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PAGE BELIEFS AS TO THE WORLD FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO . . 9 MARCO POLO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 COLUMBUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 VASCO DA GAMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 JOHN AND SEBASTIAN CABOT'S VOYAGES . . . . . . . . 44 AMERIGO VESPUCCI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 PONCE DE LEON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 BALBOA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 MAGELLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 HERNANDO CORTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 FRANCISCO PIZARRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 FERDINAND DE SOTO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 THE GREAT RIVER AMAZON, AND EL DORADO . . . . . . 92 VERRAZZANO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 THE FAMOUS VOYAGE OF SIR FRANCIS DRAKE--1577 . . . 108 HENRY HUDSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS.
BELIEFS AS TO THE WORLD FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
Four hundred years ago most of the people who lived in Europe thought that the earth was flat. They knew only the land that was near them. They knew the continent of Europe, a small part of Asia, and a strip along the northern shore of Africa.
They thought this known land was surrounded by a vast body of water that was like a broad river. Sailors were afraid to venture far upon this water, for they feared they would fall over the edge of the earth.
Other seafaring men believed that if they should sail too far out upon this water their vessels would be lost in a fog, or that they would suddenly begin to slide downhill, and would never be able to return. Wind gods and storm gods, too, were supposed to dwell upon this mysterious sea. Men believed that these wind and storm gods would be very angry with any one who dared to enter their domain, and that in their wrath they would hurl the ships over the edge of the earth, or keep them wandering round and round in a circle, in the mist and fog.
It is no wonder that the name "Sea of Darkness" was given to this great body of water, which we now know to be the Atlantic Ocean; nor is it surprising that the sailors feared to venture far out upon it.
These sailors had no dread at all of a sea called the Mediterranean, upon which they made voyages without fear of danger. This sea was named the Mediterranean because it was supposed to be in the middle of the land that was then known. On this body of water the sailors were very bold, fighting, robbing, and plundering strangers and foes, without any thought of fear.
They sailed through this sea eastward to Constantinople, their ships being loaded with metals, woods, and pitch. These they traded for silks, cashmeres, dyewoods, spices, perfumes, precious stones, ivory, and pearls. All of these things were brought by caravan from the far Eastern countries, as India, China, and Japan, to the cities on the east coast of the Mediterranean.
This caravan journey was a very long and tiresome one. Worse than this, the Turks, through whose country the caravans passed, began to see how valuable this trade was, and they sent bands of robbers to prevent the caravans from reaching the coast.
As time went on, these land journeys grew more difficult and more dangerous, until the traders saw that the day would soon come when they would be entirely cut off from traffic with India and the rich Eastern countries. The Turks would secure all their profitable business. So the men of that time tried to think of some other way of reaching the East.
Among those who wished to find a short route to India was Prince Henry of Portugal, a bold navigator as well as a studious and thoughtful man. He was desirous of securing the rich Indian trade for his own country. So he established a school for navigators at Lisbon, and gathered around him many men who wanted to study about the sea.
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