Maps, too, became more reliable as Portuguese map makers, called cartographers, incorporated information provided by travelers and explorers into their work. Shipbuilding also improved during the Renaissance, as large ships called galleons became common. These ships were powered by sail rather than by men using oars.

Although navigation was still an imprecise science, sailors were able to go farther than they had before. This was important because as the economy of the Renaissance continued to improve, there were ever-increasing demands for imported goods and new places to export local products.

 (For traders, sailing proved to be a better option than traveling by land, as the network of roads that crisscrossed Europe was poor, and the few good roads that did exist were frequented by thieves.)

The Renaissance sailor first took to the seas to supply Europeans with the many Asian spices they demanded. Peppercorns, nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon all came from lands to the east. Also from the East came precious gems and fine silk, a fabric especially sought after for women's clothing. These trading voyages were often paid for by investors.

History of Exploration

In the history of exploration, 1414 is often taken as an important breaking point, the start of the 'Age of Discovery'. In that year, the Portuguese attacked the Moroccan city of Ceuta. One of the Portuguese was Henry (known as 'Henry the Navigator'), the third son of king John I. He noticed that there was an extensive and profitable trade between the Moroccan cities and gold countries to the south. He also wanted to fight the Muslims even harder. To get a share of the trade with West Africa, and to find possible allies in the fight against the Muslims in Morocco, he decided to start an enterprise to explore the coast of Morocco and get a foothold in the area.

His plans to explore the coast of Africa at first were voided by the fear of his captains. They feared that beyond one headland on the Moroccan coast, Cape Bojador, the sea would be extremely shallow, the land barren, and the streams such that returning would be impossible. By 1433, Henry's captains had discovered the Azoreans, colonized Madeira and put a claim on the Canaries, but they still had not passed Cape Bojador. In that year, one of his captains, Gil Eannes, came back from another fruitless attempt to pass the cape. Henry grew angry, and told Eannes to sail out again, and not return without having succeeded. And this time it worked - Eannes passed Cape Bojador, and the mental barrier had finally been taken.

After Eannes's voyage, the Portuguese travelled bit by bit further south: Eannes and Baldaya went beyond Cape Bojador in 1435, Baldaya reached Rio de Oro in 1436, Tristão Cape Blanco in 1441, Dinis Diaz Cape Verde in 1445. At the same time, trade with West Africa started - the main product being slaves. The Venetian Alvise da Cadamosto, who was allowed to take part in this trade, gave a description of West Africa in this period. In 1460, Henry died, his captains having reached Sierra Leone. Between 1469 and 1474, all trade with Africa was given as a monopoly to Fernao Gomes, who in exchange had to discover 600 km of coastline a year. During his time, the African coast was explored to just south of the equator.

After the contract with Gomes ended, voyages of discovery became the responsibility of the crown again, and in 1482, Diogo Cão was sent out. He discovered the Congo River, and reached Cape Santa Maria. On a second voyage in 1485, he got even further south, to present-day Namibia. In 1487, Bartolomeu Diaz was sent out for a further voyage along the African coast. He got in a storm, and when it ended steered east again, but did not find the coast. He had sailed around the Cape of Good Hope without seeing it. He explored the south coast upto Algoa Bay, and on the way back discovered the Cape of Good Hope. Around the same time, P&etilde;ro de Covilhão visited the east coast, and in 1497, Vasco da Gama used the route that had been found to sail to India. Those voyages are described in 'The first voyages to India'

In the Middle Ages, books had been costly and education rare; only the clergy had been regular readers and owners of books. Most books had been written in Latin, considered the language of scholarship. In the Renaissance, the educated middle classes, who could now afford books, demanded works in their own languages. Furthermore, readers wanted a greater variety of books. Almanacs, travel books, chivalry romances, and poetry were all published at this time. Simultaneously, a means of printing music was also invented, making music available at a reasonable cost. As the demand for books grew, the book trade began to flourish throughout Europe, and industries related to it, such as papermaking, thrived as well. The result of all of this was a more literate populace and a stronger economy.

Books also helped to spread awareness of a new philosophy that emerged when Renaissance scholars known as humanists returned to the works of ancient writers. Previously, during the Middle Ages, scholars had been guided by the teachings of the church, and people had concerned themselves with actions leading to heavenly rewards. The writings of ancient, pagan Greece and Rome, called the "classics," had been greatly ignored. To study the classics, humanists learned to read Greek and ancient Latin, and they sought out manuscripts that had lain undisturbed for nearly 2,000 years.

The humanists rediscovered writings on scientific matters, government, rhetoric, philosophy, and art. They were influenced by the knowledge of these ancient civilizations and by the emphasis placed on man, his intellect, and his life on Earth.