(a) The Turkish invasion made trade in the eastern Mediterranean too risky: With the result, new trade-routes to India and the East, were felt to come in force. ‘Henry the Navigator’, a royal Portuguese became the pioneer in the field of geographical explorations. He started a school for navigators. The sailors were taught how to make use of the Mariner’ Compass and astrolabe. Many voyages were undertaken by his sailors along the coastline of West . They discovered Azores and Maderial Inland and went as far as Sudan and Senegal. Bartholomew Diaz, a Portuguese, reached the southernmost tip of , which came to be called ‘Cape of Good Hope’. In 1497 Vasco-de-Gama, sailed across the Indian Ocean and reached Kerala’ coastal town of Calicut in 1948. Two years later Cabral, a Portuguese Commander discovered Brazil in 1500. The urge of discovering new routes made Vasco-de-Gama discover India, while he went round the ‘Cape of Good Hope’ in 1948. Similarly, Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese nobleman, went round the Globe between 1520 and 1522. Italy became the center of all trade routes. Christopher Columbus was the first to sail across the Atlantic Ocean, taking with him three ships— The Santa Maria, the Nina and Pinta. A voyage of two months led him and his crew members land on the island of Bahamas, which he named San Salvador. He visited Cube and Haiti nearby and he called the people there Indians.He undertook three more sea-voyages and discovered Jamaica, Puerto Rica, Trinidad and the coasts of Venezuela. The coast, which he took for the Coast of Indies, was actually a new continent, which he had discovered unknowingly .Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian adventurer made four voyages to the region visited by Columbus. He gave a detailed description about the land and its people. This New World was named as America after Amerigo Vespucci. Magellan, in September 1519, reached the coast of South America and sailed down towards the south through straits now called Straits of Magellan. Finally, he reached the Philippines. He went ashore with his sailors. The natives attacked and ** him.Hernando Cortezm a Spanish adventurer, made a normal expedition to explore the coast of Central America. He landed the Coast of Mexico. The natives called Aztecs, resisted his advance on their land, but he defeated them, conquering the Azetic Empire for the Spanish King John Cabot, an Italian explorer, was employed by the British King Henry-VII to discover the northwest route across the Atlantic. He reached the Cape Briton Island near Newfoundland. This discovery of the eastern coast of Canada, enabled the British to cliam much of the North Americ. Sir Francis Drake, an English sailor sailed around the globe between 1577 and 1580.
(b) Invention of the Printing Press: In the middle of the 15th century, the invention of printing press played a vital role to enlighten the people on religious grounds. It enabled to produce books in large number. The holy ***** and many other religious and classical books were printed and made available all over Europe.
