Although galleys were fast and manoeuvrable, they were designed for use in the confined waters of the Mediterranean, and were unstable and inefficient in the open ocean. Prior to the fifteenth century Spain and Portugal largely relied on a ship known as the galley. The early explorations of Spain and Portugal were particularly aided by new ship designs. The improved naval techniques that developed then allowed Europeans to travel further afield, to India and, ultimately, to the Americas. The earliest explorations, round the coast of West Africa, were designed to bypass the trade routes that brought gold across the Sahara Desert. The explorers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries had a variety of motivations, but were frequently motivated by the prospects of trade and wealth. These explorations were frequently connected to conquest and missionary work, as the states of Europe attempted to increase their influence, both in political and religious terms, throughout the world. These explorations increased European knowledge of the wider world, particularly in relation to sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas. The Atlantic states of Spain and Portugal were foremost in this enterprise though other countries, notably England and the Netherlands, also took part. The Spanish Empire.ĭuring the fifteenth and the sixteenth century the states of Europe began their modern exploration of the world with a series of sea voyages.
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