Great geographical discoveries. Geographical discoveries Geography table travelers discoveries

The era of great geographical discoveries had a huge impact on the development of all mankind. The discovery of new lands, trade routes and more convenient sea routes made it possible to develop trade and public relations between countries and continents, develop many sciences, and expand people's understanding of the structure of the world.

Prerequisites for great geographical discoveries

Throughout history, many geographical discoveries have been made, but only those made at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries entered world history as Great ones. This is explained by the fact that neither before nor after this period no one managed to repeat the success of the medieval discoverers and make such large-scale discoveries.

At the turn of the 15th-16th centuries, brave sailors managed to open previously unknown lands to the entire Western world - South Africa and America, find new routes to Japan, China, Indonesia, sail across the Pacific Ocean, and conquer harsh polar waters.

Rice. 1. Sea travel.

Travelers of that time had not only the desire to make discoveries, but also all the means to achieve their goal:

• fast sailing ships;
• instruments that helped navigate long sea voyages;
• special navigation charts that made it easier to plot courses on the open sea or ocean.

The main reason for making new geographical discoveries was the increased need for new goods, raw materials, and more convenient and shorter trade routes.

Western merchants and industrialists saw the possibility of easy enrichment by robbing rich peoples from distant countries. India seemed to many to be such a magical country, the free and safe route to which ran only through the Atlantic Ocean.

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Rice. 2. Indian goods.

Products from India have been extremely popular in Europe since ancient times. However, there were no direct trade routes with this exotic country: there were hostile states on the way to India, and trade was carried out through numerous intermediaries. Indian spices, fabrics, gold, and jewelry attracted European travelers like a magnet.

Great geographical discoveries

The Portuguese were the first on the path to great geographical discoveries. They were quickly joined by the Spaniards and the British, who also made desperate attempts in search of new rich lands.

However, great geographical discoveries were made not only by European navigators. There were many brave pioneers in Russia who opened the vast expanses of Siberia and the Far East to the world.

Table “Great Geographical Discoveries”

Consequences of great geographical discoveries

New, previously unexplored lands, inhabited by completely unfamiliar peoples, seas and endless oceans amazed the imagination and opened up great opportunities that had previously been impossible to dream of.

Rice. 3. Discovery of America.

The most important consequences of great discoveries include:

• Development of relations and strengthening of ties between different states.
• Development of trade and industry.
• The beginning of the era of colonialism.
• Artificial interruption of Indian civilizations in the New World.
• A leap in the development of natural sciences.
• Establishment of modern continental contours.

What have we learned?

When studying the topic “Table “Great Geographical Discoveries”” according to the 7th grade history program, we learned what period the great geographical discoveries belong to and why they went down in history under that name. We found out which travelers made the most significant discoveries, and what role they played in the history of mankind.

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It is of great importance in the history of mankind. Most of the usual goods and food products simply would not exist in our market today without these two centuries.

Background

The Age of Discovery is the period from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries AD. The term came about because of the intense exploration and expansion that occurred over two hundred years. At this time, the countries of Western Europe and the Muscovite kingdom significantly expanded their possessions by including new territories.

Sometimes lands were bought, less often they were simply settled, more often they had to be conquered.

Today, scientists believe that the main reason that caused the surge in such expeditions was competition in finding a shortcut to India. At the end of the Middle Ages, the opinion spread in Western European countries that this was a very rich state.

After the Portuguese began to bring spices, gold, fabrics and jewelry from there, Castile, France and other countries began to look for alternative routes. The Crusades no longer provided sufficient financial satisfaction, so there was a need to open new markets.

Portuguese expeditions

As we said earlier, the Age of Discovery began with the first expeditions of the Portuguese. While exploring the Atlantic coast of Africa, they reached the Cape of Good Hope and entered the Indian Ocean. Thus the sea route to India was opened.

Before this, several important events occurred that led to such an expedition. In 1453, Constantinople fell. Muslims captured one of the most important Christian shrines. From now on, the path of European merchants to the east - to China and India - was blocked.

But without the ambitions of the Portuguese crown, perhaps the era of great geographical discoveries would never have begun. King Afonso V began searching for Christian states in southern Africa. At that time, there was an opinion that beyond the lands of the Muslims, beyond Morocco, the forgotten Christian peoples began.

This is how the Cape Verde islands were discovered in 1456, and a decade later they began to develop the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. Today it is the Ivory Coast.

The year 1488 marked the beginning of the Age of Discovery. Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Storms (later renamed the Cape of Good Hope by the king) and dropped anchor on the Pacific coast.

Thus, a bypass route to India was opened. The only problem for the Portuguese was that the journey took a year. For the rest of the monarchs, the discovery became a thorn, since, according to the papal bull, it was Portugal that monopolized it.

Discovery of America

Many believe that the era of great geographical discoveries began with the discovery of America. However, this was already the second stage.

The fifteenth century was a rather difficult period for the two parts of modern Spain. Then these were separate kingdoms - Castile and Aragon. The first, in particular, was at that time the most powerful Mediterranean monarchy. It included the territories of southern France, southern Italy, several islands and part of the coast of North Africa.

However, the reconquista process and the war with the Arabs significantly distanced the country from geographical research. The main reason that the Castilians began to finance Christopher Columbus was the outbreak of confrontation with Portugal. This country, due to the opening of the route to India, received a monopoly on maritime trade.

In addition, there was a skirmish over the Canary Islands.

By the time Columbus got tired of persuading the Portuguese to equip an expedition, Castile was ready for such an adventure.

Three caravels reached the Caribbean islands. During the first campaign, San Salvador, part of Haiti and Cuba were discovered. Later, several ships of workers and soldiers were transported. Initial plans for mountains of gold failed. Therefore, the systematic colonization of the population began. But we will talk about this later, when we talk about the conquistadors.

Indian Ocean

After the return of Columbus's first expedition, a diplomatic solution to the division of spheres of influence begins. To avoid conflict, the Pope issues a document defining Portuguese and Spanish possessions. But Juan II was dissatisfied with the decree. According to the bull, he was losing the newly discovered lands of Brazil, which were then considered the island of Vera Cruz.

Therefore, in 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed between the Castilian and Portuguese crowns. The border was two hundred and seventy leagues from Cape Verde. Everything to the east went to Portugal, everything to the west went to Spain.

The era of great geographical discoveries continued with expeditions in the Indian Ocean. In May 1498, Vasco da Gama's ships reached the southwestern coast of India. Today it is the state of Kerala.

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the islands of Madagascar, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka were discovered. The Portuguese gradually developed new markets.

Pacific Ocean

As we mentioned earlier, the era of great geographical discoveries began with the search for a sea route to India. However, after Vasco da Gama's ships reached its coast, European expansion into the countries of the Far East began.

Here, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Portuguese discovered the markets of the Philippines, China and Japan.

At the other end of the Pacific Ocean at this time, Balboa crosses the Isthmus of Panama and becomes the first Spaniard to see the “other sea.”

The next inevitable step was the exploration of new spaces, which led to the first circumnavigation of the Magellan expedition in 1519 - 1522.

Conquistadors

The navigators of the era of great geographical discoveries were not only engaged in the development of new lands. Often the pioneers were followed by waves of adventurers, entrepreneurs, and settlers in search of a better life.

After Christopher Columbus first set foot on the shores of one of the Caribbean islands, thousands of people crossed to the New World. The main reason was the misconception that they had reached India. But after expectations of treasures were not met, Europeans began to colonize the territories.

Juan de Leon, sailing from Costa Rica, discovered the coast of Florida in 1508. Hernan Cortes, on the orders of Velazquez, left Santiago de Cuba, where he was mayor, with a flotilla of eleven ships and five hundred soldiers. He needed to conquer the natives of Yucatan. There, as it turned out, there were two fairly powerful states - the Aztec and Mayan empires.

In August 1521, Cortés captured Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, and renamed it Mexico City. From now on, the empire became part of Spain.

New trade routes

The Age of Great Geographical Discovery gave Western Europe unexpected economic opportunities. New markets were opened, territories appeared from where treasures and slaves were imported for next to nothing.

Colonization of the western and eastern coasts of Africa, the Asian coast of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific territories allowed once small states to become world empires.

Japan, Philippines, China are open to European traders. The Portuguese even got their first colony there - Macau.

But the most important thing was that during the expansion to the west and east, expeditions began to meet. Ships sailing from modern Chile reached the coasts of Indonesia and the Philippines.

Thus, it was finally proven that our planet has the shape of a ball.

Gradually, sailors mastered the movement of the trade winds, the Gulf Stream. New ship models appeared. As a result of colonization, plantation farms were formed where slave labor was used.

Australia

The era of great geographical discoveries was marked not only by the search for a route to India. In short, humanity has begun to become acquainted with the planet. Once most of the coasts were known, only one question remained. What lurks in the south so massive that the northern continents do not outweigh it?

According to Aristotle, there was a certain continent - incognita terra australis ("unknown southern land").

After several erroneous reports, the Dutchman Janszoon finally landed in modern Queensland in 1603.

And in the forties of the seventeenth century, Abel Tasman discovered Tasmania and New Zealand.

Conquest of Siberia

The era of great geographical discoveries was marked not only by the exploration of America, Africa and Australia. A table of trophies and a map of the surrounding area of ​​Lake Baikal speak of important discoveries made by Russian Cossacks.

So, in 1577, Ataman Ermak, financed by the Stroganovs, went to the east of Siberia. During the campaign, he inflicts a heavy defeat on the Siberian Khan Kuchum, but ultimately dies in one of the battles.

However, his case was not forgotten. Since the seventeenth century, after the end of the Time of Troubles, the systematic colonization of these lands began.

The Yenisei is being explored. Lena, Angara. In 1632, Yakutsk was founded. Subsequently, it will become the most important transit point on the way to the east.

In 1639, Ivan Moskvitin's expedition reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Kamchatka began to be developed only in the eighteenth century.

Results of the era of great geographical discoveries

The significance of the Age of Great Geographical Discovery is difficult to overestimate.

First, there was a food revolution. Plants such as corn, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, pineapples and others came to Western Europe. A culture of drinking coffee and tea appears, and people take up smoking.

Precious metals from the New World quickly flooded the markets of “old Europe.” With the emergence of a large number of colonies comes the era of imperialism.

In Western European countries, some trading houses are declining and others are rising. The Netherlands owe its rise to the era of geographical discoveries. In the sixteenth century, Antwerp became the main transshipment port for goods from Asia and America to other European countries.

Thus, in this article we have dealt with the course of geographical discoveries over the course of two hundred years. We talked about different directions of expeditions, learned the names of famous navigators, as well as the time of discovery of some coasts and islands.

Good luck and new discoveries to you, dear readers!

The great geographical discoveries are the most important period in human history from the late 15th to the mid-16th centuries. The brave discoverers of Spain and Portugal opened up new lands to the Western world, thereby ushering in the development of new trade routes and connections between continents.

The beginning of the period of great geographical discoveries

Throughout the existence of the human race, many important discoveries were made, but only those that took place in the 16th and 17th centuries were included in history under the name “great”. The fact is that neither before this period of time, nor after it, none of the travelers and researchers were able to repeat the success of the medieval discoverers.

Geographical discovery is understood as the discovery of new, previously unknown geographical objects or patterns. This could be a part of the earth or an entire continent, a water basin or strait, the existence of which on Earth cultural humanity did not suspect.

Rice. 1. Middle Ages.

But why did the Great Geographical Discoveries become possible precisely between the 15th and 17th centuries?

• active development of various crafts and trade;
• the growth of European cities;
• the need for precious metals - gold and silver;
• development of technical sciences and knowledge;
• serious discoveries in navigation, the emergence of the most important navigation instruments - the astrolabe and compass;
• development of cartography.

The catalyst for the Great Geographical Discoveries was the unfortunate fact that Constantinople in the Middle Ages came under the rule of the Ottoman Turks, who prevented direct trade between European powers and India and China.

Great travelers and their geographical discoveries

If we consider the periodization of the Great Geographical Discoveries, the first to give the Western world new routes and limitless opportunities were the Portuguese navigators. The British, Spaniards and Russians, who also saw great prospects in the conquest of new lands, did not lag behind them. Their names will forever go down in the history of navigation.

• Bartolomeu Dias - a Portuguese navigator who, in 1488, in search of a convenient route to India, circumnavigated Africa, discovered the Cape of Good Hope and became the first European to find himself in the waters of the Indian Ocean.
• - it is with his name that the discovery of an entire continent - America - is associated in 1492.

Rice. 2. Christopher Columbus.

• Vasco da Gama - commander of the Portuguese expedition, who in 1498 managed to establish a direct trade route from Europe to Asia.

For several years, from 1498 to 1502, Christopher Columbus, Alonso Ojeda, Amerigo Vespucci and many other navigators from Spain and Portugal carefully explored the northern coast of South America. However, acquaintance with the Western conquerors did not bring anything good to the local residents - in pursuit of easy money, they behaved extremely aggressively and cruelly.

• Vasca Nunens Balboa - in 1513, a brave Spaniard was the first to cross the Isthmus of Panama and open the Pacific Ocean.
• Ferdinand Magellan - the first person in history who, in 1519-1522, traveled around the world, thereby proving that the Earth is spherical.
• Abel Tasman - discovered Australia and New Zealand to the Western world in 1642-1643.
• Semyon Dezhnev - Russian traveler and explorer who was able to find the strait connecting Asia with North America.

Results of the Great Geographical Discoveries

Great geographical discoveries significantly accelerated the transition from the Middle Ages to the New Age, with its most important achievements and the flourishing of most European states.

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Humanity looked at the world around us differently, and new horizons opened up for scientists. This contributed to the development of natural sciences, which could not but affect the general standard of living.

The conquest of new lands by Europeans led to the formation and strengthening of colonial empires, which became a powerful raw material base of the Old World. There was cultural exchange between civilizations in various areas, there was a movement of animals, plants, diseases and even entire peoples.

Rice. 3. Colonies of the New World.

Geographical discoveries continued after the 17th century, which made it possible to create a complete map of the world.

What have we learned?

When studying the topic “Great Geographical Discoveries” in the 6th grade geography program, we learned briefly about the great geographical discoveries and their significance in world history. We also made a brief overview of the greatest personalities who managed to make important discoveries in the geography of the Earth.

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Afanasy Nikitin is a Russian traveler, Tver merchant and writer. Traveled from Tvrea to Persia and India (1468-1474). On the way back I visited the African coast (Somalia), Muscat and Turkey. Nikitin’s travel notes “Walking across Three Seas” are a valuable literary and historical monument. Marked by the versatility of his observations, as well as his religious tolerance, unusual for the Middle Ages, combined with devotion to the Christian faith and his native land.

Semyon Dezhnev (1605 -1673)

An outstanding Russian navigator, explorer, traveler, explorer of Northern and Eastern Siberia. In 1648, Dezhnev was the first among the famous European navigators (80 years earlier than Vitus Bering) to navigate the Bering Strait, which separates Alaska from Chukotka. A Cossack ataman and fur trader, Dezhnev actively participated in the development of Siberia (Dezhnev himself married a Yakut woman, Abakayada Syuchyu).

Grigory Shelikhov (1747 - 1795)

Russian industrialist who conducted geographical exploration of the northern Pacific Islands and Alaska. Founded the first settlements in Russian America. The strait between the island is named after him. Kodiak and the North American continent, a bay in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, a city in the Irkutsk region and a volcano in the Kuril Islands. The remarkable Russian merchant, geographer and traveler, nicknamed by G. R. Derzhavin “Russian Columbus”, was born in 1747 in the city of Rylsk, Kursk province, into a bourgeois family. Overcoming the space from Irkutsk to the Lama (Okhotsk) Sea became his first journey. In 1781, Shelikhov created the North-East Company, which in 1799 was transformed into the Russian-American Trading Company.

Dmitry Ovtsyn (1704 - 1757)

Russian hydrographer and traveler, led the second of the detachments of the Great Northern Expedition. He made the first hydrographic inventory of the Siberian coast between the mouths of the Ob and Yenisei. Discovered the Gydan Bay and the Gydan Peninsula. Participated in the last voyage of Vitus Bering to the shores of North America. A cape and an island in the Yenisei Bay bear his name. Dmitry Leontyevich Ovtsyn had been in the Russian fleet since 1726, took part in the first voyage of Vitus Bering to the shores of Kamchatka, and by the time the expedition was organized he had risen to the rank of lieutenant. The significance of Ovtsyn’s expedition, as well as the rest of the detachments of the Great Northern Expedition, is extremely great. Based on the inventories compiled by Ovtsyn, maps of the places he explored were prepared until the beginning of the 20th century.

Ivan Krusenstern (1770 - 1846)

Russian navigator, admiral, led the first Russian round-the-world expedition. For the first time he mapped most of the coastline of the island. Sakhalin. One of the founders of the Russian Geographical Society. The strait in the northern part of the Kuril Islands, the passage between the island, bears his name. Tsushima and the islands of Iki and Okinoshima in the Korea Strait, islands in the Bering Strait and the Tuamotu archipelago, a mountain on Novaya Zemlya. On June 26, 1803, the ships Neva and Nadezhda left Kronstadt and headed for the shores of Brazil. This was the first passage of Russian ships to the southern hemisphere. On August 19, 1806, while staying in Copenhagen, the Russian ship was visited by a Danish prince who wished to meet with Russian sailors and listen to their stories. The first Russian circumnavigation was of great scientific and practical importance and attracted the attention of the whole world. Russian navigators corrected English maps, which were then considered the most accurate, in many points.

Thaddeus Bellingshausen (1778 - 1852)

Thaddeus Bellingshausen is a Russian navigator, participant in the first Russian circumnavigation of I. F. Kruzenshtern. Leader of the first Russian Antarctic expedition to discover Antarctica. Admiral. The sea off the coast of Antarctica, the underwater basin between the continental slopes of Antarctica and South America, islands in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and the Aral Sea, the first Soviet polar station on the island bear his name. King George in the South Shetland Islands archipelago. The future discoverer of the southern polar continent was born on September 20, 1778 on the island of Ezel near the city of Arensburg in Livonia (Estonia).

Fyodor Litke (1797-1882)

Fyodor Litke - Russian navigator and geographer, count and admiral. Leader of the round-the-world expedition and research on Novaya Zemlya and the Barents Sea. Discovered two groups of islands in the Caroline chain. One of the founders and leaders of the Russian Geographical Society. Litke's name is given to 15 points on the map. Litke led the nineteenth Russian round-the-world expedition for hydrographic studies of little-known areas of the Pacific Ocean. Litke's journey was one of the most successful in the history of Russian voyages around the world and was of great scientific importance. The exact coordinates of the main points of Kamchatka were determined, the islands were described - Caroline, Karaginsky, etc., the Chukotka coast from Cape Dezhnev to the mouth of the river. Anadyr. The discoveries were so important that Germany and France, arguing over the Caroline Islands, turned to Litke for advice on their location.

Travel has always attracted people, but before it was not only interesting, but also extremely difficult. The territories were unexplored, and when setting off, everyone became an explorer. Which travelers are the most famous and what exactly did each of them discover?

James Cook

The famous Englishman was one of the best cartographers of the eighteenth century. He was born in the north of England and by the age of thirteen began to work with his father. But the boy turned out to be incapable of trading, so he decided to take up sailing. In those days, all the famous travelers of the world went to distant lands by ship. James became interested in maritime affairs and rose through the ranks so quickly that he was offered to become a captain. He refused and went to the Royal Navy. Already in 1757, the talented Cook began to steer the ship himself. His first achievement was drawing up the river fairway. He discovered his talent as a navigator and cartographer. In the 1760s he explored Newfoundland, which attracted the attention of the Royal Society and the Admiralty. He was entrusted with a journey across the Pacific Ocean, where he reached the shores of New Zealand. In 1770, he accomplished something that other famous travelers had not achieved before - he discovered a new continent. Cook returned to England in 1771 as the famous pioneer of Australia. His last journey was an expedition in search of a passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Today, even schoolchildren know the sad fate of Cook, who was killed by cannibal natives.

Christopher Columbus

Famous travelers and their discoveries have always had a significant influence on the course of history, but few turned out to be as famous as this man. Columbus became a national hero of Spain, decisively expanding the map of the country. Christopher was born in 1451. The boy quickly achieved success because he was diligent and studied well. Already at the age of 14 he went to sea. In 1479, he met his love and began life in Portugal, but after the tragic death of his wife, he and his son went to Spain. Having received the support of the Spanish king, he set out on an expedition whose goal was to find a route to Asia. Three ships sailed from the coast of Spain to the west. In October 1492 they reached the Bahamas. This is how America was discovered. Christopher mistakenly decided to call the local residents Indians, believing that he had reached India. His report changed history: the two new continents and many islands discovered by Columbus became the main focus of colonial voyages over the next few centuries.

Vasco da Gama

The most famous traveler of Portugal was born in the city of Sines on September 29, 1460. From a young age he worked in the navy and became famous as a confident and fearless captain. In 1495, King Manuel came to power in Portugal, who dreamed of developing trade with India. For this, a sea route was needed, in search of which Vasco da Gama had to go. There were more famous sailors and travelers in the country, but for some reason the king chose him. In 1497, four ships sailed south, rounded and sailed to Mozambique. They had to stop there for a month - half the team by that time was suffering from scurvy. After the break, Vasco da Gama reached Calcutta. In India, he established trade relations for three months, and a year later returned to Portugal, where he became a national hero. The discovery of a sea route that made it possible to get to Calcutta along the east coast of Africa was his main achievement.

Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay

Famous Russian travelers also made many important discoveries. For example, the same Nikolai Mikhlukho-Maclay, born in 1864 in the Novgorod province. He was unable to graduate from St. Petersburg University, as he was expelled for participating in student demonstrations. To continue his education, Nikolai went to Germany, where he met Haeckel, a natural scientist who invited Miklouho-Maclay to his scientific expedition. This is how the world of wanderings opened up for him. His whole life was devoted to travel and scientific work. Nikolai lived in Sicily, Australia, studied New Guinea, implementing a project of the Russian Geographical Society, and visited Indonesia, the Philippines, the Malacca Peninsula and Oceania. In 1886, the natural scientist returned to Russia and proposed to the emperor to found a Russian colony overseas. But the project with New Guinea did not receive royal support, and Miklouho-Maclay became seriously ill and soon died without completing his work on the travel book.

Ferdinand Magellan

Many famous navigators and travelers lived during the era of the Great Magellan is no exception. In 1480 he was born in Portugal, in the city of Sabrosa. Having gone to serve at court (at that time he was only 12 years old), he learned about the confrontation between his native country and Spain, about travel to the East Indies and trade routes. This is how he first became interested in the sea. In 1505, Fernand got on a ship. For seven years after that, he roamed the seas and took part in expeditions to India and Africa. In 1513, Magellan traveled to Morocco, where he was wounded in battle. But this did not curb his thirst for travel - he planned an expedition for spices. The king rejected his request, and Magellan went to Spain, where he received all the necessary support. Thus began his journey around the world. Fernand thought that from the west the route to India might be shorter. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean, reached South America and opened a strait that would later be named after him. became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. He used it to reach the Philippines and almost reached his goal - the Moluccas, but died in a battle with local tribes, wounded by a poisonous arrow. However, his journey revealed a new ocean to Europe and the understanding that the planet was much larger than scientists had previously thought.

Roald Amundsen

The Norwegian was born at the very end of an era in which many famous travelers became famous. Amundsen became the last of the explorers trying to find undiscovered lands. Since childhood, he was distinguished by perseverance and self-confidence, which allowed him to conquer the South Geographic Pole. The beginning of the journey is connected with 1893, when the boy dropped out of university and got a job as a sailor. In 1896 he became a navigator, and the following year he set off on his first expedition to Antarctica. The ship was lost in the ice, the crew suffered from scurvy, but Amundsen did not give up. He took command, cured the people, remembering his medical training, and led the ship back to Europe. Having become a captain, in 1903 he set out to search for the Northwest Passage off Canada. Famous travelers before him had never done anything like this - in two years the team covered the path from the east of the American continent to its west. Amundsen became famous throughout the world. The next expedition was a two-month trip to the Southern Plus, and the last enterprise was the search for Nobile, during which he went missing.

David Livingston

Many famous travelers are associated with sailing. He became a land explorer, namely the African continent. The famous Scot was born in March 1813. At age 20, he decided to become a missionary, met Robert Moffett and wanted to go to African villages. In 1841, he came to Kuruman, where he taught local residents how to farm, served as a doctor, and taught literacy. There he learned the Bechuana language, which helped him in his travels around Africa. Livingston studied in detail the life and customs of the local residents, wrote several books about them and went on an expedition in search of the sources of the Nile, in which he fell ill and died of a fever.

Amerigo Vespucci

The world's most famous travelers most often came from Spain or Portugal. Amerigo Vespucci was born in Italy and became one of the famous Florentines. He received a good education and trained as a financier. From 1490 he worked in Seville, in the Medici trade mission. His life was connected with sea travel, for example, he sponsored Columbus's second expedition. Christopher inspired him with the idea of ​​​​trying himself as a traveler, and already in 1499 Vespucci went to Suriname. The purpose of the voyage was to explore the coastline. There he opened a settlement called Venezuela - little Venice. In 1500 he returned home, bringing 200 slaves. In 1501 and 1503 Amerigo repeated his travels, acting not only as a navigator, but also as a cartographer. He discovered the bay of Rio de Janeiro, the name of which he gave himself. From 1505 he served the king of Castile and did not participate in campaigns, only equipped other people’s expeditions.

Francis Drake

Many famous travelers and their discoveries benefited humanity. But among them there are also those who left behind a bad memory, since their names were associated with rather cruel events. The English Protestant, who sailed on a ship from the age of twelve, was no exception. He captured locals in the Caribbean, sold them into slavery to the Spaniards, attacked ships and fought with Catholics. Perhaps no one could match Drake in the number of captured foreign ships. His campaigns were sponsored by the Queen of England. In 1577, he went to South America to defeat the Spanish settlements. During the journey, he found Tierra del Fuego and a strait, which was later named after him. Having sailed around Argentina, Drake plundered the port of Valparaiso and two Spanish ships. Having reached California, he met the natives who presented the British with gifts of tobacco and bird feathers. Drake crossed the Indian Ocean and returned to Plymouth, becoming the first British person to circumnavigate the world. He was admitted to the House of Commons and awarded the title of Sir. In 1595 he died on his last trip to the Caribbean.

Afanasy Nikitin

Few famous Russian travelers have achieved the same heights as this native of Tver. Afanasy Nikitin became the first European to visit India. He traveled to the Portuguese colonialists and wrote “Walking across the Three Seas” - a most valuable literary and historical monument. The success of the expedition was ensured by the career of a merchant: Afanasy knew several languages ​​and knew how to negotiate with people. On his journey, he visited Baku, lived in Persia for about two years and reached India by ship. After visiting several cities in an exotic country, he went to Parvat, where he stayed for a year and a half. After the province of Raichur, he headed to Russia, laying a route through the Arabian and Somali peninsulas. However, Afanasy Nikitin never made it home, because he fell ill and died near Smolensk, but his notes were preserved and provided the merchant with world fame.