The Beginning of the Technical Era of Modern Times Thus began a new stage in world history. The main part of mankind was no longer divided into separate autonomously developing civilizations, but formed a global society of closely interacting countries. In the end, even

People of the Renaissance type were distinguished by their willingness to take on the most difficult tasks. For Europeans, with the fall of Byzantium in 1453, the problem arose of finding new routes to the East, to China and India, since the direct road was blocked by the Turks.

The Europeans began to look for a sea route. This became possible with the advent of the compass in Europe, the creation of new sails that made it possible to tack and sail against the wind. The creation of mechanical clocks was of great importance, which influenced everyday life, the organization of production, scientific experiments and observations, made it possible to navigate in time and appreciate it.

In 1492, the Genoese in the Spanish service Christopher Columbus, relying on his calculations of the "rose of the winds" (the prevailing wind direction) at different times of the year, with the support of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon on the caravels "Santa Maria", "Pinta" and "Nina" reached the shores of America, opened it to Europe and returned back (Figure 2.1).

Columbus Christopher (1451-1506), navigator. Led four Spanish expeditions to find the shortest route to India (1492-1493, 1493-1496, 1498-1500, 1502-1504). The official date of the discovery of America is October 12, 1492, when the ships of Columbus reached Samana Island (Bahamas). Columbus discovered the Sargasso and Caribbean Seas, all the Greater Antilles, several Lesser Antilles and the Bahamas, a small (150 km) section of the South and part (1700 km) of the coast of Central America.

Figure 2.1 - Swimming of Christopher Columbus

The name of Columbus is one of the countries of Latin America - the Republic of Colombia. Columbus erected a number of monuments. On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, a television series was filmed about the life of the great pioneer. Many historians consider the discovery of America the beginning of a new era in the history of mankind and, rounding up, count down to 1500 and after 1500. The expression "discover America" ​​ironically is widely used in everyday speech. The essence of the irony is that in its significance any other discovery is inferior to the accomplishment of Columbus.

In the shadow of Christopher Columbus is another navigator, the chief navigator of Spain, Amerigo Vespucci. He, together with A. Ojeda (1499-1500), discovered 1600 km of the northern and 200 km of the eastern coast of South America, the Gulf of Venezuela and a number of the Lesser Antilles. He independently discovered and mapped the Amazon Delta, the Guiana Current, the northern shores of South America (1500 km) and the Brazilian Highlands. A. Vespucci suggested calling the southern transatlantic continent the New World. But the Lorraine cartographer M. Waldseemuller in 1507 named the mainland America in honor of Vespucci, and in 1538 this name extended to North America.

In 1519, the Portuguese Magellan, on behalf of the Spanish king, made the first circumnavigation of the world. He opened the strait separating the mainland of South America from Tierra del Fuego, called the Strait of Magellan (Figure 2.2). He crossed the Pacific Ocean, reached the Philippine Islands, where he died in battle with the natives. In September 1522, 16 out of 234 travelers returned to Spain. The next trip around the world in 1577-1580 was made by the Englishman Francis Drake, who began as a successful pirate. He received from the queen one thousand pounds sterling and full freedom of action (carte blanche), including the robbery of oncoming ships. During his journey, he discovered a strait 460 long and 1120 kilometers wide between the Tierra del Fuego archipelago and the South Shetland Islands, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and named after him. The Queen received £600,000 of stolen treasure (two annual treasury revenues), which, apparently, allows the English royal family to live quite comfortably to this day. Francis Drake himself can serve as a symbol of a new era. He died a vice-admiral, a member of parliament, a knight and a national hero, since in 1588 he actually commanded the English fleet that defeated the Spanish Invincible Armada. In 1597-1598, the Portuguese Vasco da Gama circled Africa from the south (Cape of Good Hope) and reached India. In the 17th century Australia was discovered.

geographic discovery world economic

Figure 2.2 - Ferdinand Magellan's round-the-world expedition

The great geographical discoveries to a great extent stimulated the development of capitalist relations, the processes of initial capitalist accumulation, the formation of a single world economy.

The result of the influx of huge amounts of gold and silver from the newly discovered territories was only at first the strengthening of the states that equipped the pioneers. Soon, Europe was struck by the "revolution of prices", or rather their growth in most industrial and food products. This, in turn, led to the ruin of social strata with fixed incomes that did not have the resources to maneuver. The impoverishment of nobles, peasants, artisans was accompanied by the enrichment of industrialists, manufacturers and merchants.

The great geographical discoveries (Figure 2.3) stimulated the development of commodity-money relations. In European states, credit is being developed, the monetary system is being transformed (trade in securities is emerging), commodity and stock exchanges are being created, and merchant and usurer's capital is developing.

Figure 2.3 - Map of the great geographical discoveries

An important source of accumulation of funds is the expansion of the scale of forced labor. In England, due to the growing demand for wool, the offensive against the peasantry continued. The peasants were deprived of land, which was fenced off for grazing sheep. The peasants were left without a livelihood, sold their labor for food or perished. The statesman and philosopher Thomas More owns the words that "sheep eat people." By the middle of the XVIII century. the peasantry as a class disappeared in England. Against ruined, unfortunate people in 1547, the "Statute against vagabonds and beggars" was adopted. For the theft of a thing that cost as much as a pig, the death penalty was due by hanging. People who avoided work were flogged and shackled. For unauthorized leaving work for the second time they were turned into life-long slaves and branded. According to some reports, for the XVI century. under Henry VIII (1509-1547) 72 thousand people were executed, and during the reign of his daughter Elizabeth I (1558-1603) over 89 thousand people. For the third attempt to leave the place of forced labor, they were executed as state criminals. Ruined peasants and artisans joined the growing ranks of the English working class.

Even worse was the situation of the population in the colonies. The Spaniards and the Portuguese ruled in Central America. In 1607, the first colony in North America, Virginia, was founded. Not only colonists went to new lands, but black slaves were also exported. In 1517, Emperor Charles V officially approved human trafficking. In 1562, the British began trading slaves in America. From the middle of the XVII century. The slave trade reached a terrifying scale. According to historians, in the XV-XIX centuries. slave traders from Africa took 80 million people. The fact is that the Indians perished en masse at the hands of the conquerors both in armed conflicts and in hard work, for which they were physically insufficiently prepared. Christian morality got along well with the extermination of millions of Indians and the exportation of millions of Africans to work in the American possessions of European monopolies. The plunder of native territories, destruction and the most cruel exploitation, the sweat and blood of the colonies were important sources of the primitive accumulation of capital, the progress of European states.

European countries in their colonies pursued a similar economic policy. Spain, Portugal, Holland, France, England initially transferred proven feudal structures to their colonial possessions. Plantation farms were created in the colonies. They worked for the external market, but with the use of semi-slave labor of the native population.

The economically growing bourgeoisie needed a strong state that could provide for the diverse interests of rich people. Such a state becomes an absolute monarchy. The monarchs, through a system of taxation and loans, supported the development of manufactory production, especially related to meeting the needs of the army and the court. Leaving state taxes at the mercy of private individuals (farming system) is becoming widespread, which leads to the emergence of tax farmers-financiers. Trading companies needed diplomatic, military and financial support. So, in England in the middle of the XVI century. Russian (Moscow), Eastern, Levantine, Guinean, East Indian and other leaders of trade and colonial expansion arose. Manufacturers also needed state assistance in maintaining order in production, in providing enterprises with cheap labor.

In the XVI century. in relation to Europe, one can speak of several large forces with independent, common interests. These are: the weakening feudal class; rapidly growing bourgeoisie; absolute monarchies; masses of ordinary workers and the Catholic Church. It would not be an exaggeration to say that in the context of significant socio-economic changes, the latter caused general irritation.

Any modern person knows that there are six continents on Earth, this number includes North America, South America and Australia. They refer to such a historical phenomenon as the Great Geographical Discoveries. In this article we will briefly analyze them!

Nowadays it is difficult to imagine life without such wonderful places as New Zealand, the Hawaiian Islands. Now almost anyone has the opportunity to visit these parts of the planet for relatively little money. Has it always been like this? Of course not. There was a time when people did not even know about the existence of these places.

Periodization of the Great Geographical Discoveries

If we talk about the definition of the period of the Great geographical discoveries, then they occurred at the end of the 15th - the middle of the 17th century. Let's see why these discoveries are called "Great". This name is due to the fact that they were of particular importance for the fate of our world in general, and Europe in particular.

Great geographical discoveries were made at their own peril and risk, because travelers did not know what exactly awaited them. The only thing they clearly understood was the importance of their wanderings. There were enough reasons. Let's take a closer look at some of them.

The Age of Discovery is divided into two periods:

• The Spanish-Portuguese period (end of the 15th - mid-16th century) The most famous and, of course, the most important of the discoveries in this period were: the discovery of America (the first expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492); the opening of the sea route to India - Vasco da Gamma (1497-1498); F. Magellan's first circumnavigation of the world (1519–1522).
• The period of Russian and Dutch discoveries (mid-16th - mid-17th century). It usually includes: The discovery by the Russians of all of North Asia (from Yermak's campaign to the voyage of Popov-Dezhnev in 1648), the Dutch Pacific expeditions and the discovery of Australia.

Origins of the Great Geographical Discoveries

There were only three main reasons for the Great geographical discoveries. First, they were due to the economic development of Europe. Toward the end of the XV century. European trade with the countries of the East experienced a great crisis. The crisis was due to the fact that a new harsh state appeared in the vast expanses of Asia Minor - the Ottoman Empire.

Therefore, the trade routes of the Mediterranean were completely cut off, because earlier they passed through the disappeared Byzantium. In the XV century. in the countries of Western Europe, people needed gold and silver as a means of circulation, and because of the crisis they felt an acute shortage of it. The nobility, impoverished at that time, was in search of both gold itself and new trade routes. This nobility made up the bulk of the conquerors, who were also called conquistadors. The state, realizing its precarious position, was forced to make concessions and allocate finances for sea expeditions.

Secondly, an important reason for the Great geographical discoveries was the significant success of Europe in science and technology. First of all, the development in the structure of improved ships and also the navigation technique itself. In the XIV-XV centuries. the first caravel was created - a fairly high-speed vessel that had capacious holds.

The importance of the caravel was that it was intended for ocean navigation. From the point of view of science, at the same time, the hypothesis was approved that the Earth has the shape of a ball, which helped in orientation. Geographic maps were rewritten with new introductions, and the compass and astrolabe were greatly improved. All these discoveries were along with, for example, the invention of clocks and chronology. See the article for more details.

Great travelers and their geographical discoveries

Everyone knows that the great Spanish navigator H. Columbus in the 1490s discovered for Europe, America, which was very important and needed at that time. In total, he made four voyages to the "new land". Moreover, his discoveries include: Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the land from Dominica to the Virgin Islands, as well as Trinidad and the wonderful Bahamas. Columbus wanted to discover India. Since long ago in Europe people believed that it was in fabulous India that there was a mass of gold. The beginning of these beliefs, by the way, was laid by the legendary Marco Polo.

But it so happened that Columbus discovered America.

And you will immediately ask: “Then why is America called “America” and not Colombia?! Where is the copyright! I immediately answer: there are persistent rumors that a certain Amerigo Vespucci, one of the clerks of the Medici house (who gave money for sailing across the oceans), discovered the continent of the New World a year and a half earlier than Columbus. Everything seems to be iron, but unfortunately there is no evidence for this. If anyone knows, write in the comments, otherwise we haven’t figured it out with Newton yet 😉 But the country named after Columbus is Colombia.

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We must also not forget about Ferdinand Magellan, who discovered the strait, which was later named after him. He became the first European to travel by sea from the Atlantic to the Pacific. But his most famous trip is around the world. The great Portuguese and Spanish navigator was awarded the title of adelantado, translated as "pioneer", whom the king himself sent to conquer new lands.

But, not only the West participated in new discoveries, Russian expeditions were also quite important. The annexation of Siberia was of great importance at that time. It was started in 1581 by a detachment of the well-known Cossack ataman Yermak Timofeevich. Yermak's campaign, with the help of government approval, contributed to the annexation of Western Siberia to the Russian state. Actually, starting from that time, Siberia and the Far East became colonies of the Muscovite kingdom. These Europeans sailed the seas, died of scurvy and hunger ...., and the Russians "without bothering" found another way.

One of the most significant was the discovery in 1648 of the strait between America and Asia, which was made by Semyon Dezhnev together with Fedot Alekseev (Popov).

Russian ambassadors played a significant role in improving maps and routes. Among the most famous are I.D. Khokhlov and Anisim Gribov. They participated in the description and study of routes to Central Asia.

Consequences of the Great Geographical Discoveries

Geographical discoveries have led to certain world changes. First, there was a “price revolution”. The value plummeted due to the surging flood of gold and silver, which led to an instant rise in prices. This caused new economic problems. Secondly, world trade expanded significantly and began to strengthen.

This was due to new products such as tobacco, coffee, cocoa, tea, rice, sugar and potatoes that Europeans had not heard of before. Due to their inclusion in the trade turnover, the volume of trade has greatly increased. Thirdly, the development of new lands and ocean travel contributed to the strengthening and improvement of international relations. The only negative consequence is the beginning of colonization, everything else, in principle, had a positive effect on the world order.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the progress of mankind depends on many reasons, but the most important is the desire to improve the conditions of existence. Thanks to the Great Geographical Discoveries, new lands were developed, relations between peoples were established, and trade improved over a relatively short time. The era of the VGO went down in history as one of the most important events in the life of mankind.

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© Alexander Chudinov

Editing Andrey Puchkov

As you may have heard, not so long ago people discovered geographic discovery of modern times, under more than four kilometers of Antarctic ice, there are actually lakes! One of these lakes is located directly under the research station "Vostok" and, of course, this lake was given the appropriate name. According to the calculations of scientists, the length of this lake is about 231 meters, and its width is approximately the same as, for example, the area of ​​​​the whole of Northern Ireland! There is less water in Lake Vostok than in the world's largest lake Baikal. Despite the fact that the lake is at least a million years old, the water did not immediately come into contact with the atmosphere. Although the contact of the lake with scientists has not happened so far, because. the lake was found thanks to a radar survey from a special satellite. At the moment, ice drilling has been stopped at a distance of about two hundred and forty meters from the lake.

At the moment, the Russian Foundation for Basic Research has announced a competition, the purpose of which is to select the best project that will allow access to the lake, breaking the centuries-old layer of ice, and taking samples of lake water. The difficulty with sampling is that the lake itself, and water samples taken from it, should not come into any contact with our modern atmosphere. Leading scientists believe that specimens of living organisms hitherto unknown to science can be found in the ancient reservoir, which exist due to the constant flow of atmospheric air into the lake from the lower layer of ice, which came here millions of years ago! Of course, this will be the greatest geographical discovery of the new time! The discovery of the new Lake Vostok took place during the implementation of one large-scale scientific project of drilling an ice well at the site of the Vostok station, which was started back in the distant 70s of the last century. But in the course of this project, another important discovery was made! It is associated with the restoration of the climatic conditions of our planet, their cyclicity, chemical composition, the restoration of the properties of the atmosphere that it had during the formation period of the Antarctic ice, which is already about 450 thousand years old.
I think these discoveries will soon be replaced by others. geographical discoveries of modern times, which will be directly related to the study of Lake Vostok. Scientists around the world have no doubt that soon people, thanks to research conducted in Antarctica, will receive the latest and most accurate data on the climate of our planet, and this, in turn, will lead to even more modern discoveries. They will help us understand many of the challenges of global climate change in our times. The future of such a science as geography is theoretical discoveries, including physical and geographical discoveries that arose as a result of the study of previously uncharacteristic geographic objects for the Earth, for example, landscapes, anthropogenic complexes, economic systems, etc. The future of geography as a science is any theoretical discoveries, including physiographic ones, that may arise in the process of studying geographic objects that were not characteristic of our planet before, namely: cultural landscapes, economic systems, anthropogenic complexes, etc. The most common reason for the formation of new geographical objects is the result of economic activity. Thus, forest parks, and quarries, various landscapes and dumps were formed. It is thanks to the improvement and development of geography as a science, in our modern time, the latest geographical discoveries of the world scale are taking place! Global changes in world knowledge are introduced by the study of such a geographical concept as the ecological potential of landscapes. At the moment, research in this area is just beginning! So, let's hope that the latest geographical discoveries made in the 21st century will change our lives for the better!