Chapter IV

THE AGE OF DISCOVERIES AND EXPLORATIONS

The coming of the west

The Factors that Led to the Colonization of the West to the East

1. The Development of Navigation

King Henry VII, the monarch of Portugal initiated the creation of the school of
navigation and invested for modernization of their ships and equipments that used
for navigation. For his contribution for navigation, the historians called him as the
Father of Navigation. And because of this development they were able to
compete with Spain in the venture to the other parts of the world.

2. The Crusades

the holy war of the Christians to gain back Jerusalem from the Muslim gave way to
the meeting of the East and West . The people in Europe were able to gain
knowledge about the existence of the island in the Eastern part of the world.

3. The Silk Road

The Silk Road during the Han dynasty was the trading route from China up to
Europe. The products of the Chinese like silk, porcelain, jars, jade and spices were
able to reach .Europe and these products added excitement to the Europeans to
launch exploration to the lands in the East .

5. The Book Written by Marco Polo about Cathay or China

Marco Polo was a Venetian traveler who was able to travel to China during the time
of Yuan dynasty. The emperor of the dynasty allowed Marco Polo to travel inside
China because of the good treatment that he had experience in China, he wrote
about the brilliance of the Chinese culture and products . Aside from having an idea
about the products of China, the Europeans gained knowledge about the different
lands in the east.

5. The Expedition of Vasco de Gama to India

The expedition of the Portuguese Vasco de Gama was known as the father of all
navigations since the next navigators followed his routes and the map that he made
in going to the East. He reached Calicut. India and successfully returned to Portugal.

6. The Rise of Mercantilism

Mercantilism was the principle wherein the basis of the power of a country was the
amount of gold that they have. And since the Europeans believed that exploration
of the lands in the east.

The Reason of Colonization

The reason of colonization of the two competing countries in the early 1500s, Spain
and Portugal could be summarized into three Gs, God. They wanted to spread
Catholicism in the east, G, the Glory, because having a colony gives glory to them
and G for Gold because of Mercantilism.

The Voyage of Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese who gave his service to the king of Spain
when King Carlos I of Portugal rejected his suggestion. In 1518, together with his
father in law Diego Balbosa , he was able to convince King Charles V that they could
reach the East using the route of the West. The Spanish Expedition could not use
the route of the East since 1494. The two countries agreed in the Treaty of
Tordesillas . Which divided the world into two, the western part was for Spaniards
and the eastern part was for Portugal. And this treaty was followed by the Papal Bull
of 1493 which used the 370 leagues to divide the world for Portugal and Spain.

In September 20.1519 , the troops of Magellan left San Lucas .Spain with ffive ships
named Victoria, Santiago, Trinidad ,Conception and san Antonio with 235 men .
when they reach Rio de Janiero ,the troops in one shiphad rebellion and chose to
return to spain and in the southern part of Latin America trhree ships ,they finally
reached Guam in March 1,1521 .however the inhabitants march 16,1521 they
reached the island of Homonhon in Samar