Question

What were the voyages of discovery? give a long ans ​

Answer 1

Answer:

Ancient Roman and Greek civilisations had trade contacts with the east. The Portuguese and Spanish traders of the 15th and 16th centuries were trying to establish trade links to gain access to the ‘exotic products from the East'. Accounts of merchants like Marco Polo who had travelled extensively kindled interest in European sailors to travel the world. Cotton, silk, precious stones and spices from places like Persia, India and China were in high demand as early as the 1250s. There were land routes through Central Asia , but overland trade was risky and expensive. European trade links suffered when the Ottomon Empire took control of Constantinople in 1453. Trade links to two important regions — North Africa and Red Sea — were also blocked.

Explanation:

In this era of globalisation, you might find it hard to believe that there was a time when people feared to venture across the seas and had very little idea of far off countries and continents. Unknown lands and dark regions on maps fascinated early mariners who set sail to explore the world.

Expeditions by European sailors to Africa, the Arab countries, the Americas and South East Asia were fuelled by interests to establish trade routes which later paved the way for colonisation and the imperial struggle to gain control over these lands.

Such expeditions began in the early 15{+t}{+h} century and continued into the 17{+t}{+h} century. The Portuguese and the Spanish pioneered the discovery of new trade-routes by sea. Apart from the prospects of trade and wealth, the spirit of renaissance to learn and understand new things also spurred an interest in these expeditions. Missionaries too, who were eager to increase the spread of religion, encouraged these efforts. This period, termed as the Age of Discovery, gave way to the colonial era.