Medieval travel and geographical

discoveries

Olenegorsk High School # 22

Maruschack Anastasia Urievna

Medieval travel and

geographical discoveries

Medieval ideas of Europeans about Asia beyond the borders of the Byzantine

Empire were based on separate reports, often overgrown with legends dating back

to the times of the conquests of Alexander the Great and his heirs. Another source

was the radhonites, the Jewish merchants who traded between European and

Muslim civilizations during the times of the Crusader states.

In 1154, the Arab geographer Al-Idrisi, who worked at the court of the Sicilian

King Roger II, wrote comments on the world map known at the time, the Book

of Roger, but Africa was only partially known. Despite the fact that in Europe

they were told about large African states beyond the Sahara, in fact, knowledge

of Europeans was limited to the Mediterranean coast. And after the Arabs

conquered northern Africa, its land research became impossible. Knowledge

about the Atlantic coast of Africa was incomplete, and their sources were mainly

old. Greek and Roman maps based on the knowledge

of the Carthaginians, including the time of the

Roman conquests in Mauritania.

The Europeans knew very little about the Red Sea,

and only the trade relations of the maritime republics,

mainly Venice, filled up the treasury of knowledge

about the sea routes.

By the 15th century, the urban population of

Europe had grown significantly, which led to the

development of handicrafts and trade.

International trade gained momentum. As a result of the Crusades,

there were strong trade relations with the countries of the East, from where

luxury goods and spices were brought to Europe. By this time, the known

deposits of gold and silver were almost depleted, and European states lacked

precious metals for minting coins. In addition, the Mediterranean region was

heavily overcrowded for that time.

In the 15th century, a new type of sailing vessel, the caravel,

appeared. These ships were perfectly suited for long voyages: they

were small in size, had a small crew, but a spacious hold. In

addition, excellent maneuverability was convenient for exploring

unfamiliar coastlines.

New

achievements

have

been

made

in

cartography.

Maps

have

become more accurate, the latitudes, outlines of the coast, the location

of

the

ports

began

to

be

drawn

on

them.

The

compass

and

the

astrolabe

were

used

for

navigation,

the

quality

of

which

was

significantly improved by the 16th century.

The epoch of the Great geographical discoveries was preceded by a number of

European expeditions that crossed Eurasia by land in the late Middle Ages.

Despite the fact that Europe was challenged by a Mongol invasion that

threatened to ruin territories, the Mongolian states were also interested in

trade links across the continent and, from 1206, Pax Mongolica provided

security on trade routes from the Middle East to China.

The Venetian merchant Marco Polo

kept records of his travels in Asia from 1271 to 1295,

described a visit to the courtyard of the Yuan ruler

Kubilai in the “Book of Wonders of the World”,

which all of Europe read.

In 1291, the Vivaldi brothers-merchants made the first attempt to explore

the Atlantic Ocean. They sailed from Genoa on two galleys, they disappeared

off the Moroccan coast, which strengthened the fears of oceanic voyages.

From 1325 to 1354, a Moroccan scholar from Tangier Ibn Battuta

traveled

to

North

Africa,

Southern

Europe,

the

Middle

East

and

Asia,

reaching China. After returning, he dictated a report about his adventures

to a scientist he met in Tunisia.

Routes of Ibn Battutah

In the years 1357-1371 in Europe, the book of John Mandeville about

his

intended

travels

gained

immense

popularity.

Despite

the

extreme

unreliability

and

even

fantastical

descriptions,

it

was

used

to

obtain

general ideas about the East, Egypt and the Levant, confirming the old

belief that Jerusalem is the center of the world.

In 1466-1472, the Russian merchant from Tver, Afanasy Nikitin,

traveled to India, which he described in his book Circulation over Three

Seas.

European overseas expansion led to the contact between the Old and New Worlds.

It started the global silver trade from the 16

th

to 18

th

centuries and led to direct

European involvement the Chinese porcelain trade. It involved the transfer of

goods unique to one hemisphere to another.

The new trans-oceanic links and their domination by the European powers led to

the Age of Imperialism, where European colonial powers came to control most of

the planet. The European appetite for trade, commodities, empire and slaves

greatly affected many other areas of the world.

Christianity replaced older "pagan" rituals, as were new languages, political and

sexual cultures, and in some areas like North America, Australia, New Zealand and

Argentina, the indigenous people were abused and driven off most of their lands,

being reduced to small, dependent minorities.

References

1.

“Overview of Age of Exploration” . Archived from the original on July

9, 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.

2.

Chaudhuri, K.N. Trade and Civilization in the Indian Ocean: An

Economic History from the Rise of Islam to 1750. Cambridge

University Press. p. 64., 1985.

3.

Peter C. Mancall "The Age of Discovery". Reviews in American History,

1998.

4.

Paine, Lincoln The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the

World. New York: Random House, LLC, 2013.

5.

Age of Discovery. From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia.

This presentation is designed to provide each student a basic

understanding of medieval tourism, geographical discoveries, trade

routes.

This presentation will be useful for teachers of English.