Important geographical discoveries events in the world. Great geographical discoveries: causes, events, consequences

By the 15th century, prerequisites had developed in Europe so that navigators could explore the maritime spaces. Appeared - ships designed specifically for the movement of European sailors. Technology is rapidly developing: by the 15th century, the compass and nautical charts. This made it possible to discover and explore new lands.

In 1492-1494. Christopher Columbus Bahamian, Large and Small Antilles. By 1494 he had reached America. Around the same time - in 1499-1501. - Amerigo Vespucci swam to the coast of Brazil. Another famous one - Vasco da Gama - opens at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. uninterrupted sea route from Western Europe to India. This contributed to the development of trade, which in the 15th-16th centuries. played a pivotal role in the life of every state. X. Ponce de Leon, F. Cordova, X. Grijalva discovered La Plata Bay, the Florida and Yucatan peninsulas.

Most important event

The most important event at the beginning of the 16th century was Ferdinand Magellan and his team. Thus, it was possible to confirm the opinion that it has a spherical shape. Later, in honor of Magellan, the strait through which his path passed was named. In the 16th century, South and North America were almost completely discovered and explored by the Spanish. Later, at the end of the same century, Francis Drake did.

Russian sailors did not lag behind European ones. In the 16-17 centuries. the development of Siberia and the Far East is rapidly going on. The names of the discoverers I. Moskvitin and E. Khabarov are known. The basins of the Lena and Yenisei rivers were opened. The expedition of F. Popov and S. Dezhnev sailed from the Arctic to Pacific Ocean. Thus, it was possible to prove that Asia and America are not connected anywhere.

During the Great geographical discoveries, many new lands appeared. However, there were still “white” spots for a long time. For example, Australian lands were studied much later. Geographical discoveries made in the 15th-17th centuries allowed the development of other sciences, such as botany. Europeans got the opportunity to get acquainted with new crops - tomatoes, potatoes, which later began to be used everywhere. We can say that the Great geographical discoveries marked the beginning of capitalist relations, because thanks to them, trade reached the world level.

Cartology is engaged in the creation of geographical maps. This is one of the sections of cartography, which, most likely, appeared even before the invention of writing. The first cards were depicted on stones, tree bark and even sand. They have been preserved as rock paintings. For example, a good copy can be seen in the Italian Camonica Valley, it belongs to the Bronze Age.

Geographic Maps- this is the earth's surface, it contains a grid of coordinates with conventional signs that are the same for all countries. Of course, the image is greatly reduced. All maps are divided into different types: by scale, by territorial coverage, purpose and by. The first category has three types: they can be large scale, medium scale and small scale.

For the first, the ratio of the drawing and the original can be from 1:10,000 to 1:200,000. They are used most often, because. on them more complete. Medium-scale maps are most often used in sets, for example, in the form of . Their scale is from 1:200,000 to 1:1,000,000 inclusive. The information on them is no longer so complete, and therefore they are used less frequently. Well, the last version of geographical maps has a scale of more than 1: 1,000,000. Only the main objects are plotted on them. And even large cities may not have them and look like a tiny dot. Most often, small-scale maps are used to indicate the distribution of different languages, cultures, religions, and so on. One of the most striking examples are maps, familiar to almost all people.

According to the territorial scale, geographical maps are divided into maps of the world, countries and regions. They may have many more appointments. For example, geographic maps can be educational, navigational, tourist, scientific and reference, and others.

Geographic maps are one of the most convenient ways save the information people need. It is difficult to overestimate their role in, and for each person in particular. Mapping is one of the oldest sciences that will always be relevant.

3 important discoveries from physics and chemistry

Back in the early twentieth century, a general was discovered, which is now widely known in society and is being studied in educational institutions. Now the theory of relativity seems to be a natural truth, which should not be in doubt, but at the time of its development it was a discovery that was completely incomprehensible even to many scientists. The result of Einstein's painstaking work turned the views on many other moments and phenomena. It was the theory of relativity that made it possible to predict many effects that previously seemed contrary to common sense, including the effect of time dilation. Finally, thanks to it, it was possible to determine the orbit of some planets, including Mercury.

In the 20s. In the twentieth century, Rutherford suggested that in addition to protons and electrons, there is also. Previously, scientists believed that there were only positively charged particles in the nucleus of an atom, but he refuted this point of view. However, it was not recognized immediately: it took several years and many experiments conducted by Bothe, Becker, Joliot-Curie and Chadwick to determine that there really are uncharged particles in the nucleus of an atom, the mass of which slightly exceeds the mass of a proton. This discovery led to the development of nuclear energy and rapid progress in science, but, alas, it also contributed to the creation of atomic bombs.

In the middle of the 20th century, a discovery not too well known among non-specialists, but still a remarkable discovery, was made. It was made by the chemist Voldemar Ziegler. It is organometallic catalysts, which made it possible to significantly simplify and reduce the cost of most synthesis options. They are still used in very many chemical plants and are an integral part of production.

2 discoveries in biology and genetics

In the 70s. In the twentieth century, an amazing discovery was made: doctors were able to remove an egg from a woman’s body without harming either one or the other, then create ideal conditions for the egg in a test tube, fertilize it and return it back. Thousands of happy women who managed to conceive a baby in this way can thank Bob Edwards and Patrick Stepnow for this discovery.

Finally, at the very end of the century, another amazing discovery was made: scientists realized that it was possible to “clean out” the egg and place the nucleus of an adult cell in it, and then return it to the uterus. This is how the first sheep clone was created - Dolly the sheep. The cloned sheep not only survived, but also managed to live 6 years after its birth.

The era of great geographical discoveries

Early 16th century in Western Europe is characterized by the development of internal and international relations, the creation of large centralized states (Portugal, Spain, etc.).

By this time, great successes had been achieved in the field of production, in metal processing, in shipbuilding and military affairs.

With the search by Western Europeans for ways to the countries of South and East Asia, from which spices (pepper, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon) and expensive silk fabrics came era of the great geographical discoveries.

The great geographical discoveries are a period in the history of mankind that began in the 15th century and lasted until the 17th century, during which Europeans discovered new lands and sea routes to Africa, America, Asia and Oceania in search of new trading partners and sources of goods that were in great demand in Europe.

Causes of the Great Geographical Discoveries

Time from the second half of the 15th century. until the middle of the 17th century. entered history as the Age of Discovery. Europeans discovered previously unknown seas and oceans, islands and continents, made the first trips around the world. All this completely changed the idea of .

Geographical discoveries, later called "Great", were made in the course of searching for ways to the countries of the East, especially to India.

The growth of production and trade in Europe has created a need for. It took gold and silver to mint coins. In Europe itself, the extraction of precious metals could no longer satisfy the sharply increased need for them.

It was believed that they are in abundance in the East. The "lust for gold" was the main reason that forced the Europeans to embark on more and more distant sea voyages.

It was sea travel that was caused by the fact that the long-used route to the East (along the Mediterranean and further by land) was blocked by the middle of the 15th century by the Turkish conquest of the Balkan Peninsula, the Middle East, and then almost all of North Africa.

The next reason for the search for new ways was the desire of European merchants to get rid of commercial intermediaries (Arab, Indian, Chinese, etc.) and establish a direct connection with the Eastern markets.

The prerequisites for the discoveries were as follows. In Spain and Portugal, after the Reconquista (Spanish reconquistar - to reconquer; the expulsion of the Arabs in the 13-15 centuries), many nobles were left "out of work".

They had military experience and in order to get rich, they were ready to swim, jump or go to the ends of the world in the literal sense of the word. The fact that the countries of the Iberian Peninsula were the first to organize long-distance voyages was also explained by their peculiar geographical position.

New inventions were of great importance for the development of navigation. The creation of new, more reliable types of ships, the development of cartography, the improvement of the compass (invented in China) and the device for determining the latitude of the location of the ship - the sextant, gave sailors reliable means of navigation.

Finally, it should be borne in mind that in the 16th century. the idea of a spherical shape of the Earth was recognized by scientists in a number of countries.

Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was the son of a poor Italian weaver. Becoming a sailor, he swam a lot and mastered the art of navigation. Already an adult, Columbus settled in the capital of Portugal, Lisbon, as an employee of an Italian trading company.

The project of sailing to the eastern shores of Asia by the western route (along the Atlantic Ocean) was developed by Columbus on the basis of the doctrine of the sphericity of the Earth.

Christopher Columbus was a Spanish navigator who discovered America in 1492. His conception of the small extent of the Atlantic Ocean was the "greatest mistake" that led to the "greatest discovery".

Columbus failed to agree on funds for the expedition with the Portuguese king João II, and in 1485 he moved to Spain, which had recently become a single kingdom.

Its monarchs were interested in strengthening their power. But even here, several years passed before Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand accepted the plan of Columbus.

The money for the expedition was also given by the rich - the financier Santangel and the merchant Sanchez - people of a new time, a new type of thinking.

On August 3, 1492, the flotilla under the command of Columbus (caravels "Santa Maria", "Pinta" and "Ni-nya") left the port of Paloe.

On the night of October 12, fires and a narrow strip of coast were seen. At dawn, the ships approached a low island covered with tropical vegetation. It was one of the islands of the Bahamas, which Columbus called San Salvador ("Holy Savior").

In the first voyage, Columbus discovered a number of islands and was sure that they were located off the eastern coast of Asia.

Columbus declares the open land the property of the Spanish king. 1893 illustration

Returning to Spain, Columbus organized three more voyages, during which he discovered new islands, the northern coast of South and eastern Central America.

Everyone was sure that this was India. However, there were those who doubted it. The Italian historian Peter Martyr wrote already in 1493 that Columbus did not discover the shores of Asia, but “ New World».

Amerigo Vespucci and Columbus

Columbus' mistake was soon corrected, but the mainland he discovered was named after another Spanish navigator - Amerigo Vespucci - America.

Amerigo Vespucci - Florentine traveler, after whom America was named

In modern South America there is a state in the name of which the name of Columbus is immortalized - Colombia. However, the fallacy of Columbus was preserved in the name of the native inhabitants of America - Indians under which they entered world history.

Then it was found that their ancestors moved to America from Asia through the isthmus, on the site of which the Bering Strait is now located. It happened about 20-30 thousand years ago.

Conquest of Mexico and Peru

In 1516-1518. the Spaniards reached the places where the Mayans lived (the Yucatan Peninsula), and learned from them that there is a country nearby from which they received gold.

Rumors about the "Golden Empire" finally deprived the Spaniards of peace. In 1519, an expedition led by Hernando Cortes, a poor young nobleman, headed to the shores of the Aztec state (Mexico).

He had 500 soldiers (including 16 on horseback) and 13 cannons. Enlisting the support of the tribes conquered by the Aztecs, Cortes moved to the capital of the country - the city of Tenochtitlan.

He captured the ruler Montezuma and took possession of his huge treasures. An uprising broke out, and the Spaniards had to flee.

Two years later, they again took possession of the capital, exterminating almost the entire male population. Within a few years, the Aztec state was conquered, and the Spaniards got a lot of gold and silver.

Meeting of Hernando Cortes and Montezuma II

The conquest of the Inca country by the Spaniards in 1531-1532. facilitated by the fragility of their military alliance. At the head of the campaign to the country of Biru (hence - Peru) was the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, a shepherd in his youth.

He had 600 warriors and 37 horses. Having met with the 15,000th army of the Incas, the Spaniards treacherously captured their king Atagualpa.

After that, the Inca army was defeated. The king paid a huge sum for the promise of release, but was killed on the orders of Pizarro. The Spaniards captured the capital of Peru - Cusco. Peru was far superior in its wealth to Mexico.

The conquest of Mexico and Peru served as the basis for Spain to create its colonies in America, which, along with conquests in other parts of the world, formed the huge colonial empire of the Spanish monarchy.

Colonies of Portugal

The Portuguese were the first to enter the oceans in search of a way to the distant countries of the East. Slowly moving along the western coast of Africa, they during the 15th century. reached the cape Good Hope, rounded it and went out into Indian Ocean.

To complete the search for a sea route to India, the Portuguese king Manoel sent an expedition led by one of his courtiers, Vasco da Gama.

In the summer of 1497, four ships under his command left Lisbon and, having rounded, passed along its east coast to the rich Arab city of Malindi, which traded with India.

Vasco da Gama entered into an alliance with the Sultan of Malindi, and he allowed him to take with him Ahmed ibn Majid, famous in those parts, as a navigator. Under his leadership, the Portuguese completed the voyage.

On May 20, 1498, the ships anchored at the Indian port of Calicut - another great geographical discovery was made, as a sea route to India appeared.

In the autumn of 1499, after a difficult expedition, Vasco da Gama's ships returned to Lisbon with a half-reduced crew. Their return with a cargo of spices from India was solemnly celebrated.

The opening of the sea route to India allowed Portugal to begin to master maritime trade in South and East Asia. Having captured the Moluccas, the Portuguese entered the Pacific Ocean, started trade with the South, and reached, having founded the first European trading post there.

Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese navigator of the Age of Discovery. The commander of the expedition, which was the first in history to pass by sea from Europe to India.

In the course of moving first along the western and then the eastern coast of Africa, the Portuguese founded their colonies there: Angola (in the west) and Mozambique (in the east).

Thus, not only the sea route from Western Europe to India was opened and East Asia, but also created a vast colonial empire of Portugal.

Magellan's voyage around the world

The Spaniards, creating their colonial empire in America, went to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The toffee of the strait connecting it with the Atlantic began.

In Europe, some geographers were so sure of the existence of this, not yet open strait that put it on the maps in advance.

A new expedition plan to open the strait and reach Asia by the western route was proposed to the Spanish king by Fernando Magellan (1480-1521), a Portuguese sailor from poor nobles who lived in Spain.

Proposing his project, Magellan believed in the existence of the strait, and also had a very optimistic idea about the distances that he would have to overcome.

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Geographic discoveries

People traveled and made discoveries at all times, but during the history of mankind there was a period when the number of travelers and their discoveries increased dramatically - the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries.

The great geographical discoveries are a period in the history of mankind that began in the 15th century and lasted until the 17th century, during which new lands and sea routes were discovered. Thanks to the brave expeditions of navigators and travelers from many countries, a large part of the earth's surface, seas and oceans washing it was discovered and explored. The most important sea routes were laid that connected the continents with each other.

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The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that the economic development of our country should be based on a preliminary analysis of historical information, that is, it is necessary to realize the importance of the territories that were conquered by our ancestors.

The purpose of this work is to consider the expeditions and geographical discoveries of domestic researchers and scientists. As part of achieving this goal, the following tasks were set:

Briefly describe the economic and political situation of the country in a certain period of time;

specify the names Russian travelers and pioneers of the era of great geographical discoveries;

· describe the discoveries of new lands and routes.

Places of development. pioneers

At the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century, the formation of the Russian state was completed, which developed along with world civilization. It was the time of the Great Geographical Discoveries (America was discovered in 1493), the beginning of the era of capitalism in European countries (the first European bourgeois revolution of 1566-1609 began in the Netherlands). The great geographical discoveries are a period in the history of mankind that began in the 15th century and lasted until the 17th century, during which Europeans discovered new lands and sea routes to Africa, America, Asia and Oceania in search of new trading partners and sources of goods that were in great demand in Europe. Historians usually relate the "Great Discoveries" to the pioneering long-distance sea voyages of Portuguese and Spanish travelers in search of alternative trade routes to the "India" for gold, silver and spices. But the development of the Russian state took place in rather peculiar conditions.

The Russian people contributed to the great geographical discoveries of the 16th - the first half of the 17th centuries. significant contribution. Russian travelers and navigators made a number of discoveries (mainly in the northeast of Asia) that enriched world science. The reason for the increased attention of Russians to geographical discoveries was the further development of commodity-money relations in the country and the associated process of folding the all-Russian market, as well as the gradual inclusion of Russia in the world market. During this period, two main directions were clearly outlined: northeastern (Siberia and Far East) and southeast (Central Asia, Mongolia, China), along which Russian travelers and sailors moved. Of great educational importance for contemporaries were the trade and diplomatic trips of Russian people in the 16th-17th centuries. to the countries of the East, a survey of the shortest land routes for communication with the states of Central and Central Asia and with China.

In the middle of the 16th century, the Moscow kingdom conquered the Kazan and Astrakhan Tatar khanates, thus annexing the Volga region to its possessions and opening the way to the Ural Mountains. The colonization of new eastern lands and the further advance of Russia to the east were directly organized by the wealthy merchants Stroganovs. Tsar Ivan the Terrible granted huge possessions in the Urals and tax privileges to Anikey Stroganov, who organized a large-scale resettlement of people to these lands. The Stroganovs developed Agriculture, hunting, salt production, fishing and mining in the Urals, and also established trade relations with the Siberian peoples. There was a process of development of new territories in Siberia (from the 1580s to 1640s), the Volga region, the Wild Field (on the rivers Dnieper, Don, Middle and Lower Volga, Yaik).

The great geographical discoveries contributed to the transition from the Middle Ages to the New Age.

The conquest of Siberia by Ermak Timofeevich

Of great importance in the history of geographical discoveries of this era was the exploration of the vast expanses of the north and northeast of Asia from the Ural Range to the coast of the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, i.e. throughout Siberia.

The process of conquering Siberia included the gradual advance of the Russian Cossacks and service people to the East until they reached the Pacific Ocean and secured themselves in Kamchatka. The ways of movement of the Cossacks were predominantly water. Getting to know river systems, they went by land exclusively in the watershed, where, having crossed the ridge and having arranged new boats, they descended along the tributaries of new rivers. Upon arrival in the area occupied by some tribe of natives, the Cossacks entered into peace negotiations with them with a proposal to submit to the White Tsar and pay yasak, but these negotiations did not always lead to successful results, and then the matter was decided by arms.

The annexation of Siberia was started in 1581 by a campaign of a detachment of the Cossack ataman Ermak Timofeevich. His detachment, consisting of 840 people, carried away by rumors about the untold riches of the Siberian Khanate, was equipped at the expense of large landowners and salt producers of the Urals Stroganovs.

On September 1, 1581, the detachment plunged onto plows and climbed along the tributaries of the Kama to the Tagil Pass in Ural mountains. With an ax in their hands, the Cossacks made their own way, cleared the rubble, felled the trees, cut the clearing. They did not have the time and energy to level the rocky path, as a result of which they could not drag ships along the ground using rollers. According to the participants of the campaign, they dragged the ships uphill "on themselves", in other words, on their hands. On the pass, the Cossacks built an earthen fortification - Kokuy-gorodok, where they wintered until spring.

The first skirmish between the Cossacks and the Siberian Tatars took place in the area modern city Turinsk ( Sverdlovsk region), where the soldiers of Prince Epanchi fired at Yermak's plows with bows. Here Yermak, with the help of squeakers and cannons, dispersed the cavalry of Murza Epanchi. Then the Cossacks occupied the town of Chingi-tura (Tyumen region) without a fight. Many treasures were taken from the site of modern Tyumen: silver, gold and precious Siberian furs.

November 8, 1582 n.st. Ataman Ermak Timofeevich occupied Kashlyk, the then capital of the Siberian Khanate. Four days later, the Khanty from the river. Demyanka (Uvatsky district), brought furs and food supplies, mainly fish, as a gift to the conquerors. Yermak greeted them with "kindness and greetings" and released them "with honor." The local Tatars, who had previously fled from the Russians, reached out for the Khanty with gifts. Yermak received them just as kindly, allowed them to return to their villages and promised to protect them from enemies, primarily from Kuchum. Then the Khanty from the left-bank regions began to appear with furs and food - from the rivers Konda and Tavda. Yermak imposed an annual obligatory tax on all those who came to him - yasak.

At the end of 1582, Yermak sent an embassy to Moscow, headed by his faithful assistant Ivan Koltso, to inform the tsar of the defeat of Kuchum. Tsar Ivan IV gave the Cossack delegation of Ivan Koltso a gracious welcome, generously endowed the envoys - among the gifts was chain mail of excellent workmanship - and sent them back to Yermak.

In the winter of 1584-1585, the temperature in the vicinity of Kashlyk dropped to -47 °, ice began to blow northern winds. Deep snow made it impossible to hunt in the taiga forests. In the hungry winter time, wolves gathered in large packs and appeared near human dwellings. Streltsy did not survive the Siberian winter. They died without exception, without taking part in the war with Kuchum. Semyon Bolkhovskoy himself, who was appointed the first governor of Siberia, also died. After a hungry winter, the number of Yermak's detachment was catastrophically reduced. To save the surviving people, Yermak tried to avoid clashes with the Tatars.

On the night of August 6, 1585, Yermak died along with a small detachment at the mouth of the Vagai. Only one Cossack managed to escape, who brought the sad news to Kashlyk. The Cossacks and service people who remained in Kashlyk gathered a circle, on which they decided not to spend the winter in Siberia.

At the end of September 1585, 100 servicemen arrived in Kashlyk under the command of Ivan Mansurov, sent to help Yermak. They did not find anyone in Qashlyk. When trying to return from Siberia along the path of their predecessors - down the Ob and further "through the Stone" - the service people were forced, because of the "freezing of ice", to put "hail over the Ob against the mouth of the river" Irtysh and "winter gray hair" in it. Having withstood the siege "from many Ostyaks", the people of Ivan Mansurov returned from Siberia in the summer of 1586.

The third detachment, which arrived in the spring of 1586 and consisted of 300 people under the leadership of the voivode Vasily Sukin and Ivan Myasnoy, brought with them “a written head of Danila Chulkov” “to start business” on the spot. The expedition, judging by its results, was carefully prepared and equipped. To establish the power of the Russian government in Siberia, she had to establish the first Siberian government prison and the Russian city of Tyumen.

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China research. The first voyages of Russian sailors

Distant China aroused close attention among the Russian people. Back in 1525, while in Rome, the Russian ambassador Dmitry Gerasimov informed the writer Pavel Jovius that it was possible to travel from Europe to China by water through the northern seas. Thus, Gerasimov expressed a bold idea about the development of the Northern Route from Europe to Asia. Thanks to Jovius, who published a special book on Muscovy and Gerasimov's embassy, this idea became widely known in Western Europe and was received with lively interest. It is possible that the organization of the expeditions of Willoughby and Barents was caused by the messages of the Russian ambassador. In any case, the search for the Northern Sea Route to the east was already in the middle of the 16th century. led to the establishment of direct maritime links between Western Europe and Russia.

Even in the middle of the XVI century. Mention is made of the voyages of Russian polar sailors from the European part of the country to the Gulf of Ob and to the mouth of the Yenisei. They moved along the coast Arctic Ocean on small keels sailing ships- Kochs, well adapted to navigation in the ice of the Arctic due to the egg-shaped hull, which reduced the danger of ice compression.

The 16th century is known for the reign of the Russian Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. I would like to pay special attention to the oprichnina policy of the then ruler. The state terror agitated the population, "gladness and pestilence" reigned in the country, peasants fled from the ruined landowners and "draged between the yard." It can be assumed that it was the runaway peasants who became the "discoverers" of new lands, and only later more status individuals made "discoveries" at the state level.

Most likely, in the 16th century, Russian travels, which resulted in geographical discoveries, experienced a period of “birth”. The first attempts to travel to other countries through new lands were made. One of the most important and promising was the conquest of Siberia by Yermak. But our ancestors did not stop there, they tried their hand at traveling on the water. No great discoveries have yet been made in this industry, but already in the 17th century certain successes were made.

There were a sufficient number of factors stimulating people to further develop new lands, the main of which was the lack of access to the seas.

Major travel destinations in the 17th century

"Mangazeya move". Campaign of Penda

Already in the first two decades of the 17th century, there was a fairly regular water communication between the West Siberian cities and Mangazeya along the Ob, the Gulf of Ob and the Arctic Ocean (the so-called "Mangazeya way"). The same message was maintained between Arkhangelsk and Mangazeya. According to contemporaries, “many merchants and industrial people go from Arkhangelsk to Mangazeya for all years with all sorts of German (i.e. foreign, Western European) goods and with bread.” It was extremely important to establish the fact that the Yenisei flows into the very “Cold Sea”, along which people from Western Europe swim to Arkhangelsk. This discovery belongs to the Russian merchant Kondraty Kurochkin, who was the first to explore the fairway of the lower Yenisei up to the mouth.

A serious blow to the "Mangazeya move" was inflicted by government prohibitions of 1619-1620. use the sea route to Mangazeya, aimed at preventing the penetration of foreigners there.

Moving east into the taiga and tundra of Eastern Siberia, the Russians discovered one of largest rivers Asia - Lena. Among the northern expeditions to the Lena, the Penda campaign (until 1630) stands out. Starting his journey with 40 companions from Turukhansk, he went through the entire Lower Tunguska, crossed the portage and reached the Lena. Going down the Lena central regions Yakutia, Penda then sailed along the same river in the opposite direction almost to the upper reaches. From here, passing through the Buryat steppes, he got to the Angara (Upper Tunguska), the first Russian sailed down the entire Angara, overcoming its famous rapids, after which he went to the Yenisei, and returned along the Yenisei to the starting point - Turu-khansk. Penda and his companions made an unparalleled circular journey of several thousand kilometers through difficult terrain.

Mission Petlin

The first reliable evidence of a journey to China is information about the embassy of the Cossack Ivan Petlin in 1618-1619. (Mission Petlin). The journey was made on the initiative of the Tobolsk voivode, Prince I. S. Kurakin. The mission of 12 people was headed by Tomsk Cossacks teacher Ivan Petlin (who spoke several languages) and A. Madov. The mission was instructed to describe new routes to China, collect information about it and neighboring countries, and also establish the sources of the Ob River. In China, Petlin was supposed to announce where the mission came from and to find out the possibility of establishing further relations with China.

Leaving Tomsk on May 9, 1618, together with the ambassadors of the Mongolian "Altyn-Tsar", the mission climbed the Tom valley, crossed Mountain Shoria, crossed the Abakan Range, the Western Sayan and penetrated into Tuva. Then she crossed the upper reaches of the Kemchik (the Yenisei basin), crossed several ridges and went to the mountain low-salt lake Uureg-Nuur. Turning east and descending into the steppe, three weeks after leaving Tomsk, the mission arrived at the headquarters of the Mongol Khan at drainless lake Usap.

From here, the travelers moved to the southeast, crossed the Khan-Khuhei - the northwestern spur of the Khangai Range - and Khangai itself - and walked along its southern slopes for about 800 km. At the bend of the Kerulen River, we turned southeast and crossed the Gobi Desert. Short of Kalgan, Petlin saw the Great Wall of China for the first time.

At the end of August, the mission reached Beijing, where it negotiated with representatives of the Ming government.

Due to the lack of gifts, Petlin was not received by Emperor Zhu Yijun, but received his official letter addressed to the Russian Tsar with permission for the Russians to send embassies again and trade in China; as for diplomatic relations, it was proposed to conduct them by correspondence. The diploma remained untranslated for decades, until Spafariy (a Russian diplomat and scientist; known for his scientific works and embassy to China) began to study it, preparing for his embassy. The common expression “Chinese letter” refers to this particular document, which was in the embassy order, and the content of which remained a mystery.

Returning to his homeland, Ivan Petlin presented in Moscow "a drawing and painting about the Chinese region." His mission was of great importance, and the trip report - "Painting to the Chinese state and Lobinsky, and other states, residential and nomadic, and uluses, and the great Ob, and rivers and roads" - became the most valuable, most full description China, containing information about the overland route from Europe to China through Siberia and Mongolia. Already in the first half of the 17th century, "Painting" was translated into all European languages. The information collected as a result of Petlin's trip about the routes to China, about the natural resources and economy of Mongolia and China contributed to the expansion of the geographical horizons of contemporaries.

Russian discoveries in the Pacific. Explorers of Siberia

The conquest of Siberia was accompanied by a very rapid expansion of the geographical outlook. Less than 60 years have passed since the campaign of Yermak (1581-1584), as the Russians crossed the entire continent of Asia from the Ural Mountains to the eastern limits of this part of the world: in 1639, the Russians first appeared on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

Campaign of Moskvitin (1639-1642)

Ataman Dmitry Kopylov, sent from Tomsk to Lena, founded in 1637 at the confluence of Map and Aldan a winter hut. In 1639 he sent the Cossack Ivan Moskvitin. They crossed the ridge and went to the Sea of Okhotsk at the mouth of the river. Uli, west of the current Okhotsk. In the coming years, people from the Moskvitin detachment reconnoitered the coast of the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk to the east to the Tauiskaya Bay, and to the south along the river. Oody. From the mouth of the Cossacks went further east, towards the mouth of the Amur. He returned to Yakutsk in 1642.

Dezhnev's campaign (1648)

The Yakut Cossack, a native of Ustyug, Semyon Dezhnev, passed through the Bering Strait for the first time. On June 20, 1648, he left the mouth of the Kolyma to the east. In September, the explorer rounded Bolshoi Kamenny Nose - now Cape Dezhnev - where he saw the Eskimos. Against the cape he saw two islands. Here we have in mind the islands of Diomede or Gvozdev lying in the Bering Strait, on which then, as now, the Eskimos lived. Then storms began, which carried Dezhnev's boats across the sea until, after October 1, they were thrown south of the mouth of the Anadyr; from the crash site to this river had to walk 10 weeks. In the summer of the following year, Dezhnev built a winter hut on the middle course of the Anadyr - later the Anadyr prison.

"Parcels" Remezov

Semyon Ulyanovich Remezov - cartographer, historian and ethnographer, can rightly be considered the first explorer of the Trans-Urals. Traveling on behalf of the Tobolsk authorities to collect dues in the central part of the West Siberian Plain and some other areas of the eastern slope of the Urals, i.e. Being, as he put it, in "parcels", he created a scheme for the study of these territories, which was later carried out in an expanded form during the work of the Academic detachments of the Great Northern Expedition. At first, the description of the places visited was a secondary matter for Remezov. But since 1696, when he spent half a year as part of a military detachment (April-September) in the waterless and impenetrable stone steppe beyond the river. Ishim, this occupation has become the main one. In the winter of 1696-1697. with two assistants, he carried out a survey of the Tobol basin. He drew the main river from the mouth to the top, photographed its large tributaries - the Tura, Tavda, Iset and a number of rivers flowing into them, including the Miass and Pyshma.

The cartographic image was also received by the river. Irtysh from the confluence of the Ob to the mouth of the river. Tara and its three tributaries. In 1701, Remezov completed the Drawing Book of Siberia. She played a huge role not only in the history of Russian, but also in world cartography.

Discovery of Kamchatka by Atlasov

Information about Kamchatka was first obtained in the middle of the 17th century, through the Koryaks. But the honor of discovery and geographical description belongs to Vladimir Atlasov.

In 1696, Luka Morozko was sent from Anadyrsk to the Koryaks on the Opuka River (Opuka flows into the Berengovo Sea). He penetrated much further south, namely to the river. Tigil. At the beginning of 1697, Atlasov left Anadyrsk. From the mouth of the Penzhina, two weeks went on reindeer along the western coast of Kamchatka, and then turned east, to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, to the Koryaks - the Olyutors, who sit along the river. Olyutor. In February 1697, at Olyutor, Atlasov divided his detachment into two parts: the first went south along the eastern bank of Kamchatka, and the second part went with him to the western bank, to the river. Palan (flows into the Sea of Okhotsk), from here to the mouth of the river. Tigil, and finally, on the river. Kamchatka, where he arrived on July 18, 1697. Here they first met the Kamchadals. From here, Atlasov walked south along the western coast of Kamchatka and reached the river. Golygina, where the Kurils lived. From the mouth of this river he saw the islands, meaning the northernmost of Kuril Islands. With Golygina Atlasov across the river. Ichu returned to Anadyrsk, where he arrived on July 2, 1699. This is how Kamchatka was discovered. Atlasov made its geographical description.

Hiking E.P. Khabarova and I.V. Poryakova on Amur

Erofey Pavlovich Khabarov continued the work begun by another explorer, V. D. Poyarkov. Khabarov was from Veliky Ustyug (according to other sources, from Solvychegodsk). Life was hard at home, and the debts forced Khabarov to go to the distant lands of Siberia. In 1632 he arrived at Lena. For several years he was engaged in fur trade, and in 1641 he settled on empty land at the mouth of the river. Kirenga - the right tributary of the Lena. Here he started arable land, built a mill and a salt pan. But the Yakut governor P. Golovin took away from Khabarov both arable land and a salt pan and transferred them to the treasury, and put Khabarov himself in prison. Only in 1645 Khabarov was released from prison "a goal like a falcon." In 1649, he arrived in the Ilimsk jail, where the Yakut governor stopped for the winter. Here Khabarov learned about the expedition of V. D. Poyarkov and asked permission to organize his expedition to Dauria, to which he received consent.

In 1649, Khabarov with a detachment climbed up the Lena and Olekma to the mouth of the river. Tungir. In the spring of 1650 they reached the river. Urki, a tributary of the Amur, and fell into the possession of the Daurian prince Lavkay. Daur cities turned out to be abandoned people. Each city had hundreds of houses, and each house - for 50 or more people. The houses were bright, with wide windows covered with oiled paper. Rich grain reserves were stored in the pits. Prince Lavkai himself was found near the walls of the third city, which was just as empty. It turned out that the Daurs, having heard about the detachment, were frightened and fled. From the stories of the Daurs, the Cossacks learned that on the other side of the Amur lies a country richer than Dauria and that the Daurs pay tribute to the Manchu prince Bogda. And that prince had large ships with goods sailing along the rivers, and he has an army with cannons and squeakers.

Khabarov understood that the forces of his detachment were small and he could not take possession of the region where the population was hostile. Leaving about 50 Cossacks in the town of Lavkaya, in May 1650 Khabarov returned to Yakutsk for help. A report on the campaign and a drawing of Dauria were sent to Moscow. And Khabarov began to collect a new detachment for a campaign in Dauria. In the autumn of 1650, he returned to the Amur and found the abandoned Cossacks near the fortified town of Albazin. The prince of this city refused to pay yasak, and the Cossacks tried to take the city by storm. With the help of Khabarov's detachment, who came to the rescue, the Daurs were defeated. The Cossacks captured many prisoners and large booty.

One of the first long-distance travelers was Afanasy Nikitin, who committed in the 60s of the XV century. travel from Russia (Tver) to India. His path at that time was unusually difficult. He had to endure a number of adventures and dangers. He lived in India for about three years.

On the way back, Afanasy Nikitin went through Persia, crossed the Black Sea and died on the way in Smolensk. Several notebooks were found in his travel bag, in which he kept travel notes. Subsequently, his recordings were published under the title "Journey Beyond the Three Seas". They contain interesting descriptions of his travels and the life of the people of India. Residents of the city of Kalinin (former Tver) erected a monument in memory of their compatriot (Fig. 3).

Finding a sea route to India

Western European merchants sold goods from India with great profit. Under India, people who knew little of geography understood the entire east of Asia, right up to China. For spices, pearls, ivory, fabrics brought from there, they paid in gold. There was little gold in Europe, and goods were very expensive. To the shores mediterranean sea from India they were delivered by intermediaries - Arab merchants. In the XV century, the Turks seized the lands in the east of the Mediterranean Sea - a huge Turkish Ottoman Empire arose. The Turks did not let trade caravans pass, often robbed them. We needed a convenient sea route from Europe to India, to the countries of the East. The Europeans took up the search for it - primarily the inhabitants of Portugal and Spain.

Portugal and Spain located in the south of Europe, Iberian peninsula. This peninsula is washed by both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. For a long time it was under the rule of the Arabs. In the 15th century, the Arabs were expelled, and the Portuguese, pursuing them in Africa, began to sail off the coast of this continent.

Henry, Prince of Portugal, was nicknamed the Navigator. However, he did not swim anywhere. Heinrich organized sea expeditions, collected information about distant countries, looked for old maps, encouraged the creation of new ones, and founded a nautical school. The Portuguese learned how to build new ships - three-masted caravels. They were light, fast-moving, they could move under sail and with a side, and even with a headwind.

Expedition Bartolomeu Dias

Portuguese expeditions moved along the coast of Africa further and further south. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias sailed to the southern end of Africa. Two of his ships fell into a cruel storm- a storm at sea. A strong wind drove the ships to the rocks. Despite the high waves, Diash turned from the shore into the open sea. For several days he sailed east, but the African coast was not visible. Dias realized that he had circled Africa and entered the Indian Ocean! The rock on which his ships almost crashed was the southern tip of Africa. Dias named her Cape Storms. When the sailors returned to Portugal, the king ordered that the Cape of Storms be renamed Cape of Good Hope, hopes to reach India by sea.

Voyage of Columbus

In the XV century. many sea expeditions were made. The most prominent of these is the Spanish expedition of Christopher Columbus. In 1492, members of the expedition on three ships sailed from the Iberian Peninsula to look for a sea route to India rich in gold and spices. Convinced of the sphericity of the Earth, Columbus believed that by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean, one could reach the shores of Asia. After a two-month voyage, the ships approached the islands of Central America. Travelers discovered many new lands.

Columbus made three more trips to America, but until the end of his life he was sure that he had visited India, and the islands he discovered are known as the West Indies (West Indian); The indigenous people are called Indians.

In the 19th century one of the republics South America became known as Columbia.

Journey of John Cabot

The news of the discoveries of new lands by Columbus quickly spread throughout Europe, reached England. This country is on British Isles separated from Europe the English Channel. In 1497, British merchants equipped and sent to the west an expedition of John Cabot, an Italian who had settled in England. The small ship sailed across the Atlantic far north of Columbus' ships. On the way, the sailors encountered huge shoals of cod and herring. Until now, the North Atlantic is the most important area in the world for catching these types of fish. John Cabot discovered the island Newfoundland at North America. Portuguese navigators discovered the cold harsh peninsula labrador. So the Europeans, five hundred years after the Vikings, again saw the North American lands. They were inhabited - American Indians came ashore dressed in animal skins.

Journey of Amerigo Vespucci

All new expeditions went from Spain to the New World. In the hope of getting rich, finding gold, and becoming owners of new lands, Spanish nobles and soldiers went west. Together with them, priests and monks sailed - to convert the Indians to the Christian faith, to increase the wealth of the church. The Italian Amerigo Vespucci was a member of several Spanish and Portuguese expeditions. He compiled a description of the coast of South America. This area was covered with dense tropical forests, in which the brazil tree grew with valuable red wood. Later, they began to call all the Portuguese lands in South America and the huge country that arose on them - Brazil.

The Portuguese opened a convenient bay, where, as it seemed to them incorrectly, the mouth of a large river was located. It was in January, and the place was called Rio de Janeiro - "January River". Now here is The largest city Brazil.

Amerigo Vespucci wrote to Europe that again open lands most likely have nothing to do with Asia and represent New World. On European maps compiled during the first voyages across the Atlantic, they are called the land of Amerigo. This name was gradually assigned to the two huge mothers of the New World - North America and South America.

John Cabot's expedition was funded by patron Richard America. There is a widespread belief that the metric was named after him, while Vespucci had already taken his name from the name of the continent.

Expeditions of Vasco da Gama

First expedition (1497-1499)

In 1497, a Portuguese expedition of four ships led by Vasco da Gama went to look for a way to India. The ships rounded the Cape of Good Hope, turned north and sailed along the unknown eastern berets of Africa. Unknown to the Europeans, but not to the Arabs, who had commercial and military settlements on the shores. Taking on board an Arab pilot - a sea guide, Vasco da Gama sailed with him across the Indian Ocean, and then across the Arabian Sea to India. The Portuguese reached its western shores and safely returned to their homeland in 1499 with a cargo of spices and jewelry. The sea route from Europe to India was opened. It was found that the Atlantic and Indian oceans are connected to each other, the coasts of Africa, the island of Madagascar, were mapped.

Discovery of the Pacific Ocean (Vasco Balboa)

First trip around the world (Magellan)

From 1519 to 1522 expedition Fernando Magellan made the first circumnavigation of the world. The crew of 265 people on 5 ships set off from Spain to South America. Having rounded it, the ships entered the ocean, which Magellan called the Pacific. Swimming continued in incredibly difficult conditions.

On the islands off the coast of Southeast Azin, Magellan intervened in the feuds of the local authorities and died in one of the clashes with the locals. Only in 1522, 18 people on one ship returned to their homeland.

Journey of Magellan greatest event 16th century The expedition, having gone west, returned back from the east. This journey established the existence of a single World Ocean; it was of great importance for the further development of knowledge about the Earth.

Second trip around the world (Drake)

Second circumnavigation was committed by an English pirate Francis Drake in 1577-1580. Drake was proud that, unlike Magellan, he managed not only to start, but also to complete the voyage himself. In the XVI-XVII centuries, pirates, among whom there were many English and French, robbed Spanish ships, hurrying from America to Europe with expensive cargo. Pirates sometimes shared part of the stolen wealth with the English kings, in exchange for rewards and patronage.

Drake's small ship, the Golden Hind, was blown south of the Strait of Magellan by a storm. The open sea lay before him. Drake realized that South America was over. Subsequently, the widest and deepest strait in the world between South America and Antarctica was named Drake Passage.

Having plundered the Spanish colonies on the Pacific coast of South and Central America, Drake was afraid to go back the old way, through the Strait of Magellan, where armed and angry Spaniards could wait for him. He decided to bypass North America from the north, and when this failed, he returned to England through the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans completely circumnavigating the globe.

The search for the southern mainland

Discovery of Oceania

The Portuguese sailed to India and to the spice islands around the African mainland. Spanish ships were looking for ways to Asia, sailing from the western coast of America. The sailors crossed the Pacific Ocean, discovering the islands along the way, which received the name of the islands Oceania. Navigators often kept their discoveries secret. Captain Torres discovered the strait between island New Guinea and south of Australia. Geographic discovery Torres Strait classified from the sailors of other countries by the Spanish authorities.

Discovery of Australia (Janszon)

Portuguese and Dutch sailors in the late 16th and early 17th centuries landed on the shores of northern and western Australia, replenishing their water and food supplies. At the same time, they did not think that they were setting foot on the coast of a new mainland. So, the Dutchman Janszon discovered the northern coast of Australia, but, knowing nothing about the Torres Strait, he believed that this was part of the island of New Guinea. In the 17th century, the small European country of Holland ( Netherlands), lying in Europe on the coast North Sea , became a strong maritime power. Dutch ships sailed across the Indian Ocean to sunda islands. Big Java island became the center of the Dutch colonies.

Discovering New Zealand (Abel Tasman)

Europeans persistently searched for the southern mainland, shown on the ancient map of Ptolemy. In 1642, the Dutch captain Abel Tasman was sent by the Governor of Java to search for the South Land. The sailor dared to woo the daughter of the governor, and he considered it best to send him on a dangerous voyage. Tasman sailed far to the south, opened big Island, lying south of Australia, which was later named Tasmania. He described the entire northern coast of Australia, the smallest continent of the Earth, first named New Holland. Tasman sailed along for the first time New Zealand, considering its shores to be the shores of the unknown southern mainland. The Dutch tried to keep these discoveries secret so that other countries would not seize the newly discovered lands.

Conquest of Siberia

The Dutch scientist Bernhardus Varenius in the 17th century in his work “General Geography” for the first time singled out geography from the system of knowledge about the Earth, dividing it into general and regional. Varenius summed up the scientific results of the Great geographical discoveries of the 15th-16th centuries, which laid the foundation for the modern view on the placement of continents and oceans on our planet. For the first time, he proposed to distinguish between five oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and South Arctic.

This is the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries (V. G. O.). The most important events of the 1st century period. V. G. O. By 1488, Portuguese navigators explored everything western and South coast Africa (D. Kahn, B. Dias and others). In 1492-94 X. Columbus discovered the Bahamas, Brazil and the Lesser Antilles (1492 - the year of the discovery of America); in 1497-99 Vasco da Gama opened (with the help of Arab helmsmen) a continuous sea route from Western Europe around South Africa to India; in 1498-1502, Columbus, A. Ojeda, A. Vespucci and other Spanish and Portuguese navigators discovered the entire northern coast of South America, its eastern (Brazilian) coast to 25 ° south latitude and the Caribbean coast of Central America. In 1513-25, the Spaniards crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached the Pacific Ocean (V. Nunez de Balboa), discovered La Plata Bay, the Florida and Yucatan peninsulas, and the entire coast of the Gulf of Mexico (X. Ponce de Leon, F. Cordova, X. Grijalva etc.), conquered Mexico and Central America(E. Cortez and others), surveyed the entire Atlantic coast of South America. In 1519-22, F. Magellan and his associates made the first circumnavigation of the world (around the southern tip of America - through the strait, later called Magellan). In 1526-52 the Spaniards F. Pizarro, D. Almagro, P. Valdivia, G. Quesada, F. Orellana and others discovered the entire Pacific coast of South America, the Andes from 10° N. sh. up to 40°S sh., rr. Orinoco, Amazon, Parana, Paraguay. French navigators J. Verrazano (1524), J. Cartier (1534-35) discovered the eastern coast of North America and the river. St. Lawrence, and the Spanish travelers E. Soto and F. Coronado - the southern Appalachians and the southern Rocky Mountains, the basins of the lower reaches of the river. Colorado and Mississippi (1540-42). The most important events of the 2nd centenary period V. g. After Yermak's campaign in Western Siberia (1581-84) and the foundation on the river. Taz of the city of Mangazeya (1601) Russian explorers, having opened the basin of the river. Yenisei and Lena, crossed all of Northern Asia and reached the Sea of Okhotsk (I. Moskvitin in 1639), by the middle of the 17th century. traced the course of all the great Siberian rivers and the Amur (K. Kurochkin, I. Perfilyev, I. Rebrov, M. Stadukhin, V. Poyarkov, E. Khabarov, etc.), and Russian sailors bypassed the entire northern coast of Asia, discovering the Yamal Peninsula, Taimyr, Chukchi, and from the Arctic Ocean passed to the Pacific Ocean (through the Bering Strait), thus proving that Asia is nowhere connected to America (expedition of F. Popov - S. Dezhnev). The Dutch navigator V. Barents in 1594 bypassed western shores Novaya Zemlya (up to its northern cape) and in 1596 - Svalbard. The British in 1576-1631 bypassed West Coast Greenland, discovered Baffin Island and, rounding the Labrador Peninsula, the shores of Hudson Bay (M. Frobisher, J. Davis, G. Hudson, W. Baffin, etc.). French in North America discovered (in 1609-48) the northern Appalachians and five Great Lakes (S. Champlain and others). In 1606 the Spaniard L. Torres bypassed the southern coast of N. Guinea (the discovery of the Torres Strait), and the Dutch V. Janszon, A. Tasman, and others in 1606–44 discovered the northern, western, and southern coasts of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. V. g. o. were events of world-historical significance. The contours of the inhabited continents were established (except for the northern and northwestern coasts of America and east coast Australia), most of the earth's surface has been explored, but many inland regions of America, central Africa, and all of interior Australia have remained unexplored. V. g. o. provided extensive new material for many other areas of knowledge (botany, zoology, ethnography, and others). As a result, V. g. Europeans for the first time got acquainted with a number of village-x. crops (potatoes, maize, tomatoes, tobacco), which then spread to Europe. V. g. o. had major social and economic consequences. The opening of new trade routes and new countries contributed to the fact that trade acquired a global character, there was a gigantic increase in the number of goods in circulation. This accelerated the process of the disintegration of feudalism and the emergence of capitalist relations in Western Europe.