The Age of Discovery was a hunt for routes, not lands
In short: For centuries, the world's edges were defined by rumor and myth. The great explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries didn't set out to find new continents; they were desperate to bypass land-based monopolies and find faster, safer paths to the wealth of Asia.
The shift toward maritime exploration was driven by a collapse of old systems. As the Mongol Empire fractured in the late 14th century, the overland Silk Road became increasingly dangerous for Western merchants. Simultaneously, the Ottoman Turks and Venetians established a stranglehold on Mediterranean trade routes, effectively locking out other European powers from accessing Eastern goods. Western traders faced increased risks on overland paths following the Mongol Empire's dissolution. These changes occurred toward the end of the 14th century. The Ottoman Turks and Venetians controlled the commercial access to the Mediterranean. These factors combined to stimulate men to seek new routes.
This geopolitical squeeze forced Atlantic nations to look westward and southward. The primary objective was commercial: finding a way to reach Cathay (China) and other Asian markets. This ambition was fueled by a mix of curiosity, technological advancement in ship design, and religious fervor. For example, Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal sought to divert the gold and ivory trade from Saharan land routes to Portuguese sea lanes, while also harboring Crusader ambitions to strike at Arab power. Henry the Navigator was interested in testing new navigational aids. He also wanted to explore the coast of Africa. His expeditions were sent forth throughout the 15th century. Such expeditions constituted the initial major undertaking during the Age of Discovery.
Major geographical errors characterised this period. Christopher Columbus famously believed that Japan was located only 2,500 nautical miles to the west, a calculation that led him to stumble upon a 'New World' he did not expect to find. From the Norse reaching Vinland to the vast imperial fleets of Zheng He, these voyages transformed the unknown into mapped reality, eventually closing the final blank spaces of the globe through the persistence of explorers like James Cook and Jean-François de La Pérouse. The Norse sailors reached Vinland before Columbus. Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta crossed continents by land. These explorers redrew the shape of the Earth through storms and silence.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Great Explorers – At the Edge of the World | Full 4K Documentary
- Also: European exploration - Age of Discovery, Voyages, Expansion | Britannica
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