GEO 466/566: Middle Ages and the Age of Exploration

GEO 466/566: The Profession of Geography

The Middle Ages and the Age of Exploration

The Middle Ages

The thousand years that followed the fall of Rome are often called the Medieval Period or the Middle Ages (400-1400).

They were a time of diverse events where geography is concerned.

Christian Europe became isolated and somewhat intellectually stagnant
the Muslim world emerged in the Near East, blossomed, and expanded
the Vikings ranged the North Atlantic
the Chinese independently developed their own geographic tradition
most significant of all, however, theory retreated at the expense of practical knowledge in Europe

Christian Europe

Southern Europe, after the fall of Rome, emerged as a stronghold of Christianity.

The net effect of the new theology was that geographical ideas were viewed increasingly in light of Biblical scripture.

Cosmas of Alexandria

Topographia Christiana

One legacy of the Roman era was the widespread use of Latin, a factor that aided the retreat of geography during this period.

this meant that the majority of geographical literature—which was written in Greek—was inaccessible to most readers
most Greek writings were thus forgotten about for many years in Europe

Though no one knows why, mapping skills also seem to have deteriorated during the Middle Ages.

maps became fanciful and lost much of their precision
T-in-O maps are a good, though controversial example

The intellectual "doldrums" of Medieval Europe began ending after about 1100 A.D.

there was mention of the use of the compass by at least 1187, which greatly aided navigation skills
mapping finally began to improve again, though it was practical mapping related to navigation (consider portolano charts)

Muslim Geography

The end of the intellectual stagnation in Christian Europe may have been prompted by an unlikely group—the Muslims of the Near East.

Islam had expanded greatly during the 600s and 700s
developed a solid tradition of geographic thought, including highly accurate description, usually based on travel
important individuals included:
in addition to many of their own geographical ideas, the Muslims gave to Christian Europe the old knowledge of the Greeks

Viking Geography

great travellers and explorers
their findings did little to shape broader European geographical ideas

Chinese Geography

Chinese geography in the Middle Ages was many times more advanced than that in Europe

The Age of Exploration

The key to this new period of investigation and learning that marked the end of the Middle Ages in Europe was exploration or travel. This travel was:

planned and supported by governments and merchant companies
motivated by much more than practical curiosity

Portugal

The first concerted efforts towards exploration came from the most unlikely of places—the small country of Portugal.

The individual responsible for initiating Portuguese exploration was Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460).

in 1418, he established an institute at Sagres in southwestern Portugal
it was staffed by geographers, map-makers, astronomers, mathematicians, and language experts
its purpose was to improve navigational skills so as to allow Portuguese vessels to sail around Africa and reach Asia
many accomplishments:

With some experience, the next step for the Portuguese was to sail down the African coast.

between 1419 and 1433, about 40 separate voyages were launched
in 1434, a skilled mariner named Gil Eannes cleared Cape Bojador
by 1460, the year Prince Henry died, crews had probed the Guinea Coast
by 1473, the Portuguese had crossed the equator
in 1487, Bartholomew Dias reached Africa's southern tip, the Cape of Good Hope
finally, between 1497 and 1499, Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and continued across the Indian Ocean to India
in 1542, the Portuguese reached Japan

Spain

As remarkable as the Portuguese voyages were, they were not the only ones being conducted at this time, for Portugal's Iberian neighbor—Spain—was getting involved in exploration as well.

Spain's greatest achievement in exploration was carried out by Christopher Columbus.

Columbus' basic premise for sailing for Spain was that the East Indies could be reached by sailing west
important to this premise was the circumference of the earth
after finally selling Queen Isabella on his idea, Columbus sailed west in 1492
Columbus thought this land was Asia, and possibly for good reason
in all likelihood, Columbus still believed he had reached Asia when he died in 1506
though his "discovery" was a great mistake, it was possibly the single most important event in world history

Another notable achievement by the Spanish was carried out by Ferdinand Magellan.

though he was Portuguese, he sailed for Spain
he did what Columbus set out to do; he reached the East by sailing west
sailing from Spain in 1519, Magellan
after this voyage, there was never again any doubt that the earth was spherical

With the knowledge gained from these and many other later voyages, Europeans began correcting several longstanding errors or misconceptions.

first, it became clear that the larger circumference estimate of Eratosthenes, and not the smaller one accepted by Ptolemy, was accurate
second, and related to this, it became clear that the lands encountered by Columbus were not Asia
third, there was no great southern continent enclosing the Indian Ocean

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Created by JTK and last revised on 23 September 1996.