Age of Discovery
In popular science, the period from around the 15th to the 18th century is called the Age of Discovery . The epoch is counted in the early modern period and is primarily concerned with the knowledge of seafarers and explorers .
But because most of the "discovered" countries were already settled, the term age of European expansion is also used in historical studies today .
term
“Age of Discoveries” is a working term for the periodization of the history of discovery as a sub-area of world history , more precisely European history.
The use of the term is often narrowed down to the Renaissance era . Particular reference is made to the European expansion overseas, which began with the voyages of Bartolomeu Diaz , Christopher Columbus , Ferdinand Magellan , Jacques Cartier and Francis Drake . Without question, they have had a major impact on the image of the earth. Here comes out of sight, that especially the discoveries in the 18th century (v. A. Through the world travel of James Cook ) significant changes in the world and the idea of the shape of the earth have led. Archaeological discoveries, which significantly influenced the image of classical antiquity , also belonged to this period . The discovery of Pompeii (beginning of excavations in 1748) and the establishment of scientific archeology and art history by Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768) are of particular importance here .
With the discoveries came advances in science and technology; B.
- in cartography and mathematics (see history of cartography ). Mention may be made here, for example Martin Behaim (1459-1507; the first world ) and Gerhard Mercator (1512-1594; and a mathematician.. Geographer and cartographer ).
- in astronomy : improved predictions (e.g. Almanach Perpetuum around 1475) and astronomical ephemeris . Important too
- for navigation of ships. For ocean-going shipping (without a view of the coast), astronomical methods of determining the location were much more important than maps
- in shipbuilding , for example through further development of the caravel . It was much easier to steer with its rudder ( tiller ) than previous ships.
requirements
The discoveries had a number of motives and requirements. Initially, the technical possibilities were given through the construction of ocean-going ships. The improvement of nautical instruments also contributed to this. Wearable watches like the famous Nuremberg Egg are also among them. It came to the development of a world trade (see also: early capitalism ). The trading companies were its bearers. The maritime trade had the largest share of the foreign trade via land routes as the old Silk Road a smaller one.
Some motifs were religious, B. that Christianity should be spread in the New World ( proselytizing ). The major European powers also expected an expansion of their political sphere of influence. This is clear from the overseas colonies, including the Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch and French. The Treaty of Tordesillas from 1494 is an example of this. It regulated the distribution of the discovered countries between Portugal and Spain. However, further development showed its practical ineffectiveness, since other great powers were by no means willing not to participate in the profit from the discoveries. The establishment of the trading companies showed their economic interest in the use of the resources of the discovered areas. The Madrid Treaty was the ultimate consequence of the Tordesillas Treaty, which had become obsolete.
literature
- Rainer Beck (Ed.): 1492, the world at the time of Columbus. A reader . Beck, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-406-34052-0 ( Beck'sche series ; 460).
- Urs Bitterli : Old World - New World. Forms of European-overseas cultural contact from the 15th to the 20th century . Dtv, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-423-04569-8 .
- Daniel J. Boorstin : Discoveries, the human adventure of recognizing oneself and the world ("The discoverers"). Pawlak Verlag, Herrsching 1991, ISBN 3-88199-823-3 (reprint of the Basel 1985 edition).
- Hartmut Elsenhans : History and Economy of the European World Conquest. From the Age of Discovery to the First World War . Universitas-Verlag, Leipzig 2007, ISBN 978-3-86583-192-7 (plus habilitation thesis, FU Berlin 1975).
- Walter Krämer: New Horizons: The Age of Great Discovery . 4th edition. Urania-Verlag, Leipzig 1978 (history of the discoveries of our earth; 3).
- Michael Kraus, Hans Ottomeyer (ed.): Novos mundos. New worlds. Portugal and the Age of Discovery. Sandstein Verlag, Dresden 2007.
- Eberhard Schmitt (Ed.): Documents on the history of European expansion. Beck, Munich 1984 ff. (Multi-volume source work)
