Reniero Zeno Lorenzo Tiepolo
135-482: [REDACTED] Pietro Gradenigo [REDACTED] Giovanni Soranzo [REDACTED] Andrea Dandolo ( POW ) [REDACTED] Niccolò Pisani [REDACTED] Peter IV of Aragon [REDACTED] Guglielmo Boccanegra [REDACTED] Michael VIII Palaiologos (1261–1268) [REDACTED] Lamba Doria [REDACTED] Andronikos II Palaiologos [REDACTED] Paganino Doria The Venetian–Genoese Wars were four conflicts between
270-635: A mare clausum policy in the Atlantic. The king, who had been inquiring of Genoese experts about a seaway to India, commissioned the Fra Mauro world map , which arrived in Lisbon in 1459. In 1456, Diogo Gomes reached the Cape Verde archipelago. In the next decade captains at the service of Prince Henry, discovered the remaining islands which were occupied during the 15th century. The Gulf of Guinea would be reached in
405-586: A plot to depose him and the Great Council, led by Bajamonte Tiepolo and other members of the aristocratic families. On 15 June 1310, the coup failed and its leaders were severely punished. Tiepolo's plot led to the creation of the Council of Ten , initially as a temporary institution, which later evolved into the permanent body which in reality governed the Republic. On 13 August 1311, Gradenigo died, and, since Venice
540-659: A Castilian armada of 35 caravels, and a Portuguese fleet for the hegemony of the Guinea trade (gold, slaves, ivory, and malagueta pepper). The war ended with a Portuguese naval victory, followed by the official recognition by the Catholic Monarchs of Portuguese sovereignty over most of the disputed West African territories embodied in the Treaty of Alcáçovas, 1479. This was the first colonial war among European powers. In 1481, João II decided to build São Jorge da Mina factory . In 1482
675-1040: A Genoese fleet off Acre when it arrived in June of the following year. In 1261, with the signing of the Treaty of Nymphaeum between Genoa and the Nicaean emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos , the reconquest of Constantinople from the Latins supported by Venice took place, as anticipated. On the maritime side, the Venetian navy maintained its dominance in battle over the Genoese. The major battles that occurred, at Acre in 1258 , at Settepozzi in Euboia in 1263, and off Trapani in Sicily in 1266, were crushing Venetian victories. The Genoese instead concentrated on attacks on Venetian commercial convoys with acts of piracy as in
810-625: A Mongol nobleman was killed during an altercation with a Venetian merchant in the city of Tana, and in retaliation, the Horde attacked the Venetian exercises in Tana, giving Jani Beg the pretext to assume control of all Italian trading posts, while the Genoese took advantage of the Venetian withdrawal from Tana to establish a commercial monopoly in the Black Sea. In 1346 Jani Beg attacked Caffa. After two years of siege,
945-502: A Muslim merchant to India and Southeast Asia. In 1466–1472, Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin of Tver travelled to India, which he described in his book A Journey Beyond the Three Seas . These overland journeys had little immediate effect. The Mongol Empire collapsed almost as quickly as it formed and soon the route to the east became more difficult and dangerous. The Black Death of the 14th century also blocked travel and trade for
1080-609: A Venetian merchant, dictated an account of journeys throughout Asia from 1271 to 1295, describing being a guest at the Yuan dynasty court of Kublai Khan in Travels . It was read throughout Europe. The Muslim fleet guarding the Strait of Gibraltar was defeated by Genoa in 1291. In that year, the Genoese attempted their first Atlantic exploration when merchant brothers Vadino and Ugolino Vivaldi sailed from Genoa with two galleys, but disappeared off
1215-514: A book of supposed travels compiled by John Mandeville acquired popularity. Despite the unreliable and often fantastical nature of its accounts, it was used as a reference for the East, Egypt, and the Levant in general, asserting the old belief that Jerusalem was the centre of the world . Following the period of Timurid relations with Europe , in 1439, Niccolò de' Conti published an account of his travels as
1350-658: A circuit from the New World to Asia (starting in 1500 by Pedro Álvares Cabral ), and explored islands in the South Atlantic and Southern Indian Oceans. The Portuguese sailed further eastward, to the valuable Spice Islands in 1512, landing in China one year later. Japan was reached by the Portuguese in 1543. In 1513, Spanish Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached
1485-552: A complex relationship of competition and collaboration was established for the control of the Mediterranean routes. The Crusades offered these cities, the so-called maritime republics (Amalfi, Genoa, Venice, Pisa, Ancona and Ragusa) the opportunity to expand trade, which was already active, with the Levant: thousands of inhabitants of these cities flocked to the East, creating warehouses, colonies and commercial establishments, supporting
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#17328558070851620-477: A confederation of merchant guilds and their towns in north Germany, along the North Sea and Baltic Sea, was instrumental in the commercial development of the region. In the 12th century, the regions of Flanders , Hainault , and Brabant produced the finest quality textiles in northwest Europe, which encouraged merchants from Genoa and Venice to sail there from the Mediterranean, through the Strait of Gibraltar, and up
1755-738: A constant deficit in silver and gold , as it only went out, spent on eastern trade now cut off. Several European mines were exhausted, The lack of bullion led to the development of a complex banking system to manage the risks in trade (the first state bank, Banco di San Giorgio , was founded in 1407 at Genoa). Sailing also into the ports of Bruges (Flanders) and England, Genoese communities were then established in Portugal, who profited from their enterprise and financial expertise. European sailing had been primarily close to land cabotage , guided by portolan charts . These charts specified proven ocean routes guided by coastal landmarks: sailors departed from
1890-711: A debilitating economic outlay. Acts of piracy between the Venetians and Genoese (subject to French control in the meantime) continued until the Venetian victory at the Battle of Modon (1403) . Thirty years later, the two republics faced each other again in the Battle of San Fruttuoso (1431), but in the context of the Wars in Lombardy and with Genoa then subject to the Visconti of Milan . The real cause of
2025-559: A distinct period of time. Published in 1496 by the Jewish astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician Abraham Zacuto , the Almanac Perpetuum included some of these tables for the movements of stars. These tables revolutionized navigation, allowing the calculation of latitude . Exact longitude remained elusive from mariners for centuries. Using the caravel, systematic exploration continued ever more southerly, advancing on average one degree
2160-558: A known point, followed a compass heading, and tried to identify their location by its landmarks. For the first oceanic exploration Western Europeans used the compass, as well as progressive new advances in cartography and astronomy. Arab navigational tools like the astrolabe and quadrant were used for celestial navigation . The Muslim lands in Asia were generally more economically developed and had better infrastructure than Europe at this time, despite Europe's economic changes brought about by
2295-647: A maritime power following a series of victories against the Republic of Pisa between 1118 and 1131. In 1191 it took possession of Monaco , over whose currently independent principality the Genoese Grimaldi family still reigns. Following the Treaty of Nymphaeum (1261) with the Byzantines, Genoa gained access to the Black Sea, where it established several trading ports around the Crimea (e.g. Gazaria ), whose main port, Caffa ,
2430-564: A personal interest in exports. In 1317, he made an agreement with Genoese merchant sailor Manuel Pessanha , appointing him first admiral of the Portuguese Navy , to defend the country against Muslim pirate raids. Outbreaks of bubonic plague led to severe depopulation in the second half of the 14th century: only the sea offered alternatives, with most population settling in fishing and trading coastal areas. Between 1325 and 1357, Afonso IV of Portugal encouraged maritime commerce and ordered
2565-503: A time. Religion played a critical role in motivating European expansionism . In 1487, Portuguese envoys Pero da Covilhã and Afonso de Paiva were sent on a covert mission to gather intelligence on a potential sea route to India and inquire about Prester John , a Nestorian patriarch and king, believed to rule over parts of the subcontinent. Covilhã was warmly received upon his arrival in Ethiopia, but forbidden from leaving. During
2700-735: A year. Senegal and Cape Verde Peninsula were reached in 1445 and in 1446, Álvaro Fernandes pushed on almost as far as present-day Sierra Leone . In 1453, the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans was a perceived blow to Christendom and established business links with the East. In 1455, Pope Nicholas V issued the bull Romanus Pontifex reinforcing the previous Dum Diversas (1452), granting all lands and seas discovered beyond Cape Bojador to King Afonso V of Portugal and his successors, as well as mostly cutting off trade to and permitting conquest and increased war against Muslims and pagans, initiating
2835-624: Is likely this last expedition reached as far as Madagascar . The travels were reported by Ma Huan , a Muslim voyager and translator who accompanied Zheng He on three of the expeditions, his account published as the Yingya Shenglan (Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores) (1433). The voyages had a significant and lasting effect on the organization of a maritime network , using and creating nodes and conduits in its wake, thereby restructuring international and cross-cultural relationships and exchanges. It
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#17328558070852970-600: The 13th century , became thalassocracies so solid as to oust the other maritime republics and to make the two cities privileged interlocutors of state structures such as the Byzantine Empire , the Kingdom of Hungary , etc. In the second half of the 13th century the tensions between Venice and Genoa, exacerbated by the Venetian control over Constantinople following the Fourth Crusade , exploded. The first conflict, known as
3105-574: The Age of Exploration , has been scrutinized through reflections on the exploration . Its understanding and use, has been discussed as being framed and used for colonial ventures, discrimination and exploitation , by combining it with concepts such as the " frontier " (as in Frontier Thesis ) and manifest destiny , up to the contemporary age of space exploration . Alternatively, the term contact , as in first contact , has been used to shed more light on
3240-410: The Age of Exploration , was part of the early modern period and largely overlapped with the Age of Sail . It was a period from approximately the late 15th century to the 17th century, during which seafarers from a number of European countries explored, colonized, and conquered regions across the globe. The Age of Discovery was a transformative period in world history when previously isolated parts of
3375-596: The Battle of Saseno . The disputes between the Genoese and Emperor Michael VIII allowed the Venetians the possibility of having commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire, with a truce signed in 1268 . The war ended in 1270 with the Peace of Cremona , mediated by Louis IX of France and Pope Clement IV who wished to organize the Eighth Crusade and needed the Venetian and Genoese fleets for this undertaking. Following
3510-481: The Black Death allowing for more freedoms for lower- and upper-class people. The gunpowder empires concealed knowledge to European Christian traders about where lucrative locations such as Indonesia were, spurring a further desire for Christian trade with other Muslim nations besides the gunpowder empires despite European Christians generally having antipathy towards Muslims. In 1297, King Denis of Portugal took
3645-582: The Christian reconquest of Al-Andalus in what is now southern Spain and the siege of Lisbon (1147 AD), in Portugal. The decline of Fatimid Caliphate naval strength, which started before the First Crusade , helped the maritime Italian states, mainly Venice, Genoa and Pisa, dominate trade in the Eastern Mediterranean , with merchants there becoming wealthy and politically influential. Further changing
3780-568: The Congo River was explored by Diogo Cão , who in 1486 continued to Cape Cross (modern Namibia ). The next crucial breakthrough was in 1488, when Bartolomeu Dias rounded the southern tip of Africa, which he named Cabo das Tormentas, "Cape of Storms", anchoring at Mossel Bay and then sailing east as far as the mouth of the Great Fish River , proving the Indian Ocean was accessible from
3915-549: The Indies , by crossing the Atlantic. Columbus encountered a continent uncharted by Europeans (though it had been explored and temporarily colonized by the Norse 500 years earlier). Later, it was called America after Amerigo Vespucci , a trader working for Portugal . Portugal quickly claimed those lands under the terms of the Treaty of Alcáçovas , but Castile was able to persuade the Pope, who
4050-528: The Kingdom of Aragon , Genoa's emerging Tyrrhenian rival. This third war again ended in stalemate with a Genoese military victory at great cost. The fourth conflict, the War of Chioggia (1377-1381), saw Venice surrounded by various fronts, with the Genoese reaching the entrance to the Venetian Lagoon , but, with an enormous war effort, Venice achieved the final victory, saving the city from destruction, even without
4185-515: The Levant raised curiosity and commercial interest in countries which lay further east. There are a few accounts of merchants from North Africa and the Mediterranean, who traded in the Indian Ocean in late medieval times. Christian embassies were sent as far as Karakorum during the Mongol invasions of the Levant , from which they gained a greater understanding of the world. The first of these travellers
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4320-661: The New World . By the late 16th and 17th centuries, the latter's presence increased as they sought to reassert their power and revive the Catholic culture of Europe, which had been damaged by the Reformation . The Chinese had wide connections through trade in Asia and been sailing to Arabia , East Africa , and Egypt since the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907). Between 1405-21, the third Ming emperor Yongle sponsored long range tributary missions in
4455-582: The Republic of Venice and the Republic of Genoa which took place between 1256 and 1381. Each was resolved almost entirely through naval clashes, and they were connected to each other by interludes during which episodes of piracy and violence between the two Italian trading communities in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea were commonplace, in a " cold war " climate. Starting in the 11th century , Venice and Genoa had built commercial empires which, in
4590-561: The Silk Road . In March 1261, the Byzantine-Nicene emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos allied himself with Genoa to reconquer Constantinople from the Latins and signed the Treaty of Nymphaeum which granted the Genoese important commercial privileges in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean in exchange for their active support against the other Latin powers and, above all, Venice. Constantinople
4725-654: The War of Saint Sabas (1256-1270), was a Venetian victory, though it did not undermine the growing Genoese power in Constantinople and the Black Sea. The second conflict (1294-1299) recorded a revenge for the Ligurians, with significant military victories. After a temporary alliance against the Mongols during the siege of Caffa (1346), Venice and Genoa clashed again in the War of the Straits (1350-1355), during which Venice dragged in
4860-576: The discovery doctrine , expounded by the US Supreme Court in 1823, draws on assertions of European powers' right to claim land during their explorations. The concept of "discovery" has been used to enforce colonial claiming and discovery, but has been challenged by indigenous peoples and researchers. Many indigenous peoples have fundamentally challenged the concept of colonial claiming of "discovery" over their lands and people, as forced and negating indigenous presence. The period alternatively called
4995-670: The exploration of the polar regions in the 20th century. European exploration initiated the Columbian exchange between the Old World (Europe, Asia, and Africa) and the New World (the Americas and Australia). This exchange involved the transfer of plants, animals, human populations (including slaves ), communicable diseases , and culture across the Eastern and Western Hemispheres . The Age of Discovery and European exploration involved mapping of
5130-424: The "other sea" from the New World. Thus, Europe first received news of the eastern and western Pacific within a one-year span around 1512. East and west exploration overlapped in 1522, when a Spanish expedition sailing westward, led by Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan and, after his death by navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano , completed the first circumnavigation of the world. Spanish conquistadors explored
5265-613: The 11th century. It was adopted by Arab traders in the Indian Ocean. The compass spread to Europe by the late 12th or early 13th century. Use of the compass for navigation in the Indian Ocean was first mentioned in 1232. The first mention of use of the compass in Europe was in 1180. The Europeans used a "dry" compass, with a needle on a pivot. The compass card was also a European invention. Ships grew in size, required smaller crews and were able to sail longer distances without stopping. This led to significant lower long-distance shipping costs by
5400-604: The 1460s. In 1460, Pedro de Sintra reached Sierra Leone. Prince Henry died in November of that year after which, given the meagre revenues, exploration was granted to Lisbon merchant Fernão Gomes in 1469, who in exchange for the monopoly of trade in the Gulf of Guinea had to explore 100 miles (161 kilometres) each year for five years. With his sponsorship, explorers João de Santarém , Pedro Escobar , Lopo Gonçalves, Fernão do Pó , and Pedro de Sintra made it beyond those goals. They reached
5535-532: The 14th century. Cogs remained popular for trade because of their low cost. Galleys were also used in trade. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea , a document from 40-60 AD, describes a newly discovered route through the Red Sea to India, with descriptions of the markets in towns around Red Sea, Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, including along the east coast of Africa, which states "for beyond these places
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5670-475: The 21st century has its origins in the expansion of trade networks during this era. The exploration also created colonial empires and marked an increased adoption of colonialism as a government policy in several European states. As such, it is sometimes synonymous with the first wave of European colonization . The colonization reshaped power dynamics causing geopolitical shifts in Europe and creating new centers of power beyond Europe. Having set human history on
5805-435: The Adriatic in 1378 and defeated the Venetians under Vettor Pisani at Pula in 1379. Having been reinforced, they advanced against Venice under Pietro Doria, Luciano having been killed at Pula. Though failing to break through the defences of the Venetian lagoon, the Genoese captured the port of Chioggia near its southern end, with support from the Paduans on land. In December 1379 the Venetians were able to sink blockships in
5940-408: The Aegean, Bosporus, and Black Sea. The Venetians and other maritime republics maintained more limited access to Asian goods, via south-eastern Mediterranean trade, in such ports as Antioch, Acre, and Alexandria. Forced to reduce their activities in the Black Sea, and at war with Venice, the Genoese had turned to North African trade of wheat, olive oil and a search for silver and gold. Europeans had
6075-421: The Anatolian expeditions of Hugh IV of Cyprus (1336-1337). The subsequent Christian expeditions, known as the Smyrna Crusades (1343-1351), managed to bring some order to Anatolia, giving the Venetians respite from the Turkish threat. In the meantime, after the death of Özbeg Khan in 1341, his son Jani Beg reignited tensions between the Mongols, recently converted to Islam , and the Italians in Crimea. In 1343,
6210-463: The Arab seamen, and its southern extent was unknown. There were reports of great African Sahara , but the knowledge was limited for the Europeans, to the Mediterranean coast and little else, since the Arab blockade of North Africa precluded exploration inland. Knowledge about the Atlantic African coast was fragmented and derived mainly from old Greek and Roman maps based on Carthaginian knowledge, including Roman exploration of Mauritania . The Red Sea
6345-460: The Atlantic coast. Nicolòzzo Spinola made the first recorded direct voyage from Genoa to Flanders in 1277. Technological advancements that were important to the Age of Exploration were the adoption of the magnetic compass and advances in ship design. The compass was an addition to the ancient method of navigation based on sightings of the sun and stars. It was invented during the Chinese Han dynasty and had been used for navigation in China by
6480-431: The Atlantic. Simultaneously Pero da Covilhã , sent out travelling secretly overland, had reached Ethiopia having collected important information about the Red Sea and Quenia coast, suggesting a sea route to the Indies would soon be forthcoming. Soon the cape was renamed by King John II of Portugal the " Cape of Good Hope ", because of the great optimism engendered by the possibility of a sea route to India, proving false
6615-421: The Bosphorus. During the expedition, various Genoese possessions in the Mediterranean and Black Sea were captured and plundered, including again Phocaea and Pera. The basileus , however, preferred at that point to avoid siding with Genoa again to avoid a war with Venice. In 1298, the Genoese fleet under the command of Lamba Doria entered the Adriatic and engaged the Venetians in the bloody Battle of Curzola ,
6750-408: The Byzantine reconquest of Constantinople and due to the inevitable collision between the two thalassocracies, came to be known as the War of Saint Sabas and was the prelude to a conflict that dragged on with alternating events until the threshold of the 15th century . The Venetian-Genoese clashes usually took place off the coasts and trading posts that the two maritime republics controlled both along
6885-400: The Byzantine reconquest of Constantinople. It originated from a dispute between merchants in Acre (then the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem since the Holy City had been reconquered for the Muslims by Saladin ), a key business center for all trade and interests, especially Italian, in Levantine coast. Futile reasons, actually fueled by old grievances that had excluded the Genoese from
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#17328558070857020-407: The Canary Islands in 1402 but became distracted by internal Iberian politics and the repelling of Islamic invasion attempts and raids through most of the 15th century. Late in the century, following the unification of the crowns of Castile and Aragon, an emerging modern Spain became fully committed to the search for new trade routes overseas. The Crown of Aragon had been an important maritime power in
7155-406: The Crusaders both logistically (e.g. the Genoese supplied the troops of Bohemond of Hauteville engaged in the Siege of Antioch ) and with the supply of soldiers and military support. During the 12th century, it was the Republic of Venice (an "excellent" commercial interlocutor of Byzantium since the so-called Chrysobull of 1082 ) and the Republic of Genoa that emerged as dominant powers among
7290-459: The Genoese and Venetian fleets over the ports of the upper Adriatic, but through the mediation of Amadeus VI of Savoy , the two sides negotiated peace at Turin in 1381. Despite the victory at Chioggia, the war had been financially disastrous for Venice, which only secured peace by agreeing to concessions including the evacuation of Tenedos, recognition of Genoese supremacy in Cyprus, the surrender of its principal mainland possession of Treviso , and
7425-439: The Indian Ocean under the command of admiral Zheng He . A large fleet of new junk ships was prepared for the international diplomatic expeditions. The largest of these junks—that the Chinese termed bao chuan (treasure ships) —may have measured 121 metres, and thousands of sailors were involved. The first expedition departed in 1405. At least seven well-documented expeditions were launched, each bigger and more expensive than
7560-492: The Indian Ocean, tapping source regions in the Far East and shipping for trading emporiums in India, mainly Kozhikode , westward to Ormus in the Persian Gulf and Jeddah in the Red Sea . From there, overland routes led to the Mediterranean coasts. Venetian merchants distributed the goods through Europe until the rise of the Ottoman Empire , which eventually led to the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, barring Europeans from some important combined-land-sea routes in areas around
7695-421: The Italian Peninsula and elsewhere in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Venice had built the foundations of its commercial empire thanks to the Chrysobull of 1082, establishing itself in Constantinople, Athens , Thessaloniki , Thebes , Antioch, Ephesus as well as in the islands of Euboea and Chios . In 1204 it considerably extended its area of influence in the Mediterranean following the capture of Zadar ,
7830-400: The Mamluks, Khan Toqta of the Golden Horde arrested the Genoese residents of Sarai Berke and besieged Caffa. Poorly protected by an earth and wood fence, the city fell in May 1308 and was abandoned by the Genoese who set it on fire. When Toqta died in 1312, Genoa sent ambassadors to his successor, Özbeg Khan , who agreed to welcome the Genoese back and in 1316 adopted measures to encourage
7965-406: The Mediterranean, controlling territories in eastern Spain, southwestern France, major islands like Sicily , Malta , and the Kingdom of Naples and Sardinia , with mainland possessions as far as Greece. In 1492 the joint rulers conquered the Moorish kingdom of Granada , which had been providing Castile with African goods through tribute, and decided to fund Christopher Columbus 's expedition in
8100-458: The Middle Ages, the spread of Christianity throughout Europe fueled the desire to sermonise in lands beyond. This evangelical effort became a significant part of the military conquests of European powers, like Portugal , Spain , and France , often leading to the conversion of indigenous peoples, voluntarily or forced. Religious orders such as the Franciscans , Dominicans , Augustinians , and Jesuits partook in most missionary endeavours in
8235-436: The Ming treasure fleet generated and intensified competition among contending polities and rivals, each seeking an alliance with the Ming. The expeditions developed into a maritime trade enterprise, with imperial control over local markets and court-monitored transactions, generating revenue for China and its partners. They boosted regional trade and production, caused a supply shock in Eurasia and led to price spikes in Europe in
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#17328558070858370-490: The Mongols and Italian merchants were somewhat ambiguous: the Mongol knights, averse to the sea, benefited from the Italian trade that connected Asia and Europe through the Crimea but the enrichment of the European trading posts fueled their greed. From 1307 tensions emerged on the issue of the trade in Turkish slaves, sold by the Italians to the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt to make them soldiers. Dissatisfied with this trade fueled by steppe kidnappings to provide an army to his enemy
8505-399: The Mongols were forced to retreat after being decimated by the plague , which also infected the Genoese after Jani Beg decided to throw plague-ridden corpses over the city walls. Following this act of bacteriological warfare , the epidemic rapidly spread to Caffa, most likely from rats making their way into the city rather than because of the flung corpses, and forced the Genoese to abandon
8640-458: The Moroccan coast, feeding fears of oceanic travel. From 1325 to 1354, a Moroccan scholar from Tangier , Ibn Battuta , journeyed through North Africa, the Sahara desert, West Africa, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, having reached China. After returning, he dictated an account to a scholar he met in Granada, The Rihla ("The Journey"), the unheralded source on his adventures. Between 1357 and 1371
8775-443: The Pacific Ocean around South America, and eventually by following the Portuguese around Africa, into the Indian Ocean; discovering Australia in 1606, New Zealand in 1642, and Hawaii in 1778. From the 1580s to the 1640s, Russians explored and conquered almost the whole of Siberia and Alaska in the 1730s. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire largely severed the connection between Europe, and lands further east, Christian Europe
8910-418: The Pacific, which later achieved the first circumnavigation of the globe between 1519 and 1522. These Spanish expeditions significantly impacted the European perceptions of the world. These discoveries led to numerous naval expeditions across the Atlantic , Indian, and Pacific Oceans , and land expeditions in the Americas, Asia , Africa , and Australia that continued into the late 19th century, followed by
9045-401: The Portuguese maritime and trade presence in Kerala and the Indian Ocean . During the Age of Discovery, Spain sponsored and financed the transatlantic voyages of the Italian navigator Christopher Columbus , which from 1492 to 1504 marked the start of colonization in the Americas, and the expedition of the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to open a route from the Atlantic Ocean to
9180-415: The Southern Hemisphere and islands of the Gulf of Guinea, including São Tomé and Príncipe and Elmina on the Gold Coast in 1471. There, in what came to be called the "Gold Coast" in what is today Ghana , a thriving alluvial gold trade was found among the natives, Arab and Berber traders. In 1478, during the War of the Castilian Succession , near the coast at Elmina a large battle was fought between
9315-425: The Treaty of Milan the two Republics signed peace. The Venetians instead continued the war with the Byzantines. At the beginning of the 14th century , relations between Genoa and Venice were still in a state of tension (in 1304 the Genoese occupied Chios with the approval of Byzantium) but the political upheavals in Crimea managed to make the two thalassocracies unlikely allies. On the Black Sea, relations between
9450-412: The Venetian fleet sacked Galata and threatened the imperial palace of Blachernae , but in 1298 they lost again - this time at Curzola . Eventually, in 1299 the two republics signed a peace treaty. Doge Gradenigo was responsible for the so-called Serrata del Maggior Consiglio , the "locking" or "closing" of the Great Council of Venice . This new law, passed in February 1297, restricted membership of
9585-478: The Western Ocean's regional integration and increase in international circulation of people, ideas, and goods. It provided a platform for cosmopolitan discourses, which took place in locations such as the ships of the Ming treasure fleet, the Ming capitals of Nanjing as well as Beijing, and the banquet receptions organized by the Ming court for foreign representatives. Diverse groups of people from maritime countries congregated, interacted, and traveled together as
9720-638: The age of discovery and colonialism, using the alternative names of Age of Contact or Contact Period , discussing it as an "unfinished, diverse project". The Portuguese began systematically exploring the Atlantic coast of Africa in 1418, under the sponsorship of Prince Henry the Navigator . In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias reached the Indian Ocean by this route. In 1492, the Catholic Monarchs of Spain funded Genoese mariner Christopher Columbus 's ( Italian : Cristoforo Colombo ) plan to sail west to reach
9855-421: The city after the siege was lifted by the Mongols. The dispersal of Italian merchants in the Mediterranean, with their ships carrying flea -infested rats , was the cause of the second plague pandemic in Europe, the " Black Death ". Disputes over Black Sea prompted the outbreak of another war in 1350, in which Venice allied with King Peter IV of Aragon , who was at odds with Genoa over control of Sardinia and
9990-561: The coasts of the Mediterranean Sea : in this context, and given the crisis of the central powers, some port cities of the Italian peninsula were able to acquire ever greater autonomy, to the point of playing a leading role in the European scenario. The traffic of these cities reached Africa and above all Asia, effectively inserting itself between the Byzantine and Islamic maritime powers, with which
10125-717: The commercial centers and trade routes that crossed the former Byzantine Empire was more essential. In addition to its positions on the mainland, Venice took advantage of the Byzantine weakening to take control of several Greek islands: in the Cyclades , where the Duchy of Naxos was founded (1207); in Crete (1209), where the Duchy of Candia was founded; and in the Ionian Islands ( Corfu , Lesbos , Kythira , etc.). The management of these territories
10260-533: The commercial rivalry between his Catalan subjects and the Genoese, and entered the war in 1351. Following clashes between local forces in the Aegean and around the Bosphorus , in 1351 a major Genoese fleet under Paganino Doria besieged the Venetian colony of Negroponte before advancing to Constantinople. The Byzantine Emperor John VI , who had lost a short war with the Genoese in 1348–1349, had been induced to enter
10395-518: The debts accumulated during these wars, and fell into deepening financial incapacity over the following decades. Its chronic political instability became acute after 1390, contributing to the acceptance of French sovereignty in 1396, the first of a series of prolonged bouts of foreign rule during the fifteenth century, which reduced its freedom of action. These contrasting developments diminished Genoa's capacity to compete with Venice politically, although its commercial fortunes continued to flourish until
10530-627: The division of the Byzantine lands after the Fourth Crusade , led to a Genoese attack on the Venetian district of Acre. The Venetians, together with Pisans and Provencals , the Knights Templar and some of the local nobility, turned against the Catalans , the Anconitans , the Knights Hospitaller , other local nobles and the Genoese. A fleet sent from Venice under Lorenzo Tiepolo in 1257 defeated
10665-408: The early 15th century. The tributary relations promoted during the voyages manifested a trend toward cross-regional interconnections and early globalization in Asia and Africa. Diplomatic relations were built on mutually beneficial maritime trade and China's strong naval presence in foreign waters, with Chinese naval superiority being a key factor in these interactions. The voyages brought about
10800-463: The emperor's death, as the Chinese lost interest in what they termed barbarian lands, turning inward, and successor emperors felt the expeditions were harmful to the Chinese state; Hongxi Emperor ended further expeditions and Xuande Emperor suppressed much of the information about Zheng He's voyages. From the 8th until the 15th century, the Republic of Venice and neighboring maritime republics held
10935-567: The entire Mediterranean, especially thanks to the alliance between the Sultan of Istanbul and the Barbary pirates , favored the rapprochement and collaboration between the two ancient rivals, e.g. in the Battle of Lepanto . At the same time, the decline in the share of world trade passing through the Mediterranean during the Age of Discovery thwarted the Italian republics' ambitions for commercial dominance and
11070-401: The entire Venetian fleet . This defeat contributed to the deposition of doge Marino Faliero , and Venice made peace with Genoa on 1 June 1355. Though inconclusive in itself, Venice's exhaustion by this war helped bring about the loss of Dalmatia to Hungary shortly afterwards. Freed of the need for support from Milan, the Genoese brought an end to Milanese rule in 1356. In 1376 Venice bought
11205-405: The exploration of the coast of Africa. This was an existing Iberian ship type, used for fishing, commerce and military purposes. Unlike other vessels of the time, the caravel had a sternpost-mounted rudder (as opposed to a side-mounted steering oar). It had a shallow draft, which was helpful in exploring unknown coastlines. It had good sailing performance, with a windward ability that was notable by
11340-546: The first explorations. The Canary Islands , already known to the Genoese, were claimed as officially discovered under the patronage of the Portuguese, but in 1344 Castile disputed them, expanding their rivalry into the sea. To ensure their monopoly on trade, Europeans (beginning with the Portuguese) attempted to install a Mediterranean system of trade which used military might and intimidation, to divert trade through ports they controlled; there it could be taxed. In 1415, Ceuta
11475-574: The future Councils only to the descendants of those nobles who were its members between 1293 and 1297. This move created an oligarchic system, disenfranchising a great majority of the citizens and provoking some unrest. In 1308, during Gradenigo's reign as doge, Venice became involved in war with the Papacy over the control of Ferrara and on 27 March 1309 the Republic was excommunicated by Pope Clement V , barring all Christians from trading with Venice. The Doge's policy, seen by many as disastrous, led to
11610-577: The global common course, the legacy of the Age still shapes the world today. European oceanic exploration started with the maritime expeditions of Portugal to the Canary Islands in 1336, and later with the Portuguese discoveries of the Atlantic archipelagos of Madeira and Azores , the coast of West Africa in 1434, and the establishment of the sea route to India in 1498 by Vasco da Gama , which initiated
11745-405: The growing economic influence and spread of western and European culture , science and technology leading to a faster-than-exponential population growth world-wide. The concept of discovery has been scrutinized, critically highlighting the history of the core term of this periodization . The term "age of discovery" is in historical literature and still commonly used. J. H. Parry , calling
11880-474: The harbour of Chioggia, trapping the Genoese fleet inside. Venice was reinforced by the return of a raiding fleet under Carlo Zeno, which had enjoyed exceptional success against Genoese commerce throughout the Mediterranean. A new Genoese fleet was assembled in the Adriatic, but was unable to break through to relieve Chioggia. The forces trapped inside were forced to surrender in June 1380. Fighting continued between
12015-517: The idea that the Indian Ocean was landlocked. A prelude to the Age of Discovery was a series of European expeditions crossing Eurasia by land in the late Middle Ages. The Mongols had threatened Europe, but Mongol states also unified much of Eurasia and, from 1206 on, the Pax Mongolica allowed safe trade routes and communication lines from the Middle East to China. The close Italian links to
12150-626: The interconnecting of river and sea trade routes. Before the 12th century, an obstacle to trade east of the Strait of Gibraltar , which divided the Mediterranean from the Atlantic Ocean, was Muslim control of territory, including the Iberian Peninsula and the trade monopolies of Christian city-states on the Italian Peninsula, especially Venice and Genoa . Economic growth of Iberia followed
12285-672: The interior of the Americas, and some of the South Pacific islands. Their main objective was to disrupt Portuguese trade in the East. From 1495, the French, English, and Dutch entered the race of exploration, after learning of Columbus' exploits, defying the Iberian monopoly on maritime trade by searching for new routes. The first expedition was John Cabot in 1497 to the north, in the service of England, followed by French expeditions to South America and later to North America. Later expeditions went to
12420-555: The largest and most challenging maritime clash between the two republics to date. The Venetian fleet, under Andrea Dandolo , was destroyed. The Genoese had also suffered serious losses and decided to return home rather than advance towards Venice. It was during this battle, according to some in Curzola and according to others in Laiazzo, that the famous Venetian Marco Polo was taken prisoner and while in prison he wrote his memoirs. In 1299 with
12555-438: The last. The fleets visited Arabia , East Africa , India , Malay Archipelago and Thailand (then called Siam ), exchanging goods along the way. They presented gifts of gold, silver, porcelain and silk ; in return, received such novelties as ostriches , zebras , camels , ivory and giraffes . After the emperor's death, Zheng He led a final expedition departing from Nanking in 1431 and returning to Beijing in 1433. It
12690-467: The maritime republics, creating true and proper thalassocracies across the Mediterranean. At the beginning of the 13th century, the Mediterranean political-commercial balance was undermined by the Latin conquest of Constantinople (1204) during the Fourth Crusade which made Venice the undisputed master of trade with the East, which by then had extended, in that period, to the Black Sea , a commercial hub along
12825-472: The mercantile situation in the east Mediterranean, was the waning of Christian Byzantine naval power following the death of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos in 1180, whose dynasty had made notable treaties and concessions with Italian traders, permitting the use of Byzantine Christian ports. The Norman Conquest of England, in the late 11th century, allowed for peaceful trade on the North Sea . The Hanseatic League ,
12960-433: The middle of the fifteenth century. After 1400, the expansion of Aragonese power in the western Mediterranean posed an increasing threat to Genoa, which led to a series of full-scale wars (1420–26, 1435–44, 1454–58) and remained a major preoccupation until the death of Alfonso V of Aragon in 1458, taking priority over the old rivalry with Venice. Sporadic piratical violence between Venetians and Genoese continued, notably in
13095-555: The monopoly of European trade with the Middle East. The silk and spice trade , involving spices, incense , herbs, drugs and opium , made these Mediterranean city-states phenomenally rich. Spices were among the most expensive and demanded products of the Middle Ages, as they were used in medieval medicine , religious rituals, cosmetics, perfumery, as well as food additives and preservatives. They were all imported from Asia and Africa. Muslim traders dominated maritime routes throughout
13230-500: The origins of the terms "discovery" and "invention". In English, "discovery" and its forms in romance languages derive from " disco-operio , meaning to uncover, to reveal, to expose to the gaze", what was revealed existed previously. Few Europeans during the period used the term "invention" for the European encounters, with the exception of Martin Waldseemüller , whose map first used the term " America ". A central legal concept of
13365-443: The payment of an annual tribute to Hungary, whereas Genoa and its allies made no significant concessions. The War of Chioggia left the rivalry between Venice and Genoa unresolved, as had all previous conflicts between them. Venice was left severely debilitated, but was gradually able to rebuild its public finances and to take advantage of the weaknesses of its mainland rivals to redress its losses. Genoa had less success in dealing with
13500-631: The peace, Venice increased its power in what remained of the Kingdom of Jerusalem but was unable to prevent the relaunch of Genoese trade in the Byzantine world and the establishment of their commercial dominion in the Black Sea which would last until the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (1453) . The continuous rivalry between Venice (which in 1277 had managed to re-enter the Byzantine political orbit by settling in Thessaloniki ) and Genoa led to clashes in 1291 and
13635-441: The period the Age of Reconnaissance , argues that not only was the era one of European explorations, but it also produced the expansion of geographical knowledge and empirical science . "It saw also the first major victories of empirical inquiry over authority, the beginnings of that close association of science, technology, and everyday work which is an essential characteristic of the modern western world." Anthony Pagden draws on
13770-664: The reconstruction of Caffa. In 1327, Venice began to push for the formation of an anti- Turkish league including Byzantium, the Knights Hospitallers and the lord of Chios, to put a brake on the growing power of the Turkish Beilicates of Anatolia (in 1320, Smyrna, already Genoese, had been conquered by the Turkish emir of Aydin ). The league faced and defeated the Turkish fleets in the Battle of Adramyttium (1334) and then supported
13905-461: The republic. Compared to the Venetians, however, the Genoese were free, in the 14th century , to create real potentates with great autonomy with respect to their homeland, due to the intrinsic characteristics of the Genoese municipality, which lacked the widespread state presence of Venice. The first large-scale conflict between Genoa and Venice, named the War of Saint Sabas, dates back to a few years before
14040-412: The resulting tensions. Despite a significant Genoese military superiority, this series of wars damaged the resources of both sides, leading Genoa into a long series of internal struggles, to the advantage of its neighbors. The economic recovery that occurred in Europe starting from the 9th century , combined with the insecurity of land communication routes, meant that the main trade routes developed along
14175-462: The resumption of war in 1295. In 1294, at the Battle of Laiazzo, a Venetian fleet was destroyed by a naval fleet from Genoa's eastern colonies off the important port of Laiazzo , in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia . Subsequently, the Venetians rebuilt a fleet that sacked the Genoese ports of Phocaea in the Aegean, Caffa in the Crimea, and Pera (then unwalled) in Constantinople. In retaliation for
14310-479: The sack of Pera, the Genoese of Constantinople attacked the local Marciano neighborhood, massacring its inhabitants. Despite the Byzantine-Venetian truce of 1285, the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos immediately sided with the Genoese, arresting the Venetian survivors of the massacre, including bailo Marco Bembo. In July, the Venetian fleet, under the command of Ruggiero Morosini Malabranca, stormed
14445-531: The south like the supposed long-lost Christian kingdom of Prester John and probe whether it was possible to reach the Indies by sea, the source of the lucrative spice trade . He invested in sponsoring voyages down the coast of Mauritania , gathering a group of merchants, shipowners and stakeholders interested in new sea lanes. Soon the Atlantic islands of Madeira (1419) and the Azores (1427) were reached. The expedition leader who established settlements on Madeira,
14580-446: The standards of the time. The lateen rig was less useful when sailing downwind – which explains Christopher Columbus ( Italian : Cristoforo Colombo ) re-rigging the Niña with square rig . For celestial navigation the Portuguese used the ephemerides , which experienced a remarkable diffusion in the 15th century. These were astronomical charts plotting the location of the stars over
14715-525: The strategically positioned island of Tenedos near the Dardanelles from the Byzantine Emperor John V , threatening Genoese access to the Black Sea. This induced the Genoese to help John's son Andronikos IV to seize the throne, in return for the transfer of the island to Genoa, initiating a new war between the two republics. The Genoese failed to take Tenedos from the Venetians in 1377, but gained
14850-547: The subsequent annexation of Dalmatia and the sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders. In the arrangement among the crusaders regarding the distribution of conquered territories, the Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae , the Venetians received (in theory) three-eighths of the Byzantine Empire, including three-eighths of the city of Constantinople itself. Venice subsequently renounced part of its territorial claims, believing that control of
14985-402: The support of a coalition of Venice's mainland rivals Hungary, Austria , Aquileia and Padua , although only Padua gave substantial assistance. Venice allied with Milan, whose army threatened Genoa from the landward side, and with the Kingdom of Cyprus , which had been defeated in a war with Genoa in 1373-74 and subjected to Genoese hegemony. A small Genoese fleet led by Luciano Doria invaded
15120-455: The treasure fleet sailed from and to China. For the first time, the maritime region from China to Africa was under the dominance of a single imperial power and allowed for the creation of a cosmopolitan space. These long-distance journeys were not followed up, as the Ming dynasty retreated in the haijin , a policy of isolationism , having limited maritime trade. Travels were halted abruptly after
15255-511: The truce between Venice and Genoa starting in the 15th century was their involvement in systematic conflicts with other powers: for Genoa the confrontation with Aragon, then concluded by the subjugation of the Genoese to the Kingdom of Spain in the 16th century ; for Venice the exhausting, centuries-old conflict with the Ottoman Empire . In general, the Ottoman threat to trade and the coasts of
15390-543: The unexplored ocean curves around toward the west, and running along by the regions to the south of Aethiopia and Libya and Africa, it mingles with the western sea (possible reference to the Atlantic Ocean)". European medieval knowledge about Asia beyond the reach of the Byzantine Empire was sourced in partial reports, often obscured by legends, dating back from the conquests of Alexander the Great and successors. Another source
15525-413: The view that had existed since Ptolemy that the Indian Ocean was land-locked . Based on many later stories of the phantom island known as Bacalao and the carvings on Dighton Rock some have speculated that Portuguese explorer João Vaz Corte-Real discovered Newfoundland in 1473, but the sources are considered unreliable. Portugal's Iberian rival, Castile , had begun to establish its rule over
15660-506: The wake of a naval clash at Modon in 1403. During a period of Milanese rule in Genoa, conflict on the Italian mainland between Milan and Venice drew Genoa into another inconclusive naval war with Venice in 1431-33. Nonetheless, the rivalry had ceased to be a dominant consideration in either city's affairs. Pietro Gradenigo Pietro Gradenigo (1251 – 13 August 1311) was the 49th Doge of Venice , reigning from 1289 to his death. When he
15795-684: The war on the Venetian side and assisted them in attacks on Pera. A combined Venetian-Catalan fleet under Niccolo Pisani and the Catalan Ponce de Santapau arrived soon afterwards and joined forces with the Byzantines, and the bloody battle of the Straits was fought in the Bosphorus in February 1352. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the most serious losses were inflicted on the Catalans, inducing Pisani to withdraw and enabling Doria to force Byzantium out of
15930-503: The war. In August 1353, Pisani led the Venetians and Catalans to a crushing victory over the Genoese under Antonio Grimaldi off Alghero in Sardinia. Alarmed by the defeat, Genoa submitted to Giovanni Visconti , Lord of Milan , in order to secure his financial support. In 1354 Paganino Doria caught Pisani unprepared in his anchorage at Zonklon (Sapienza) in the Peloponnese and captured
16065-497: The work of Edmundo O'Gorman for the statement that "For all Europeans, the events of October 1492 constituted a 'discovery'. Something of which they had no prior knowledge had suddenly presented itself to their gaze." O'Gorman argues that the physical encounter with new territories was less important than the Europeans' effort to integrate this new knowledge into their worldview, what he calls "the invention of America". Pagden examines
16200-459: The world , shaping a new worldview and facilitating contact with distant civilizations. The continents drawn by European mapmakers of the Age developed from abstract "blobs" into the outlines more recognizable to us today. Simultaneously, the spread of new diseases, especially affecting American Indians , led to rapid population declines . The era saw widespread enslavement , exploitation and military conquest of native populations , concurrent with
16335-615: The world became connected to form the world-system and laid the groundwork for globalization . The extensive overseas exploration, particularly the opening of maritime routes to the Indies and the European colonization of the Americas by the Spanish and Portuguese , later joined by the English , French and Dutch , spurred in the International global trade . The interconnected global economy of
16470-623: Was Giovanni da Pian del Carpine , dispatched by Pope Innocent IV to the Great Khan , who journeyed to Mongolia and back from 1241 to 1247. Russian prince Yaroslav of Vladimir , and his sons Alexander Nevsky and Andrey II of Vladimir , travelled to the Mongolian capital. Though having strong political implications, their journeys left no detailed accounts. Other travellers followed, like French André de Longjumeau and Flemish William of Rubruck , who reached China through Central Asia. Marco Polo ,
16605-769: Was conquered by the Portuguese aiming to control navigation of the African coast. The young prince Henry the Navigator was there and became aware of profit possibilities in the trans-Saharan trade routes. For centuries slave and gold trade routes linking West Africa with the Mediterranean passed over the Western Sahara Desert, controlled by the Moors of North Africa. Henry wished to know how far Muslim territories in Africa extended, hoping to bypass them and trade directly with West Africa by sea, find allies in legendary Christian lands to
16740-595: Was "mixed": in Constantinople, power was centralized in the hands of a podestà who was responsible, theoretically, for everything that happened in Romania ; in the Aegean, as anticipated, Venice preferred to enfeoff its nobles and citizens by creating a network of vassalage on the model of what was done by the French Christian potentates with whom it had collaborated in the Fourth Crusade. Genoa established itself as
16875-578: Was Castilian, to issue four papal bulls to divide the world into two regions of exploration, where each kingdom had exclusive rights to claim newly discovered lands. These were modified by the Treaty of Tordesillas , ratified by Pope Julius II . In 1498, a Portuguese expedition commanded by Vasco da Gama reached India by sailing around Africa, opening up direct trade with Asia. While other exploratory fleets were sent from Portugal to northern North America, Portuguese India Armadas also extended this Eastern oceanic route, touching South America and opening
17010-525: Was Portuguese explorer João Gonçalves Zarco . Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Non ( Cape Chaunar ) on the African coast, and whether it was possible to return once it was crossed. Nautical myths warned of oceanic monsters or an edge of the world, but Henry's navigation challenged such beliefs: starting in 1421, systematic sailing overcame it, reaching the difficult Cape Bojador that in 1434 one of Henry's captains, Gil Eanes , finally passed. From 1440 onwards, caravels were extensively used for
17145-470: Was barely known and only trade links with the Maritime republics , Venice especially, fostered the collection of accurate maritime knowledge. Indian Ocean trade routes were sailed by Arab traders. By 1400, a Latin translation of Ptolemy 's Geographia reached Italy from Constantinople. The rediscovery of Roman geographical knowledge was a revelation, both for map-making and worldview, although reinforcing
17280-470: Was commanded by a Venetian, former consul of Constantinople Alberto Morosini). Like Venice, Genoa also managed these territories with an approach that favored, in the most important strategic-commercial hub (in this case the Crimea), a management consistent with the democratic regime of the city while in the Aegean there was massive recourse to the enfeoffment of citizens who personally built the overseas dominion of
17415-630: Was elected Doge, he was serving as the podestà of Capodistria in Istria. Venice suffered a serious blow with the Fall of Acre , the last Crusader stronghold in the mainland, to the Mamluks of Egypt in 1291. The war between Venice and Genoa began in 1294, and Venice sustained some serious losses: it lost a naval battle; its possessions in Crete were pillaged; and the Byzantine emperor, Andronikos II , arrested many Venetians in Constantinople . In response,
17550-502: Was especially impactful as no other polity had exerted naval dominance over all sectors of the Indian Ocean, prior to these voyages. The Ming promoted alternative nodes as a strategy to establish control over the network. For instance, due to Chinese involvement, ports such as Malacca (in Southeast Asia), Cochin (Malabar Coast), and Malindi (Swahili Coast) had grown as key alternatives to other established ports. The appearance of
17685-509: Was founded around 1266, a stable settlement in Constantinople in the district of Pera and others in Anatolia: in the cities of Phocaea and Scalanova (current Kuşadası ) on the Mediterranean side, Trabzon , Amasra and Sinop on the Black Sea side. In 1284 Genoa took possession of Corsica and part of Sardinia following the victory against Pisa in the Battle of Meloria (in which the Pisan fleet
17820-557: Was largely a backwater compared to the Arab world, which conquered and incorporated large territories in the Middle East and North Africa. The Christian Crusades to retake the Holy Land , from the Muslims, were not a military success, but did bring Europe into contact with the Middle East and the valuable goods manufactured or traded there. From the 12th century, the European economy was transformed by
17955-463: Was liberated from the Latins on the following 25 July and Genoa was able to establish itself there, then extending its influence into the Black Sea, where it reached Pontus (northern Anatolia ) and the Crimea , while Venice was formally expelled (although the Venetian quarter of the metropolis continued to be used and populated). This first open clash between Venice and Genoa, which originated well before
18090-687: Was the Radhanite Jewish trade networks of merchants established as go-betweens between Europe and the Muslim world during the time of the Crusader states . In 1154, the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi created a description of the world and a world map , the Tabula Rogeriana , at the court of King Roger II of Sicily , but still Africa was only partially known to either Christians, Genoese and Venetians, or
18225-432: Was under interdict and the religious ceremonies could not be held, he was buried in an unmarked grave on Murano . He was married first to Tomasina Morosini (with whom he had a daughter, Anna, wife of Jacopo I da Carrara ) and then to Agnese Zantani. His granddaughter, Alvica Gradenigo , was later dogaressa . Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery ( c. 1418 – c. 1620 ), also known as
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