forests. In the hungry winter time wolves gathered in large packs and appeared near human dwellings. Streltsy did not survive the Siberian winter. They died without exception, without taking part in the war with Kuchum. Semyon Bolkhovskoy himself, who was appointed the first governor of Siberia, also died. After a hungry winter, the number of Yermak's detachment was catastrophically reduced. To save the surviving people, Yermak tried to avoid clashes with the Tatars.

On the night of August 6, 1585, Yermak died along with a small detachment at the mouth of the Vagai. Only one Cossack managed to escape, who brought the sad news to Kashlyk. The Cossacks and service people who remained in Kashlyk gathered a circle, on which they decided not to spend the winter in Siberia.

At the end of September 1585, 100 servicemen arrived in Kashlyk under the command of Ivan Mansurov, sent to help Yermak. They did not find anyone in Qashlyk. When trying to return from Siberia along the path of their predecessors - down the Ob and further "through the Stone" - the service people were forced, because of the "freezing of ice", to put "hail over the Ob against the mouth of the river" of the Irtysh and "winter gray hair" in it. Having withstood the siege "from many Ostyaks", the people of Ivan Mansurov returned from Siberia in the summer of 1586.

The third detachment, which arrived in the spring of 1586 and consisted of 300 people under the leadership of the voivode Vasily Sukin and Ivan Myasnoy, brought with them “a written head of Danila Chulkov” “to start business” on the spot. The expedition, judging by its results, was carefully prepared and equipped. To establish the power of the Russian government in Siberia, she had to establish the first Siberian government prison and the Russian city of Tyumen.

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China research. The first voyages of Russian sailors

Distant China aroused close attention among the Russian people. Back in 1525, while in Rome, the Russian ambassador Dmitry Gerasimov informed the writer Pavel Jovius that it was possible to travel from Europe to China by water through northern seas. Thus, Gerasimov expressed a bold idea about the development Northern way from Europe to Asia. Thanks to Jovius, who published a special book on Muscovy and Gerasimov's embassy, ​​this idea became widely known in Western Europe and was received with lively interest. It is possible that the organization of the expeditions of Willoughby and Barents was caused by the messages of the Russian ambassador. In any case, the search for the Northern Sea Route to the east was already in the middle of the 16th century. led to the establishment of direct maritime links between Western Europe and Russia.

Even in the middle of the XVI century. Mention is made of the voyages of Russian polar sailors from the European part of the country to the Gulf of Ob and to the mouth of the Yenisei. They moved along the coast of the Arctic Ocean on small keeled sailing ships - koches, well adapted to sailing in the ice of the Arctic due to the egg-shaped hull, which reduced the danger of ice compression.

The 16th century is known for the reign of the Russian Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. Special attention I would like to draw on the oprichnina policy of the then ruler. The state terror agitated the population, "gladness and pestilence" reigned in the country, peasants fled from the ruined landowners and "draged between the yard." It can be assumed that it was the runaway peasants who became the "pioneers" of new lands, and only later more status individuals made "discoveries" at the state level.

Most likely, in the 16th century, Russian travels, which resulted in geographical discoveries, experienced a period of “birth”. The first attempts to travel to other countries through new lands were made. One of the most important and promising was the conquest of Siberia by Yermak. But our ancestors did not stop there, they tried their hand at traveling on the water. No great discoveries have yet been made in this industry, but already in the 17th century certain successes were made.

There were a sufficient number of factors stimulating people to further develop new lands, the main of which was the lack of access to the seas.

Major travel destinations in the 17th century

"Mangazeya move". Campaign of Penda

Already in the first two decades of the 17th century, there was a fairly regular water communication between the West Siberian cities and Mangazeya along the Ob, the Gulf of Ob and the Arctic Ocean (the so-called "Mangazeya way"). The same message was maintained between Arkhangelsk and Mangazeya. According to contemporaries, "from Arkhangelsk to Mangazeya, many merchants and industrial people with all sorts of German (i.e. foreign, Western European) goods and bread go for years." It was extremely important to establish the fact that the Yenisei flows into the very “Cold Sea”, along which people from Western Europe swim to Arkhangelsk. This discovery belongs to the Russian merchant Kondraty Kurochkin, who was the first to explore the fairway of the lower Yenisei up to the mouth.

A serious blow to the "Mangazeya move" was inflicted by government prohibitions of 1619-1620. use the sea route to Mangazeya, aimed at preventing the penetration of foreigners there.

Moving east into the taiga and tundra Eastern Siberia, the Russians opened one of largest rivers Asia - Lena. Among the northern expeditions to the Lena, the Penda campaign (until 1630) stands out. Starting his journey with 40 companions from Turukhansk, he went through the entire Lower Tunguska, crossed the portage and reached the Lena. Having descended along the Lena to the central regions of Yakutia, Penda then sailed along the same river in the opposite direction almost to the upper reaches. From here, passing through the Buryat steppes, he got to the Angara (Upper Tunguska), the first Russian sailed down the entire Angara, overcoming its famous rapids, after which he went to the Yenisei, and returned along the Yenisei to the starting point - Turu-khansk. Penda and his companions made an unparalleled circular journey of several thousand kilometers through difficult terrain.

Mission Petlin

The first reliable evidence of a journey to China is information about the embassy of the Cossack Ivan Petlin in 1618-1619. (Mission Petlin). The journey was made on the initiative of the Tobolsk voivode, Prince I. S. Kurakin. The mission of 12 people was headed by Tomsk Cossacks teacher Ivan Petlin (who spoke several languages) and A. Madov. The mission was instructed to describe new routes to China, collect information about it and neighboring countries, as well as establish the sources of the Ob River. In China, Petlin was supposed to announce where the mission came from and to find out the possibility of establishing further relations with China.

Leaving Tomsk on May 9, 1618, together with the ambassadors of the Mongolian "Altyn-Tsar", the mission climbed the Tom valley, crossed Mountain Shoria, crossed the Abakan Range, the Western Sayan and penetrated into Tuva. Then she crossed the upper reaches of the Kemchik (the Yenisei basin), crossed several ridges and went to the mountain low-salt lake Uureg-Nuur. Turning east and descending into the steppe, three weeks after leaving Tomsk, the mission arrived at the headquarters of the Mongol Khan at drainless lake Usap.

From here, the travelers moved to the southeast, crossed the Khan-Khuhei - the northwestern spur of the Khangai Range - and Khangai itself - and walked along its southern slopes for about 800 km. At the bend of the Kerulen River, we turned southeast and crossed the Gobi Desert. Short of Kalgan, Petlin saw the Great Wall of China for the first time.

At the end of August, the mission reached Beijing, where it negotiated with representatives of the Ming government.

Due to the lack of gifts, Petlin was not received by Emperor Zhu Yijun, but received his official letter addressed to the Russian Tsar with permission for the Russians to send embassies again and trade in China; as for diplomatic relations, it was proposed to conduct them by correspondence. The diploma remained untranslated for decades, until Spafariy (a Russian diplomat and scientist; known for his scientific works and embassy to China) began to study it, preparing for his embassy. The common expression “Chinese letter” refers to this particular document, which was in the embassy order, and the content of which remained a mystery.

Returning to his homeland, Ivan Petlin presented in Moscow "a drawing and painting about the Chinese region." His mission was of great importance, and the trip report - "Painting to the Chinese state and Lobinsky, and other states, residential and nomadic, and uluses, and the great Ob, and rivers and roads" - became the most valuable, most complete description of China, containing information about overland route from Europe to China through Siberia and Mongolia. Already in the first half of the 17th century, "Painting" was translated into all European languages. The information collected as a result of Petlin's trip about the routes to China, about the natural resources and economy of Mongolia and China contributed to the expansion of the geographical horizons of contemporaries.

Russian discoveries in the Pacific. Explorers of Siberia

The conquest of Siberia was accompanied by a very rapid expansion of the geographical outlook. Less than 60 years have passed since the campaign of Yermak (1581-1584), as the Russians crossed the entire continent of Asia from the Ural Mountains to the eastern limits of this part of the world: in 1639, the Russians first appeared on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

Campaign of Moskvitin (1639-1642)

Ataman Dmitry Kopylov, sent from Tomsk to Lena, founded in 1637 at the confluence of Map and Aldan a winter hut. In 1639 he sent the Cossack Ivan Moskvitin. They crossed the ridge and went to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk at the mouth of the river. Uli, west of the current Okhotsk. In the coming years, people from the Moskvitin detachment reconnoitered the coast of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bOkhotsk to the east to the Tauiskaya Bay, and to the south along the river. Oody. From the mouth of the Cossacks went further east, towards the mouth of the Amur. He returned to Yakutsk in 1642.

Dezhnev's campaign (1648)

The Yakut Cossack, a native of Ustyug, Semyon Dezhnev, passed through the Bering Strait for the first time. On June 20, 1648, he left the mouth of the Kolyma to the east. In September, the explorer rounded Bolshoi Kamenny Nose - now Cape Dezhnev - where he saw the Eskimos. Against the cape he saw two islands. Here we have in mind the islands of Diomede or Gvozdev lying in the Bering Strait, on which then, as now, the Eskimos lived. Then storms began, which carried Dezhnev's boats across the sea until, after October 1, they were thrown south of the mouth of the Anadyr; from the crash site to this river had to walk 10 weeks. In the summer of the following year, Dezhnev built a winter hut on the middle course of the Anadyr - later the Anadyr prison.

"Parcels" Remezov

Semyon Ulyanovich Remezov - cartographer, historian and ethnographer, can rightly be considered the first explorer of the Trans-Urals. Traveling on behalf of the Tobolsk authorities to collect dues in the central part of the West Siberian Plain and some other areas of the eastern slope of the Urals, i.e. being, as he put it, in "parcels", he created a scheme for the study of these territories, which was later carried out in an expanded form during the work of the Academic detachments of the Great Northern Expedition. At first, the description of the places visited was a secondary matter for Remezov. But since 1696, when he spent half a year as part of a military detachment (April-September) in the waterless and impenetrable stone steppe beyond the river. Ishim, this occupation has become the main one. In the winter of 1696-1697. with two assistants, he carried out a survey of the Tobol basin. He plotted the main river on the drawing from the mouth to the top, photographed it major tributaries- Turu, Tavda, Iset and a number of rivers flowing into them, including Miass and Pyshma.

The cartographic image was also received by the river. Irtysh from the confluence of the Ob to the mouth of the river. Tara and its three tributaries. In 1701, Remezov completed the Drawing Book of Siberia. She played a huge role not only in the history of Russian, but also in world cartography.

Discovery of Kamchatka by Atlasov

Information about Kamchatka was first obtained in the middle of the 17th century, through the Koryaks. But the honor of discovery and geographical description belongs to Vladimir Atlasov.

In 1696, Luka Morozko was sent from Anadyrsk to the Koryaks on the Opuka River (Opuka flows into the Berengovo Sea). He penetrated much further south, namely to the river. Tigil. At the beginning of 1697, Atlasov left Anadyrsk. From the mouth of the Penzhina two weeks went on reindeer along west bank Kamchatka, and then turned east, to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, to the Koryaks - Olyutors, who sit along the river. Olyutor. In February 1697, on Olyutor, Atlasov divided his detachment into two parts: the first went south along the eastern bank of Kamchatka, and the second part went with him to the western bank, to the river. Palan (flows into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk), from here to the mouth of the river. Tigil, and finally, on the river. Kamchatka, where he arrived on July 18, 1697. Here they first met the Kamchadals. From here, Atlasov walked south along the western coast of Kamchatka and reached the river. Golygina, where the Kurils lived. From the mouth of this river he saw the islands, meaning the northernmost of Kuril Islands. With Golygina Atlasov across the river. Ichu returned to Anadyrsk, where he arrived on July 2, 1699. This is how Kamchatka was discovered. Atlasov made its geographical description.

Hiking E.P. Khabarova and I.V. Poryakova on Amur

Erofey Pavlovich Khabarov continued the work begun by another explorer, V. D. Poyarkov. Khabarov was from Veliky Ustyug (according to other sources, from Solvychegodsk). Life was hard at home, and the debts forced Khabarov to go to the distant lands of Siberia. In 1632 he arrived at Lena. For several years he was engaged in fur trade, and in 1641 he settled on empty land at the mouth of the river. Kirenga - the right tributary of the Lena. Here he started arable land, built a mill and salt pan. But the Yakut governor P. Golovin took away from Khabarov both arable land and a salt pan and transferred them to the treasury, and put Khabarov himself in prison. Only in 1645 Khabarov was released from prison "a goal like a falcon." In 1649, he arrived in the Ilimsk jail, where the Yakut governor stopped for the winter. Here Khabarov learned about the expedition of V. D. Poyarkov and asked permission to organize his expedition to Dauria, to which he received consent.

In 1649, Khabarov with a detachment climbed up the Lena and Olekma to the mouth of the river. Tungir. In the spring of 1650 they reached the river. Urki, a tributary of the Amur, and fell into the possession of the Daurian prince Lavkay. Daur cities turned out to be abandoned people. Each city had hundreds of houses, and each house - for 50 or more people. The houses were bright, with wide windows covered with oiled paper. Rich grain reserves were stored in the pits. Prince Lavkai himself was found near the walls of the third city, which was just as empty. It turned out that the Daurs, having heard about the detachment, were frightened and fled. From the stories of the Daurs, the Cossacks learned that on the other side of the Amur lies a country richer than Dauria and that the Daurs pay tribute to the Manchu prince Bogda. And that prince had large ships with goods sailing along the rivers, and he has an army with cannons and squeakers.

Khabarov understood that the forces of his detachment were small and he could not take possession of the region where the population was hostile. Leaving about 50 Cossacks in the town of Lavkaya, in May 1650 Khabarov returned to Yakutsk for help. A report on the campaign and a drawing of Dauria were sent to Moscow. And Khabarov began to collect a new detachment for a campaign in Dauria. In the autumn of 1650, he returned to the Amur and found the abandoned Cossacks near the fortified town of Albazin. The prince of this city refused to pay yasak, and the Cossacks tried to take the city by storm. With the help of Khabarov's detachment, who came to the rescue, the Daurs were defeated. The Cossacks captured many prisoners and large booty.

The era of great geographical discoveries is of great importance in the history of mankind. Most familiar goods and foodstuffs simply would not exist in our market today without these two centuries.

background

The Age of Discovery refers to the period from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century AD. The term came about because of the active exploration and expansion that took place over two hundred years. At this time, the countries of Western Europe and the Moscow kingdom significantly expanded their possessions by including new territories.

Sometimes lands were bought, less often they simply settled down, more often they had to be conquered.

Today, scholars believe that the main reason that caused the surge of such expeditions was the rivalry in finding a shortcut to India. At the end of the Middle Ages, the opinion spread in Western Europe that this was a very rich state.

After the Portuguese began to bring spices, gold, fabrics and jewelry from there, Castile, France and other countries began to look for alternative routes. The crusades no longer brought due financial satisfaction, so there was a need to open new markets.

Portuguese expeditions

As we said earlier, the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries began with the first expeditions of the Portuguese. They, exploring the Atlantic coast of Africa, reached the Cape Good Hope and ended up in the Indian Ocean. So the sea route to India was opened.

Prior to this, several important events occurred that led to such an expedition. In 1453 Constantinople fell. Muslims captured one of the most important Christian shrines. From now on, the way was blocked for European merchants to the east - to China and India.

But without the ambitions of the Portuguese crown, perhaps the era of great geographical discoveries would not have begun. King Afonso V began searching for Christian states in southern Africa. At that time, there was an opinion that beyond the lands of Muslims, beyond Morocco, forgotten Christian peoples begin.

So the islands of Cape Verde were discovered in 1456, and a decade later they began to explore the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. Today there is the Ivory Coast.

1488 marked the beginning of the Age of Discovery. Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Storms (later renamed the Cape of Good Hope by the King) and anchored on the Pacific coast.

Thus, a bypass route to India was opened. The only problem for the Portuguese was that the journey took a year. For the rest of the monarchs, the discovery became a thorn in the side, since, according to the papal bull, it was Portugal that monopolized it.

Discovery of America

Many believe that the Age of Discovery began with the discovery of America. However, this was already the second stage.

The fifteenth century was a rather difficult stage for two parts modern Spain. Then they were separate kingdoms - Castile and Aragon. The first, in particular, at that time was the most powerful Mediterranean monarchy. It included the territories of southern France, southern Italy, several islands and part of the coast of North Africa.

However, the process of reconquista and the war with the Arabs significantly removed the country from geographical research. The main reason that the Castilians began to finance Christopher Columbus was the confrontation with Portugal that had begun. This country, due to the opening of the route to India, received a monopoly on maritime trade.

In addition, there was a skirmish over the Canary Islands.

By the time Columbus was tired of persuading the Portuguese to equip an expedition, Castile was ready for such an adventure.

Three caravels reached the Caribbean. During the first campaign, San Salvador, part of Haiti and Cuba were discovered. Later, several ships of workers and soldiers were transported. Initial plans for mountains of gold failed. Therefore, the systematic colonization of the population began. But we'll talk about that later, when we will talk about the conquistadors.

Indian Ocean

After the return of the first expedition of Columbus, the diplomatic solution of the division of spheres of influence begins. To avoid conflict, the Pope issues a document that defines the Portuguese and Spanish possessions. But Juan II was dissatisfied with the decree. According to the bull, he was losing the newly discovered lands of Brazil, which were then considered the island of Vera Cruz.

Therefore, in 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed between the Castilian and Portuguese crowns. The frontier was two hundred and seventy leagues from Cape Verde. Everything that was to the east went to Portugal, to the west - to Spain.

The era of great geographical discoveries continued with expeditions in the Indian Ocean. In May 1498 Vasco da Gama's ships reached the southwestern coast of India. Today it is the state of Kerala.

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the islands of Madagascar, Mauritius, Sri Lanka were discovered. The Portuguese gradually developed new markets.

Pacific Ocean

As we mentioned earlier, the era of great geographical discoveries began with the search for a sea route to India. However, after the ships of Vasco da Gama reached its coast, European expansion began to the countries of the Far East.

Here, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Portuguese discovered the markets of the Philippines, China and Japan.

At the other end of the Pacific Ocean at this time, Balboa crosses the Isthmus of Panama and becomes the first Spaniard to see "another sea."

The next inevitable step was the development of new spaces, which led to the first circumnavigation of the Magellan expedition in 1519-1522.

conquistadors

The navigators of the era of great geographical discoveries were not only engaged in the development of new lands. Often the pioneers were followed by waves of adventurers, entrepreneurs, immigrants in search of a better life.

After Christopher Columbus first set foot on the coast of one of the Caribbean islands, thousands of people crossed to the New World. The main reason was the misconception that they had reached India. But after the expectations of the treasures did not come true, the Europeans began to colonize the territories.

Juan de León, setting out from Costa Rica, discovered the coast of Florida in 1508. Hernán Cortes, on the orders of Velazquez, left Santiago de Cuba, where he was mayor, with a flotilla of eleven ships and five hundred soldiers. He needed to conquer the natives of Yucatan. There, as it turned out, there were two fairly powerful states - the Aztec and Mayan empires.

In August 1521, Cortes captures Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztecs, and renames it Mexico City. From now on, the empire became part of Spain.

New trade routes

The Age of Discovery presented Western Europe with unexpected economic opportunities. New sales markets were opened, territories appeared from where treasures and slaves were imported for next to nothing.

The colonization of the western and eastern coasts of Africa, the Asian coast of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific territories allowed the once small states to become world empires.

Open to European traders Japan, Philippines, China. The Portuguese even got their first colony there - Macau.

But the most important thing was that in the course of expansion to the west and east, the expeditions began to meet. Ships sailing from present-day Chile reached the coasts of Indonesia and the Philippines.

Thus, it was finally proved that our planet has the shape of a ball.

Gradually, sailors mastered the movement of the trade winds, the Gulf Stream. New models of ships appeared. As a result of colonization, plantation farms were formed, where they used the labor of slaves.

Australia

The era of great geographical discoveries was marked not only by the search for a way to India. In short, humanity began to get acquainted with the planet. When most of the coasts became known, there was only one question left. What lurks in the south so massive that the northern continents do not outweigh it?

According to Aristotle, there was a certain continent - incognita terra australis ("unknown southern land").

After several erroneous reports, finally in 1603 the Dutchman Janszon landed in present-day Queensland.

And in the forties of the seventeenth century, Abel Tasman discovered Tasmania and New Zealand.

Conquest of Siberia

The era of great geographical discoveries was marked not only by the exploration of America, Africa and Australia. The table of trophies and the map of the surroundings of Baikal speak of important discoveries committed by Russian Cossacks.

So, in 1577, the ataman Yermak, who was financed by the Stroganovs, went to the east of Siberia. During the campaign, he inflicts a heavy defeat on the Siberian Khan Kuchum, but eventually dies in one of the battles.

However, his work was not forgotten. Since the seventeenth century, after the end of the Time of Troubles, systematic colonization of these lands begins.

The Yenisei is being explored. Lena, Angara. In 1632 Yakutsk was founded. Subsequently, it will become the most important transit point on the way to the east.

In 1639, the expedition of Ivan Moskvitin reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Kamchatka began to develop only in the eighteenth century.

The results of the era of the great geographical discoveries

The importance of the era of the great geographical discoveries is difficult to overestimate.

First, there was a revolution in food. Plants such as corn, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, pineapples and others came to Western Europe. There is a culture of drinking coffee and tea, people are attached to smoking.

Precious metals from the New World quickly flooded the markets of "old Europe". Along with the emergence of a large number of colonies, the era of imperialism begins.

In the countries of Western Europe, there is a decline of some trading houses and the rise of others. The Netherlands owes its rise to the era of geographical discoveries. Antwerp in the sixteenth century became the main transshipment port on the route of goods from Asia and America to other European countries.

Thus, in this article we have dealt with the course of geographical discoveries for two hundred years. We talked about different directions of expeditions, learned the names famous sailors, as well as the opening times of some coasts and islands.

Good luck and new discoveries to you, dear readers!

The era of the great geographical discoveries is the most important stage in the history of mankind. This is a time when the outlines of continents, seas and oceans are becoming more accurate, technical devices are being improved, and the leading countries of that time are sending sailors in search of new rich lands. In this lesson, you will learn about the sea expeditions of Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan, as well as the discovery of new lands by them.

background

Among the reasons for the Great geographical discoveries are:

Economic

After the era of the Crusades, Europeans developed strong trade ties with the East. In the East, Europeans bought spices, fabrics, jewelry. In the XV century. land caravan routes, through which Europeans traded with eastern countries, were captured by the Turks. The task of finding a sea route to India appeared.

Technological

The compass and the astrolabe (an instrument for measuring latitude and longitude) were improved.

New types of ships appeared - caravel, carakka and galleon. They were distinguished by their spaciousness and powerful sailing equipment.

Navigation charts were invented - portolans.

Now Europeans could make not only traditional coastal voyages (i.e., mainly along the coast), but also go far into the open sea.

Events

1445- the expedition organized by Henry the Navigator reached the Green Cape (the western point of Africa). The island of Madeira, the Canary Islands, part of the Azores were discovered.

1453- Constantinople is captured by the Turks.

1471 The Portuguese reached the equator for the first time.

1488- Expedition Bartolomeu Dias reached the southernmost point of Africa - the Cape of Good Hope.

1492- Christopher Columbus discovered the islands of San Salvador, Haiti, Cuba in the Caribbean.

1497-1499- Vasco da Gama reached the Indian port of Calicut, rounding Africa. For the first time, a route was opened to the East across the Indian Ocean.

1519- Ferdinand Magellan goes on an expedition in which he discovers the Pacific Ocean. And in 1521 it reaches the Mariana and Philippine Islands.

Members

Rice. 2. Astrolabe ()

Rice. 3. Caravel ()

Successes have also been made in cartography. European cartographers began to draw maps with more accurate outlines of the coasts of Europe, Asia and North America. The Portuguese invented navigational charts. On them, in addition to the outlines of the coast, depicted settlements, obstacles encountered on the way, as well as the location of ports. These navigation charts were called portolans.

The pioneers were Spaniards and Portuguese. The idea of ​​conquering Africa was born in Portugal. However, the knightly cavalry was helpless in the sands. Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator(Fig. 4) decided to try the sea route along the west coast of Africa. The expeditions he organized discovered the island of Madeira, part of the Azores, the Canary Islands. In 1445, the Portuguese reached the western point of Africa - Cape Green . Somewhat later, the coast of the Gulf of Guinea was discovered. A large amount of gold and ivory was found there. Hence the name - Gold Coast, Ivory Coast. At the same time, African slaves were discovered, which were traded by local leaders. Portugal became the first European country to sell live goods.

Rice. 4. Henry the Navigator ()

Already after the death of Henry the Navigator, the Portuguese reached the equator in 1471. In 1488 the expedition Bartolomeu Dias reached south end Africa - Cape of Good Hope. Rounding Africa, this expedition entered the Indian Ocean. However, due to the rebellion of the sailors, Bartolomeu Dias was forced to return. His path continued Vasco da Gama (Fig. 5), which in 1497-1499. rounded Africa and after an 8-month voyage arrived in the Indian port of Calicut (Fig. 6).

Rice. 5. Vasco da Gama ()

Rice. 6. The opening of the sea route to India, the route of Vasco da Gama ()

Simultaneously with Portugal, the search for a new sea route to India began Spain, which at that time was ruled Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. Christopher Columbus(Fig. 7) proposed a new plan - to reach India, moving west, across the Atlantic Ocean. Christopher Columbus shared the view that the earth is spherical. On August 3, 1492, Columbus on three caravels "Santa Maria", "Nina" and "Pinta" set off from Spain in search of India (Fig. 8). On October 12, 1492, a shot rang out on the Pinta caravel. This was the signal: the sailors had reached the island they named San Salvador, which in translation means "holy savior." Having explored the island, they went south and discovered two more islands: Haiti (then Hispaniola) and the island of Cuba.

Rice. 7. Christopher Columbus ()

Rice. 8. Route of Christopher Columbus ()

The first expedition of Columbus lasted 225 days and discovered caribbean sea. During the next three expeditions, Columbus discovered the coast of Central America and the northern coast of South America. However, the Spanish crown was not satisfied with the amount of gold that entered the country. Soon Columbus was turned away. He died in 1506 in poverty, confident that he had discovered a new sea route to India. The continent discovered by Columbus was originally called West Indies (Western India). Only later the mainland was given the name America.

The rivalry between Spain and Portugal led to the first division of the world in history. IN 1494 was concluded Treaty of Tordesillas, according to which a conditional meridian was drawn along the Atlantic Ocean somewhat west of the Azores. All newly discovered lands and seas to the west of it were to belong to Spain, and to the east to Portugal. However Ferdinand Magellan's first circumnavigation of the world corrected this document.

Back in 1513, the Spaniard Vasco de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean. He called it then the South Sea. In the autumn of 1519, on five caravels with a team of 253 sailors, Fernand Magellan (Fig. 9) set off on his journey (Fig. 10). His goal was to find a way across the Atlantic Ocean to the Moluccas (Spice Islands). After a year of travel, Magellan's team entered a narrow strait, which was later named Strait of Magellan. After passing through it, Magellan's team managed to enter the previously unknown ocean. This ocean is called Quiet.

Rice. 9. Ferdinand Magellan ()

Rice. 10. The first round-the-world trip of Ferdinand Magellan ()

In March 1521, Magellan's team reached the Marianas and then landed in the Philippines, where Magellan himself died in a skirmish with local residents. His team managed to reach the Moluccas. Three years later, only one ship with 17 sailors returned home. Magellan's first circumnavigation of the world proved that the Earth is spherical.

European exploration of the New World took the form conquests - conquests. Together with the conquest, the migration to New World colonists from Europe.

The great geographical discoveries changed the picture of the world. First, it has been proven that the Earth is spherical. Also opened new mainland- America, as well as a new ocean - the Pacific. The outlines of many continents, seas and oceans have been refined. The great geographical discoveries were the first step towards the creation of a world market. They shifted the trade routes. So, trading cities Venice and Genoa lost their key role in European trade. Their place was taken by ocean ports: Lisbon, London, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Seville. Due to the influx of precious metals into Europe from the New World, a price revolution took place. Prices for precious metals fell, while prices for products and raw materials for production rose.

The great geographical discoveries marked the beginning of the colonial redistribution of the world and the dominance of Europeans in Asia, Africa and America. The exploitation of slave labor and trade with the colonies allowed European trading circles to enrich themselves, which became one of the prerequisites for the formation of capitalism. Also, the colonization of America led to the destruction of the oldest American cultures. The great geographical discoveries were one of the causes of the food revolution in Europe. Previously unknown crops were introduced: corn, tomatoes, cocoa beans, potatoes and tobacco.

Bibliography

1. Boytsov, M.A. Magellan's Way: Early Modern Times. History reading book. - M., 2006.
2. Vedyushkin V.A., Burin S.N. Textbook on the history of modern times, grade 7. - M., 2013.
3. Verlinden C., Mathis G. “Conquerors of America. Columbus, Cortes. Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 1997.
4. Lange P.V. Like the sun ... The life of Ferdinand Magellan and the first circumnavigation of the world. - M.: Progress, 1988.
; Artist
5. What discovery is Ferdinand Magellan famous for, and what continent was discovered by Christopher Columbus?
6. Do you know of any other famous sailors and the territories they open?

From time to time in the history of mankind there are events that radically change its course. The taming of fire, the domestication of wild animals, the invention of the wheel and writing, cinema, nuclear energy, flight into space... One of these turning points was the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, which literally opened the Earth for man.

In fact, people made geographical discoveries all the time, from primitive times to the present day. For example, just a few years ago a new island was discovered in the Laptev Sea.

But only the historical period from the 15th to the 17th centuries is attributed to the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, when European travelers (mainly the Portuguese and Spaniards), who were looking for trade routes to India, discovered new ones, uncharted lands and laid routes by sea to Africa, America, Asia and Oceania.

“A person who has never made mistakes has never tried anything new” (A. Einstein)

Time for a change

Until the middle of the 15th century, people knew at most a quarter of the Earth. But the next two are only two! - Centuries literally changed the face of the planet for man and turned the course of history.

Astrolabe - one of the oldest astronomical instruments, a geodetic instrument for measuring angles, in particular for determining latitude

Usually, The Age of Discovery is divided into two periods. The first is from the middle of the 15th to the middle of the 16th century: the discoveries of the Spaniards and the Portuguese in Africa, America and Asia, including the travels of Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Magellan. The second - from the middle of the XVI to the middle of the XVII century: the discoveries of Russian travelers in Asia, the British and French - in North America and the Dutch in Australia and Oceania.

“Each outstanding researcher contributes his name to the history of science, not only own discoveries, but also by those discoveries to which he encourages others ”(M. Planck)

For various reasons, Spain and Portugal were truly powerful maritime powers by the middle of the 15th century. Trade routes from these states to India with its gold, silver, and most importantly, spices, which were valued extremely highly, through the Mediterranean, Africa, Arabia and Asia were long and full of dangers. That is why the Spaniards and the Portuguese were the first to search for the sea, and therefore a shorter and cheaper route to Indian wealth.

Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) - Spanish navigator of Italian origin, discovered in 1492 american continent

Born in Genoa (Italy) in the family of a weaver, Christopher Columbus began to go on ships as a teenager. In 1476, he ended up in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, where at that time information about all the latest geographical discoveries flocked. Year after year, the young Italian went to sea on various ships, visited England, Ireland, the Azores ... From books, his own impressions, conversations with experienced sailors, Columbus collected information and became more and more imbued with the idea that eventually became his true passion : to reach India by going not to the east, but to the west.

By the middle of the 15th century, Europeans already possessed not only knowledge, but also tools, without which ocean travel would not have been possible: they used an astrolabe, a compass, a caravel. Columbus's dream was feasible, and the matter remained small - money was required for long-distance voyage.

Columbus tried to find a patron and patron of the Portuguese court, but was refused. In 1485, the navigator left Portugal and went to the court of the "competitive" maritime power - Spain.

These two kingdoms truly reigned over the seas of that era. Their caravans plied the waters in search of new lands, in pursuit of gold, silver and spices, which were valued above precious metals. The shortest sea route to India was needed by both the Portuguese and the Spaniards. And Columbus, though not immediately, was received at the court of Their Catholic Majesties, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

The anticipation and eloquence of Christopher Columbus were rewarded. Under an agreement signed between him and the royal couple of Spain, he received three ships and funding for their equipment. If successful, Columbus was to become an admiral, viceroy and ruler of all open lands.

In early August 1492, the Santa Maria, Pinta and Nina caravels put to sea.

Columbus himself did not even suspect how successful the coincidence of circumstances of his first trip was. On his side were the right latitude - shortest way across the Atlantic, tailwinds, and even a change of course towards the end of the voyage, as demanded by the crew, who were on the verge of rebellion.

Caravel is a sea three-to-four-masted sailing vessel with one deck and high sides and superstructures. It was common in the Mediterranean countries in the XIII-XVII centuries.

On October 13, 1492, Columbus set foot on the first land he discovered.- one of the Bahamas, he named San Salvador. Confident that he had reached the approaches to India, China and Japan, the navigator went further, reaching the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola and Tortuga (the latter was destined to later become a haven for pirates of the entire Caribbean Sea).

There will be many more ups and downs in the life of the great Italian, but it was then, in the autumn of 1492, that he accomplished his greatest deed - he discovered the New World.

“A false step more than once led to the opening of new roads” (L. Cumor)

Henry the Navigator

The name of Christopher Columbus is the first thing that comes to mind when talking about the Great Geographical Discoveries. But it would be fairer to assume that the first to unfurl the sails to the winds of change was the son of the Portuguese king João I - Infante Henry, later nicknamed the Navigator.

Throughout his life, Henry did not take part in any of the expeditions, but equipped them with a great many. The Infante wanted to find a way along the coast of Africa to India. Until the fulfillment of this dream, Henry the Navigator did not live, but thanks to him, Portugal opened the most sinister, shameful and at the same time the most profitable page in its history - the slave trade.

Vasco da Gama and his journey to India

Vasco da Gama (1460/1469 - 1524) - Portuguese navigator era of the great geographical discoveries. He commanded the first expedition to sail from Europe to India

Dozens of ships and voyages, hundreds of sailors, three rulers who succeeded each other on the throne are associated with the opening of the route to India - and the name of a harsh and cruel navigator, the first European to reach India by sea, went down in history - Vasco da Gama.

In July 1497, his armada of three ships - the San Gabriel, the San Rafael and the Berriu - set off. Severe trials awaited the flotilla: headwinds and currents, the heat of Equatorial Africa, scurvy that struck the crew halfway to the Cape of Good Hope ... But four and a half months later, Vasco da Gama rounded the southern tip of the African continent and turned to the northeast.

Unlike Columbus, the Portuguese really opened the way to India. Yes, there were numerous clashes ahead with the Arabs, who had long and firmly mastered this part of the world, it was still necessary to equip trading posts and establish trade relations with local rulers, but the main thing was done. Portugal became one of the richest and most powerful maritime powers in the world. From May 1498 until the opening of the Suez Canal to shipping in 1869, the main trade routes from Europe to Asia went by sea.

“He who makes a discovery sees what everyone sees, and thinks what no one comes to mind” (A. Szent-Györgyi)

Spain-Portugal rivalry

In the 15th century, Spain and Portugal shared the palm among maritime powers. So that the two powerful crowns would not be at enmity, opening up new territories, in 1452-1456 the Roman popes Nicholas V and Calixtus III assigned Portugal the right to own lands south and east of Cape Bojador, and Spain recognized this right.

Ancient map of Europe ("Big Atlas", or "Blau's Cosmography", 1667)

However, the discoveries of Columbus in 1492 dramatically changed the situation. Since the admiral believed that he had opened the western route to India, and Portugal claimed Indian lands, to which it went by the eastern route, both kingdoms now disputed the ownership of each other.

Fortunately, the dangerous dispute was resolved by Pope Alexander VI Borgia, who in May 1493 established a demarcation line separating the Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Castile now belonged to the lands to the west of the "papal meridian", Portugal - to the east, about which the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed on June 7, 1494. This document not only demarcated the spheres of influence of the two powers, but actually secured their possession of the World Ocean, excluding other European countries from this.

Fernand Magellan's round-the-world trip

Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) - Portuguese and Spanish navigator, made the first voyage around the world, discovering the strait leading from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific

For the next twenty years, Spanish and Portuguese ships tirelessly plied the oceans. It became quite obvious that America was not India, but a new continent. But so far there was almost no income from her, and she seemed an annoying hindrance to western way to the spices and gold of India. Sailors were looking for an opportunity to get around this obstacle.

Therefore, there was nothing surprising in the fact that in 1518 a Portuguese naval sailor turned to the Spanish council for the affairs of the two Indies - he offered to consider a plan for a western route to the Moluccas, where expensive spices were produced. It's funny that a stranger again turned to the Spanish crown, and again because his project was rejected by the Portuguese monarch. And again, as in the case of Columbus, Spain did not lose by agreeing to finance the expedition.

An experienced sailor undertook to find a strait that would allow sailing to Asia without going around the huge American continent either from the north or from the south.

“Everyone knows from childhood that this and that is impossible. But there is always an ignoramus who does not know this. It is he who makes the discovery ”(A. Einstein)

Magellan's journey was one of the most difficult in the history of that time. It lasted over three years. Of the five ships that went on the expedition, only one returned to the Spanish port, out of two hundred and sixty-five people only eighteen returned. Ferdinand Magellan himself died in a skirmish with the natives on one of the Philippine Islands, having already found the famous strait, which would later be named after him, and being on his way back to Europe.

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the first circumnavigation of the world. Long-standing disputes about the shape of the planet, the unity of the World Ocean and the predominance of water over land were finally resolved, which had been disputed as far back as the Middle Ages.

Discovery of Australia

France, England, Holland and other countries, which also had serious maritime traditions, could do little to oppose the dominance of the Spaniards and Portuguese in the Atlantic, India, Central and South America. The British and French began to explore the North American continent, where they would later be based New England and Canada, which will go to the French.

The study of the Pacific began long before the advent of writing. However, for the first time it was opened to the eyes of the European Vasco Nunez de Balboa in 1513. The Spanish conquistador saw him from the mountain range of the Isthmus of Panama

But the most interesting discovery had to be done by the Dutch. Since the time of Aristotle in geographical world There was an idea that in the Southern Hemisphere there must certainly be a large continent that would balance the vast land of the Northern Hemisphere. But for a very long time, ships entered this part of the Pacific more by chance: the “roaring” forties, the “whistling” fifties and the “furious” sixties were avoided by everyone. But over and over again, sailors brought information about various parts of the land, which eventually began to be called Terra Australis Incognita - Unknown Southern land, although mostly it was the islands of various archipelagos of the Pacific Ocean.

And only in 1605 the Dutchman Willem Janszon who led the fleet of the East India Company, first reached the coast of Australia. Almost forty years later, another Dutchman, Abel Tasman, reached New Zealand, Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) and marked the island of Fiji on the map. The search for the mysterious Southern Land is over.

“Sometimes it’s more useful not to know what has been done before you, so as not to go astray on the beaten path leading to a dead end” (B. Gersh)

Development of Russian lands

While world powers were mastering the ocean, Russian pioneers were mastering one sixth of the land - the vast expanses of the Russian state.

After the conquest of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, the way to the Volga region and the Urals was opened. The colossal sparsely populated expanses could become a source of wealth, but they could also ruin travelers who dared to invade the unknown.

The privileges and vast territories granted by Ivan the Terrible to the merchants Stroganov marked the beginning of the settlement of the Urals and the development there, first of trade, and then of industry - mining of ores, furs and salt.

In 1577, the Cossack detachments of the ataman moved to the east. Yermak, called by the Stroganovs to protect against the Siberian Khan. In 1582, the Siberian Khanate was conquered and annexed to the Russian state.

V. I. Surikov "Conquest of Siberia by Ermak Timofeevich" (1891-1895)

The 17th century was marked by many geographical discoveries: the mouth of the Yenisei was reached, the highlands of Taimyr were mastered, the great Siberian rivers Lena, Yana, Olenek.

And now the names known to everyone follow: Ivan Moskvitin, Semyon Dezhnev, Erofei Khabarov, Vladimir Atlasov. Step by step they they discover and develop for their descendants Kolyma and Chukotka, Anadyr and Amur, Kamchatka and the Kuriles ...