15TH CENTURY: EUROPE, VOYAGES OF EXPLORATION, EVENTS - HISTORY

The 15th century was a momentous century in the history of humanity, marked by its technological advances, discoveries and by the presence of countless representative characters. The great events that occurred between January 1401 and December 1501 gave a considerable turn to the history of man.

Due to the remarkable nature of the findings originated in this period of time, it was also called the “Century of Innovations”. As a result of this century, the so-called “Age of Discoveries” began. It coincided with the European Renaissance, one of the most representative cultural movements of humanity.

The Catholic Monarchs receiving Christopher Columbus. Source: National Museum of Art, from Wikimedia Commons

Practically this century is a transitional bridge between two great human moments: the Middle Ages and the Modern Age, representing the last years of the first, and the first of the last.

Europe

The Europe of the 15th century is marked, mainly, by the Renaissance, a movement that began in Italy and characterized by a revival of the arts based on the knowledge inherited by Greek and Roman culture.

Man as the center of everything (anthropocentrism)

With the main monotheistic religious movements having lost a bit of strength, and a climate of relative peace being presented in certain areas of the old continent, the conditions for a great advance in all branches of knowledge were given. The main protagonist and the center of everything: the man.

After Constantine assumed Christianity as the official religion around the 4th century AD. C., the Roman power was in charge of submitting the peoples not only under the sword, but also under the dogmas of the new belief that they had assumed. Everything foreign to his way of thinking and believing was vetoed and erased.

Practically the European community spent a millennium under these conditions, what was later known as "obscurantism", due to the limited technological and scientific advance that occurred as a result of religious imposition. To this was added later the great Muslim influence in the 8th century.

However, after the decline and fall of the Roman Empire with the taking of Constantinople in 1452, and the loss of power of the Arabs in the Iberian Peninsula (until their expulsion in 1482), the settlers had some respite from religious impositions.

These events also brought abrupt changes in access to many items, directly affecting trade between Europe and Asia. These changes also affected the general population.

The communities, gathering their courage and assuming the necessary positions before the events that occurred, began to reorganize. Man began to retake his place as the maker and creator of new realities, the center of creativity, the transforming hand of the world.

Navigation and the commercial revolution

Thanks to the monarchies of Portugal and Spain there was a considerable advance in navigation. This eventually led to the improvement of trade through the discovery of new maritime routes, giving way to what was later known as "the commercial revolution."

This, of course, allowed a flow of currency like never before. Wealth increased, and with it the quality of life. All conditions were perfect for exponential growth, just as it happened.

The unification of kingdoms in Spain

At the same time that great advances were made in commercial matters, the most notable Iberian kingdoms, those of Aragon and Castile, signed agreements and closed deals with weddings to consolidate their alliances and unify efforts.

This series of events gave way to the consolidation of the power of ancient Hispania. This was followed by a fierce regionalist propaganda that allowed the emergence of a Hispanic spirit in the population, a spirit that the Catholic Monarchs used to achieve the Moorish expulsion in 1492.

Despite the fact that the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon did not represent a political or identity union, since each one maintained their ideals and customs, it did mean the development of both peoples in the near future, even when these monarchies separated after the death of Isabel.

It was worth it, then, to unite such power to be able to retake the lands of Granada from the hands of the Muslim domain and to give them back to their true owners.

Closure of the Mediterranean routes

As every action has a reaction, the expulsion of the Arabs by the Spanish monarchy brought with it the closure of the main Mediterranean maritime trade routes by the Moors.

This action cut off Europe's supplies of spices and other products from Asia, as discussed in advance.

With the already existing advances in navigation that the Portuguese and Spanish possessed, together with these the Italians went in search of new ways to solve the problems presented.

Exploration Trips

Columbus, the one chosen by history

Portrait of Christopher Columbus. Source: José de la Vega Marrugal, via Wikimedia Commons

Although there were at that time, and centuries past, many and famous figures in Europe associated with navigation and explorations -as is the case of Marco Polo and Nicolo Dei Conti, to name a few-, it fell to Christopher Columbus to carry the great honors for being credited with the discovery of America.

This discovery was due to the pressures made by the Arabs in the Mediterranean, and the closure of the main trade routes in protest at the loss of Granada and its expulsion from Hispanic lands.

Columbus, with his idea of circumnavigation, managed to obtain the favors of the Catholic Monarchs and set sail on his voyages in La Pinta, La Niña and Santa María.

First trip

Although the objective was to reach India after circumnavigating the globe, Columbus's fate was not as expected. After having sailed for 72 days, and at the notice of his colleague Rodrigo de Triana, Cristóbal arrived in Gunahaní, which he baptized as San Salvador.

Columbus's conviction regarding circumnavigation was such that he thought he had managed to reach the back side of India, which is why he baptized the aborigines as Indians. This denomination still persists in Latin American lands to refer to any native native.

The Santa María ran aground on those coasts, after hitting some reefs. With the remains of the ship, the Christmas Fort was built.

This first expedition, after the return of Columbus in 1493, represented a very good investment for the Catholic Monarchs after receiving, from the hands of the navigator, gold, exotic animals and tropical fruits.

Second trip

This trip turned out to be one of the most convulsed. Returning to Fort Navidad, the navigators found the murdered bodies of the forty men who had remained. The island was baptized as "Isabela", in honor of the queen.

Part of the crew returned sick to Spain, in 12 boats. When they arrived in front of the kings they dedicated themselves to denouncing Columbus as incapable of managing the newly founded Spanish colonies.

Columbus, in his persistent idea of getting India and China, continued sailing and found Jamaica, where he found little gold. When he returned to Isabela, he found massacres between natives and Spaniards, as the latter tried to subdue the aborigines so that they would give them gold.

Having already returned to Spain, Columbus had to render accounts to the Kings and defend himself against the accusations against him.

Third travel

This trip was the one with the fewest resources at the time it was undertaken. After the euphoria experienced with the first trip and the loss of prestige and discouragement of the second, confidence in Columbus and the Indies had fallen.

The kings were hesitant to support Christopher, and even few of his acquaintances wanted to embark with him. Such was the hopelessness surrounding his trip that the kings had to forgive many criminals in exchange for accompanying Columbus on this adventure.

However, despite the refusal of many of the nobles of the time, the trip was a resounding success. On July 31 they arrived in Trinidadian lands and later what they would consider paradise: Venezuela.

The pearl riches that they managed to obtain in the Gulf of Paria, complemented with gold, fruits and exotic animals, allowed Columbus and his crew to return safely to Spain and completely change the economic reality of said monarchy, just at the end of the so-called "Quattrocento".

Important events

If it is about important events that took place in Europe in the 15th century, there are a considerable number of them. However, special mention will be made here of those who are considered of great impact for the kingdoms of the time.

- In 1419, Juan II founded the “Convent of the Comendadoras de San Juan”.

- In 1423 Don Álvaro de Luna was appointed as Constable of Castile.

- Leonor de Aragón, the mother-in-law of King Juan II, was taken to prison in 1430 and interned in Santa Clara.

- In 1431 Joan of Arc died.

- In 1452 Leonardo da Vinci, the man of the Renaissance, was born.

- The Ottoman Turks invaded and conquered the lands of Constantinople in 1453 ending, for many specialists, the Middle Ages.

- The so-called “War of the Two Roses” arose between the York and the Lancasters, from 1455 to 1485.

- The Burgundian War was unleashed, a warlike event that between 1474 and 1477 confronted the Valois Dynasty with the Duchy of Burgundy.

- Between 1475 and 1479 the War of the Castilian Succession took place, which led to the consolidation of the Castilian-Aragonese monarchy.

- In 1479 the Alcázobas peace treaty was signed between the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Fernando and Isabel, and the King of Portugal, Alfonso V, in order to cease arms under equitable agreements for both kingdoms.

- In 1492 the Moors were expelled from Spain and Granada was retaken, in addition Columbus discovered America and Antonio de Nebrija published his famous work: The Castilian Grammar.

- Garcilaso de la Vega, the renowned Spanish poet, was born in 1498.

Inventions

Oil paintings (Holland, 1420)

They were devised by the Van Eyck brothers. Oil is made up of a series of crushed pigments that are subsequently mixed with oils, resins and waxes. It came to mean a revolution in the art of painting.

The printing press (Germany, 1436)

This invention came from the hand of the German Johannes Gutenberg and that marked a before and after for humanity, as far as the dissemination of knowledge is concerned.

Illustration from a French printing press. Source: By UnknownUnknown author, via Wikimedia Commons

Its appearance allowed the proliferation of books, as well as its massification, making it easier for all sectors of the population to access literature. It is considered the most momentous invention of the 15th century.

The arquebus (Spain, 1450)

It is a small barrel, small enough to be carried by one man. It was a great advance in the innovations of war. Wars changed as a result of this invention, these had to be better thought out strategically. In addition to this, the arquebus was the forerunner of small firearms.

The Astrolabe (1470)

Etymologically astrolabe means "in search of the stars." This invention was, for the time and even today, an excellent resource that allowed great advances in navigation, serving as a great help on exploration trips.

References

XV century. (S. f.). (N / a): Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org
Cantó, F. (2012). Europe XV century: Political and social transformations. (N / a): History and Geography. Recovered from: cens30de8historiaygeografia2.blogspot.com
Borja, J. (S. f.). Early modern times, 15th to 18th centuries. Colombia: Art Collection of the Bank of the Republic. Recovered from: banrepcultural.org
Europe of the XV century. (S. f.). (N / a): History of the New World. Recovered from: historiadelnuevomundo.com
Murillo Vísquez, J. (2013). European Expansion from the 15th to the 18th Century and Its Impact in Latin America: the Economy, Society, States, Political Institutions. Spain: Critical History. Recovered from: histounahblog.wordpress.com

15TH CENTURY: EUROPE, VOYAGES OF EXPLORATION, EVENTS - HISTORY - 2025