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The Black Death was a deadly disease that ended u killing one-third of the population in Europe. 25 million people became infected by the plague that was transmitted by fleas carried by rats. As rats boarded the different ships they would infect the people on the ships with the disease, and then continue to spread it as the ships stopped at the various ports. The plague originated in Central Asia and was then brought over to China by the Mongols in 1331.
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The lost map of the world drawn by the geographer Ptolmey in the second centery is found again in western Europe. It becomes the best map of the wrold and it makes Columbus believe that Asia can be reached by sailing west from Europe.
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Prince Henry establishes a School of Navigations and base for explorations on Cape St. Vincent in portugal.
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The first caravels were built during this time. Also, an Asian ship enters the Atlantic Ocean for the first time by rounding the Cape of Good Hope.
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Slaves were first auctioned off in Portugal in 1422. These slaves were brought to Portugal from Africa on one of Prince Henry's explorations. This was an extremely important stepping stone because these auctions became more and more frequent as more people were needed to do work.
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Columbus discovered the West Indies when he explored the New World. He also learns that compasses change direction along with the longitude. Also, Moslems are driven from Spanish soil after seven centuries. and Leonardo Da Vinci draws a plan for a flying machine.
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Vasco da Gama rounded the tip of Africa to reach India.
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In 1499 Amerigo Vespucchi was sent to explore the South American coast. He discovers that it is not part of Asia, but rather a whole different continent. The Americas are believed to be named after Amerigo in remembrance of this great discovery,
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Smallpox is an infectious disease that only infects humans. This disease was first brought to the Americas by Europeans in 1514. The disease began to wipe out native populations as soon as it hit the shore. During the closing of the 18th century smallpox wiped out about 400,000 Europeans.
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Martin Luther was a German monk who taught at the University. Luther initiated the Protestant Reformation because of a frier that arrived in Wittenberg selling indulgences tha offered exemption from punishment of sins in exchange for donations to the Church. Luther was very against this and to challenge the church he posted ninety-five theses which told of his beliefs. Luther believed that priests were not needed to mediate between God and man.
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In 1521 Hernan Cortez and his army invaded the Aztec Empire. After strategic planning the Spaniards were able to force a surprise attack on Atahualpa and his men, taking Atahualpa hostage. This victory was extremely important for the Spanish. The new capital of New Spain, Mexico City, is built on the ruins of the Tenochitlan.
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Magellan was born in Sabrosa and was the first explorer to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and to cross the Pacific Ocean. The last remaining of Megellan's five ships, with its crew of seventeen men, returned to Spain in 1522, ending the first voyage around the world.
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The astronomer Nicholas Copernicus publishes a book which says that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun. Biologist Andreas Vesalius publishes the first accurate book on human anatomy.
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In 1606 King James I ordered a groupd of London entrepeneurs to establish a settlement in the Chesapeake region. Almost 104 settlers were shipped out to Virginia ordered to settle there, find gold, and seek a water way to the Orient. Captain John Smith was put in charge and in 1607 the group landed in Virginia ready to establish an English Colony,
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1609 was the year that the first telescope was built by Galileo. Galileo was a physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher. He built the first telescope by using notes from scientists that had come before him. Galileo introduced a new way of being able to study the universe and it allowed scientists that followed him to be able expand even further upon his knowledge,
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Those fifteen events were chosen as the most important to exploration because they all had some sort of an impact on the growth of exploration. Without dieseases such as the plague and smallpox, we would be without medicine. Without the ships that were invented, we would not be as advanced as we are now. Lastly, without the explorers that discovered the new civilizations, we may not have grown to be such a large intertwined civilization.
