Great travelers of our time. Great geographical discoveries The most important travels

A) 54 B) 9 C) 30 D) 18

A) Nile B) Congo C) Amazon D) Cupid

A3. The relief of Africa is dominated by:

A) lowlands (0 - 200m) B) high mountains (from 2500m)

C) high plains (200 - 1000m) D) depressions (below sea level)

A4. In the basin of the Congo River, on both sides of the equator, there is a natural zone:

A) deserts B) equatorial forests

C) savannah D) taiga

A5. The Sahara Desert is home to:

A) pygmies B) bushmen

C) Berbers D) Russians

A6. Driest continent:

A) Africa B) Australia C) Madagascar D) Antarctica

A) Kostsyushko (2230m) B) Kilimanjaro (5895m)

C) Fujiyama (3776m) D) Elbrus (5033)

A) Amazon B) Volga

C) Murray D) Congo

A9. The most primitive mammals live in Australia:

A) echidna and platypus B) zebra and elephant

C) parrots and kangaroos D) koala and emu

A10. The capital of Australia:

A) Sydney B) Melbourne C) Canberra D) Cairo

IN 1. Indicate the capitals of African states:

A. Egypt 1. Algeria

B. Algeria 2. Cairo

B. Nigeria 3. Addis Ababa

G. Ethiopia 4. Abuja

Fill in the answer in the table.

A
B
V
G

IN 2. Please indicate compliance:

A. Madagascar 1. river

B. Congo 2.Island

B. Tasmania 3.lake

D. Eyre North

C1. Why is Australia the driest continent?

C2. Describe natural areas Africa.
(Thanks)

rivers do not freeze, are deep in winter, and become very shallow in summer: what type of climate?
rivers do not freeze, they often dry up in summer: what type of climate?
rivers do not freeze, warm winters, rain floods and floods in the summer season: what type of climate?
rivers can partially freeze, winters are cool or cold, rainfall floods and floods in summer: what type of climate?
rivers freeze in winter, overflow in spring, shallow in summer: what type of climate?

The correct idea of ​​the Earth and its form was not formed for different peoples at once and not at the same time. People's ideas about the Earth were influenced by the nature around them. So, the inhabitants of Babylon represented the Earth in the form of a mountain, on the western slope of which Babylon is located. The ancient inhabitants of India envisioned the Earth as half a ball resting on elephants, which, in turn, stand on a huge turtle. The ancient Greeks believed that the Earth has the shape of a convex disk, which is washed on all sides by the Ocean River. Above the Earth, there is a copper firmament, along which the Sun moves, rising and plunging daily into the waters of the Ocean.

With the development of technology and shipbuilding, people began to make more and more distant journeys. And gradually, evidence of the sphericity of the Earth began to accumulate.

The development of navigation and long-distance travel not only made people think about, they gave a huge amount of information about the newly discovered territories. This information had to be recorded in some way, transmitted from one person to another. So the first images of the area appeared, which began to be improved and later turned into.

The ancient Greeks were outstanding travelers. The historian Herodotus traveled across Asia Minor, the Balkans, as well as the southern regions of the East European Plain - the lands of the legendary Scythians. He compiled descriptions of nature, collected interesting, sometimes semi-fantastic information about the peoples living in the north and northeast. Another traveler from the Ancient One was the astronomer Pytheas. He explored the north of Europe, reached Britain, was the first to establish the relationship between latitude and the length of day and night. (Follow the route of Herodotus and Pytheas on the map.)

But the present time has become geography (XV-XVII centuries). It was preceded by an amazing journey. In 1271 he set out on a long trade journey with his father and uncle. Their path ran through, then along the valley of the Tigris River to the Persian Gulf, then through the deserts and mountains of Central Asia to China. There, for 17 years, the Polo family was engaged in trade, and then sailed back. The path ran through the islands, around, past Ceylon. In total, the Polo family traveled for 22 years.

Travelers' stories about distant countries, their wealth and luxury prompted Europeans to look for a convenient sea route to the countries of the East. The expedition set off in search of a path around Africa c. This expedition lasted more than two years, and a new sea route from Europe to India was opened.

Following this, the idea was born to sail from Europe to India not to the east around Africa, but to the west and reach India from the other side. managed to convince the Spanish kings to equip an expedition, and in 1492 three ships set sail. Columbus reached the islands of Central America, but the fact that this is a new part of the world, and not Asia, was learned much later.

He made his first trip around the world. In 1519, his flotilla of five ships left. Only one ship returned back in 1522. Magellan himself was killed.
Russian travelers and contributed to the discovery of the last unknown continent -. In 1820 the ships under their command approached very close to the shores of the ice continent.

Nowadays, all land areas have been sufficiently explored and described. Now the attention of scientists is directed to the upper, depths of the Earth and the Ocean. For research, balloons are launched, space satellites transmit signals about the processes taking place on Earth, superdeep wells are drilled, and special devices are lowered to the bottom of the World Ocean. Results geographically; research is used in all areas of human life.

The era of great geographical discoveries is usually called the period from the end of the 15th to the half of the 17th century. This period of a little more than one and a half years is a very short period in the history of mankind. But he radically changed the idea of ​​people about the Earth, replacing the religious inventions implanted by the church with true knowledge based on irrefutable facts.

What happened in the era of great geographical discoveries?

Already in the XIII - XIV centuries. there was a lively trade in the coastal cities of the Mediterranean - Florence, Venice, Palermo and Naples, Genoa and Marseille. Goods came here from Central Europe, and then they were exported to the south - to Africa, to the east - to Asia Minor, to the trading cities of the Black Sea.

In Europe, goods from the East were very highly valued: cinnamon, pepper, ginger, nutmeg, fragrant oils, weapons, pearls, fabrics, ivory, etc. They were brought from India, China, from the islands of the Malay archipelago. They were brought to the Mediterranean by Arab merchants.

In the XIII century. on the way to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf the state of the Mamluks arose, and in the XIV century. in Asia Minor - Ottoman Empire... These states, like a wall, separated the cities of the Mediterranean Sea from the markets in the East. They levied heavy levies on overland caravans for transporting goods, and often simply robbed. The influx of goods from the East became less and less. Their prices in Western Europe have increased hundreds of times.

Trade routes along the southern Russian steppes, bypassing the Caspian Sea, through Central and Central Asia, required a lot of time, were expensive and were far from safe. They needed a convenient sea route from Europe to the countries of the East. The search for profitable sea routes to the East began in the 15th century. two coastal states of the Iberian Peninsula: Portugal and Spain.

In the XV century. the peoples of these countries, after long wars, freed themselves from the yoke of the Arabs. Continuing wars with the Arabs in North Africa, the Portuguese gradually moved along its western coast further and further south.

On the way, the sailors discovered the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and Madeira. These lands became their base of support in distant voyages. In 1445 the Portuguese reached the westernmost point of Africa - Cape Verde, opened the mouths of pp. Senegal and Gambia. Before that, none of the Europeans had ever been here.

As we moved southward, more and more pictures of the African coast and its tropical nature were revealed to the sailors. V convenient places the Portuguese landed on the shore and put special signs ("padran"), indicating that this land was now the possession of Portugal. The local inhabitants - blacks, were taken prisoner by the Portuguese, and then sold in the markets of Portugal as slaves.

Many people at that time had a question: was Ptolemy's map of the world correct? On this map, Africa extended all the way to the South Pole, separating the Atlantic Ocean from the Indian Ocean. But the Portuguese navigators established: the farther south, the more the coast of Africa deviates to the east. Maybe the mainland ends somewhere and is washed by the sea from the south? Then it would be possible to bypass the land, get to the Indian Ocean, and through it to reach India and China by ships and from there to bring spices and other valuable goods to Europe by sea! The thought was breathtaking.

This exciting enigma was solved by the Portuguese traveler Bartolomeu Dias. Leaving Lisbon in 1487 on three ships, in 1488 he sailed to the southern end

Africa and even rounded it, despite the violent storm. Diash called the southernmost tip of Africa the Cape of Tempests. Behind this cape, his ships entered the waters of the Indian Ocean. But Bartolomeu Dias had to end his journey on this: the team, exhausted by the storms, demanded to return to their homeland. After the report by Bartolomeu Dias on the results of the voyage, the Portuguese government ordered to name south cape Africa is not the Cape of Storms, but Good Hope - the hope of reaching India and other countries of the East by sea.

This hope soon came true. Ten years later, a special expedition on four ships under the command of Vasco da Gama set off in search of a way around Africa to India. On the eastern shores of Africa, seafarers discovered trade and military settlements of the Arabs. Then the expedition arrived in India and, having visited the city of Calicut, returned to Portugal in July 1499 with a load of spices. The voyage lasted two years and two months.

As a result of the voyages of Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama, the map of the world has changed a lot. The Atlantic and Indian oceans were connected; the contours of Africa were refined, and the island of Madagascar was mapped. It was found that the coast of Africa is inhabited along their entire length. Instead of dangerous land roads, a cheap and relatively safe sea route to the East was opened. Expeditions set out on a new route from Portugal to India. As a result of these expeditions, India becomes a colony of Portugal. Having settled here, the Portuguese invaders make military campaigns to Indonesia, Indochina up to New Guinea and Japan.

Discovery of America and the "South Sea"

The opening by Portugal of the sea route to India caused other states to seek a sea route to the countries of the East. Spain did not want to put up with the strengthening of its neighbor: - Portugal. The path to the shores of Africa was blocked by the Portuguese fleet, which destroyed any foreign ship that appeared off the western coast of Africa. Trade with the East along land caravan routes for Spain was completely inaccessible, since they passed through the whole of Europe. The Spanish government began to look for ways to penetrate the countries of the East. At this time, a sailor arrived in Spain. He knew how to draw maps, navigate ships, knew four languages. He was originally from Italy, came to Spain from Portugal. His name was Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus). Finding a familiar monk in a monastery near Palos, Columbus told him that he had decided to sail to Asia by a new sea route - across the Atlantic Ocean.

He managed to convince some people close to the royal court of this. He was admitted to Queen Isabella, who, after his report, appointed an "academic council" to discuss the project. The council consisted mostly of clergy. Columbus vigorously defended his project. He referred to the evidence of ancient scientists about the sphericity of the Earth, to a copy of the map of the famous Italian astronomer Toscanelli, which depicted many islands in the Atlantic Ocean, and beyond them - the eastern shores of Asia. He convinced the learned monks that the legends spoke of the land beyond the ocean, from the shores of which sea currents sometimes bring tree trunks with traces of their processing by human hands.

None of Columbus's arguments had any effect on the monks. Having achieved nothing, Columbus wanted to leave Spain. But finally, the rulers of Spain nevertheless decided to conclude a treaty with him, according to which, if successful, he received the title of admiral and viceroy of the lands open to him, as well as a significant part of the profit from trade with the countries where he would be able to visit.

On August 3, 1492, three ships sailed from the port of Paloe: "Santa Maria", "Pinta", "Niña" with 90 participants. The crews of the ships consisted mainly of convicted criminals. After the repair of the ship "Pinta", the Canary Islands dragged on agonizing days. 33 days passed since the expedition left the Canary Islands, and the land was not visible.

The violent crew began to murmur. To calm her down, Columbus wrote down the distances traveled in the logbook, deliberately minimizing them. Observing a compass needle, he once noticed that it behaves in an unusual way, deviating from the normal direction to the North Star. This plunged into dismay the most seasoned admiral. After all, he did not know and could not assume that there were areas of magnetic anomalies, then they were not yet known.

Soon, signs of the proximity of land appeared: the color of the water changed, flocks of birds appeared. And from the observation barrel on the mast, the lookout announced: "Earth!" But the sailors were in for a bitter disappointment - it was not land, but a mass of long seaweed floating on the surface. The ships entered the Sargasso Sea. Hopes dissipated like a mirage. Soon, signs of land appeared across this sea. On October 12, we really saw a dark strip of earth on the horizon.

It was a small island with lush tropical vegetation. Stately tall people with dark skin lived here. The natives called their island Guanahani. Columbus named it San Salvador and declared it a possession of Spain. This name stuck to one of the Bahamas... Columbus was confident that he had reached Asia. Having visited other islands, he asked everywhere local residents, Is it Asia.

But I did not hear anything consonant with this word. Participants of the voyage were especially interested in the gold jewelry of local residents. There were few of them, and the inhabitants valued jewelry no more than beautiful shells. Columbus and his companions noticed that the islanders were chewing or burning, holding in their teeth, some kind of dry grass. This was the tobacco first seen by Europeans.

Columbus left some of the people on the island of Hispaniola, led by his brother, and sailed to Spain. To prove that he opened the way to Asia, Columbus took with him several Indians, feathers of unseen birds, some plants and among them maize, potatoes and tobacco, as well as gold taken from the inhabitants of the islands. On March 15, 1493, in Palos, he was greeted with triumph as a hero.

This was the first visit of the Europeans to the islands of Central America and the beginning of the further discovery of unknown lands, their conquest and colonization. For the first time, the width of the Atlantic Ocean became reliably known; the existence of a current from east to west was established, the Sargasso Sea was discovered, the incomprehensible behavior of the magnetic needle was noted for the first time.

Columbus's return caused an unprecedented "fever" in Spain. Thousands of people were eager to go with him to "Asia", hoping to profit from easy prey. Equipping immediately new expedition, Columbus set off from the city of Cadiz on a second voyage, which lasted from 1493 to 1496. Many new lands were discovered in the Small Antilles(Dominica, Guadeloupe, Antigua), the islands of Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the southern coasts of Cuba and Hispaniola were examined. But this time Columbus did not reach the mainland. With rich booty, the ships returned to Spain.

The third voyage of Columbus took place in 1498-1500. on six vessels. He sailed from San Lucar. On the island of Hispaniola, Columba faced a heavy blow, the treacherous rulers of Spain, fearing that Columbus might become the ruler of the lands discovered by him, sent a ship after him with the order to arrest him. Columbus was shackled and taken to Spain. On false charges of concealing royal income, he was stripped of all titles and privileges written in the treaty. Columbus spent almost two years to prove his innocence. In 1502 he again embarked on his last voyage to the west. This time Columbus visited many of the islands he discovered, crossed the Caribbean Sea from the southern coast of Cuba and reached the northern coast of South America.

Columbus returned from his fourth voyage in 1504. His glory faded. The Spanish government did not intend to fulfill the agreement with him. In 1506 Columbus died almost forgotten in one of the small monasteries. Researchers of the life and work of Columbus claim: until the end of his life, he was convinced that he had opened the way to Asia.

V discovered by Columbus land from Spain poured a stream of hungry for profit. It especially intensified in the first decades of the 16th century. In just twenty years, Spanish ships have visited almost all the Bahamas, Greater and Lesser Antilles, crossed the Caribbean Sea, passed along the southern coast North America from Florida to Yucatan, explored the eastern shores of the isthmus between the American continents, got acquainted with the northern coast of South America from the mouth of the Orinoco to the Darien Bay. Many Spanish settlements arose on the islands and coasts of Central America. At the same time, the colonialists not only took away the land and gold from the indigenous inhabitants of "Western India", as these lands were called (hence the name of the inhabitants themselves - "Indians"), but also cruelly dealt with them, turned them into slaves.

At the very beginning of the 16th century, at the turn of two centuries, a native of Italy, a merchant Amerigo Vespucci, took part in one of the voyages to the shores of the West Indies. Having been off the coast of South America, he came to the idea that the land that Columbus reached was not Asia at all, that it was an unknown vast land, New World... He reported his guess in two letters to Italy. Rumors about this quickly spread. In 1506 France was

issued geographic atlas with map of northern South America. Map author Waldseemüller called this part of the New World the land of Amerigo. Cartographers in subsequent years extended this name to Central and then North America. So the name Amerigo Vespucci was undeservedly assigned to a whole part of the world and immortalized by cartographers. Meeting the stubborn resistance of the indigenous population, the Spaniards at first did not dare to advance inland. In one of the colonies (Santa Maria) on the shores of the Darien Bay, there was a Balboa, Vasco Nunez, who fled here from Spain from debts. Fear of creditors pushed him to seek wealth. He heard from the Indians that there was a lot of gold behind the mountains in the west, on the banks of the "big water". Gathering a band of lovers of easy money, Balboa in 1513 climbed the mountains, crossed to the western slope and really saw "big water". He named it the "South Sea" and declared it a possession of Spain. It was the Panama Gulf of the Pacific Ocean. Without thinking at all about geographical discoveries, but thinking only about gold, Balboa was the first of the Europeans to come to the coast of the Pacific Ocean, having made one of the great discoveries.

Along the sea routes laid by Columbus on the ocean, and Balboa - across the Isthmus of Panama to the "South Sea", the Spanish conquerors came to America and captured not only the islands, but also the isthmus between the two continents, and from there rushed to the continent. During 1519-1535. gangs of invaders, under the command of the cruel and treacherous Cortez, plundered from Honduras to Mexico and California. They destroyed many thousands of Indians and destroyed the ancient culture of the Aztecs. For ten years (1524-1534), Pizarro's troops attacked the peaceful Indians of Peru in South America. They destroyed the capital of the state - the city of Cuzco and destroyed the high culture of the Incas. In the 30s, Almagro went to the alpine lake Titicaca, crossed the Cordillera, approached the sources of the Rio Salado, and from here to the Pacific Ocean. Thirteen years (1540-1553) Valdivia spent persecuting and enslaving Indians along the coast from Cusco to the 40th parallel, where the city of Valdivia was founded. By the end of the XVI century. the Spaniards paved a land road from the mouth of the La Plata to the Pacific Ocean. Spain turned out to be the owner not only of the islands of Central America, but also of vast expanses on the mainland from California to Tierra del Fuego.

Everyone who walked from Spain along the paths of Columbus is sometimes called in the literature "little discoverers". In reality, these were conquerors ("conquistadors") - predatory, greedy seekers of easy money, cruelly treating the natives.

First circumnavigation

The idea of ​​the spherical shape of the Earth became more and more popular after the discoveries of Columbus in the New World, the voyage of Amerigo Vespucci to South America, after Balboa reached the "South Sea". We did not yet know how far the "South Sea" stretches to the west of the New World. It was suggested that, like Africa, South America is washed by sea waters and, having rounded it from the south, you can go to the "South Sea", and then to the shores of real Asia and East India. This idea was stubbornly nurtured by the Portuguese Fernando Magellan. He took part in military campaigns to India and Africa. Offended by the Portuguese authorities when dividing the spoils after a military campaign in Africa, Magellan went to serve in Spain and offered the Spanish king his project: to get to the spice islands bypassing South America... For the voyage of Magellan, five ships were equipped.

On September 20, 1519, his flotilla left the mouth of the Guadalquivir with a crew of 265 people. Having crossed the Atlantic, Magellan headed along the coast of South America in search of a strait in the "South Sea". In the bay of St. Julian he had to spend the winter. The harsh wintering conditions undermined confidence in the success of some of Magellan's satellites. A riot broke out, which was brutally suppressed (two were executed, two landed).

In 1520 one of Magellan's ships crashed on the rocks. The remaining four ships reached a narrow, winding strait with many islands and wandered in the passages between the islands for more than a month. Then another ship disappeared: the mutinous team fled - returned to Spain. On three ships, Magellan made his way to the South Sea.

The crossing through the "South Sea" to the west lasted almost four months. It was terribly heavy. There were no products other than spoiled crackers; the fresh water "rotted" and turned into a yellow, disgusting-smelling liquid. Seafarers ate sawdust and soaked in sea ​​water dry cowhide. They even ate rats. Almost everyone was struck by scurvy, which claimed 19 people. On the way with a length of 17 thousand. km sailors met only two uninhabited islands from the Mariana group. It was only on March 6, 1521 that they approached three inhabited islands called "Thieves": their inhabitants had no idea of ​​property and, sailing to the ships of Magellan, dragged everything that came to hand.

Soon Magellan's ships approached a group of large islands, which they called the Lazarus Islands (now the Philippine). Here the population spoke Malay. Magellan realized that, having walked around the Earth, he came to the Old World, to the islands of Indonesia. Having intervened in the inter-tribal war, F. Magellan died in a battle on April 27, 1521. By the time he sailed to Spain, only 115 people remained on three ships. There were many sick people among them. One ship had to be burned. Of the two remaining ships, one required repair. Timor had

it was decided that after the repair the ship would go to America. This ship wandered in the waters of the "South Sea" and, having lost half of the crew from scurvy, returned to the Moluccas, where he was captured by the Portuguese.

Only one ship "Victoria" under the command of El Cano sailed west from the island of Timor, crossed the Indian Ocean and, circling

Africa, September 6, 1522 returned to Spain. On this one ship, so many spices were brought that the money received from their sale covered all the costs of the expedition and brought a large profit.

Completion of the discovery of a new world

The discovery of the New World and the beginning of its conquest piqued interest in America not only in Spain. Her rival Portugal looked at the Spanish conquests with envy and feared the rapid growth of the power of her neighbor. Already at the beginning of the XVI century. portuguese

they equip one expedition after another to South America, explore its eastern shores and gradually capture the entire Brazilian coast from the mouth of the Amazon almost to the mouth of La Plata. North America remained less well-known. In 1497, an English ship under the command of John Cabot, an Italian by origin, in search of a sea route to China, arrived at the island of Newfoundland. Then the French pirates Verazzano (1524) and Cartier (1535) familiarized themselves with the coast. They opened the mouth of the river. Hudson and the mouth of the river. St. Lawrence. The French declared part of the coast of Canada 1 their possession.

The search for sea routes to China and India in the north continued in the 16th and 17th centuries. To what extent does North America stretch, and can it be bypassed from the north? Is it possible to reach the countries of the East by the Northwest Sea Route? This also interested many.

The British set out in search of this path. In 1576-1578. for this purpose, naval officer Martin Frobisher sailed three times. He visited the shores of Greenland and initiated the study of the islands and straits of the Canadian archipelago. Several islands and straits were discovered here by John Davis, who also sailed three times in search of the Katay Strait (China) in 1585-1587. Suffering considerable casualties from shipwrecks and the harsh elements of the Arctic, these six expeditions did not find their way to Asia. After these expeditions, maps began to more accurately depict the eastern coasts of North America.

The Anglo-Spanish War interrupted for some time expeditions to the Arctic. At the beginning of the 17th century. the British resumed their search for a sea route to the East. Four voyages were undertaken for this purpose by Henry Hudson. He tried to break through the ice through the North Pole, bypass Novaya Zemlya, and find a passage bypassing North America. The fourth attempt ended tragically for him: having penetrated into an unknown vast bay, he spent the winter on the shore, in 1611 he went out again in search, but to no avail. The mutinous crew dropped their captain (with his son and 7 companions) into a boat and left him in the ice to certain death.

1 The word "Canada" was used by the indigenous people to name their settlements.

In the subsequent time, up to the 30s of the XVII century. the brave sailors T. Button, R. Bylot, V. Baffin, T. James, L. Fox persistently, but unsuccessfully, searched for the strait into the Pacific Ocean. These expeditions were equipped by British trading companies. In the era of great geographical discoveries, these sailors left a noticeable mark: they discovered the entire north-eastern coast of North America.Look at the map - islands, bays and straits are named after these navigators.

By the middle of the 17th century. the outlines of the New World were defined all the way from Tierra del Fuego to California in the west and to Baffin's Land on the Atlantic coast. The outskirts of America along this entire length became the arena of the struggle for colonial possessions between Spain, Portugal, France, England and Holland. These states siphoned enormous wealth from the colonies and turned the indigenous people of America into slaves. Millions of Indians were killed in about one to one and a half centuries.

The western outskirts of North America from California to Alaska and the northern ones from Alaska to Greenland remained completely unknown for a whole century. They were pioneered by Russians in the 18th century.

North East Sea Route

Almost simultaneously with the question of the Northwest Sea Route from Europe to China and India, a second arose: how far to the north does Asia stretch and is it possible to pass along its shores from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, find the Northeast Sea Route?

Northern shores of Eastern Europe from Scandinavia to Novaya Zemlya in the 15th and 16th centuries. were already quite well known to the Russian Pomors, who came from Novgorod, and then from Muscovy, who inhabited the coast of the White Sea and Kola Peninsula at least from the 12th century On their "boats" and "kochas" they fearlessly plowed the waters of the White and Barents Seas, often going to hunt for sea animals and fish far into the unknown expanses of the Arctic. In the XII century. they knew the waters of the "Cold Sea" to Grumant, that is, Spitsbergen, in one direction, to Novaya Zemlya - in the other, and to the north - to those places where they retreat sea ​​ice in the summer, almost up to the 80th parallel. It is possible that during the years of strong ice melting, they also penetrated into the Kara Sea.

In the second half of the 15th century. the British and the Dutch have repeatedly tried to go to the East by the Northeast Sea Route. In England, the "Society of Entrepreneurs for the Discovery of Countries, Lands, Islands, States and Possessions, Unknown and Even Hitherto (Northern) Sea Route Not Visited" was created. Chancellor and Willoughby (1553-1554), Stephen Barrow (1556), Pet and Jackman (1580) sailed at the expense of this society, but their ships only reached the Murmansk coast or Novaya Zemlya, at best, to the Kara Sea,

The Dutchman Bill Barents (1594-1596) went to the East three times in order to "open a convenient sea route to the kingdoms of China and Sinskoe, passing north of Norway, Muscovy and Tartary." The ships of the Barents tried to break through to the east and south and north of Novaya Zemlya, but all three times they failed to pass into the Kara Sea. In the third voyage, Barents bypassed Cape Desire, but had to winter in the Ice Harbor. In the spring of 1597, returning to the mainland on two boats, Barents died. In the voyages in the Arctic, the Russian pomors provided considerable assistance to the British and Dutch, sometimes saving sailors from inevitable death. At the end of the XVI century. the Russians already regularly went to the mouth of the Ob, and perhaps the Yenisei.

Soon after the campaign of Ermak (1581 - 1583), Berezovsky town and Obdorsk (now Salekhard) were built in the lower reaches of the Ob, and seven years later on the river. Taz - Mangazeya prison. For a long time they served as ports for sending furs by sea to Arkhangelsk, and from there to Moscow. At the beginning of the 17th century. Russian sailors already often reached the mouth of the Yenisei and the river. Pyasiny. Meanwhile, Russian explorers were advancing eastward both overland and along the rivers of the Trans-Urals. They went all the way Western Siberia to the Yenisei.

In the years 1622-1623. from the Yenisei went up the river. Nizhnyaya Tunguska detachment of the explorer Penda, crossed the watershed and went to the river. Lena. In 1632 the Yenisei centurion Peter Beketov laid the foundation of Yakutsk, and 10 years later the Cossack detachments descended to the mouth of the Lena; from here Rebrov went by sea to the west to the river. Olenek, and Perfiryev - to the east to the river. Yana. Soon the kochi of the explorers began to reach the river. Anabar, and to the east - to Indigirka. "Servant man Mikhail Stadukhin and his comrades" went to the mouth of the Kolyma and in 1644 laid the foundation of the Nizhne-Kolymsky prison. The most difficult section of the Northern Sea Route, bypassing the Taimyr Peninsula, was covered by an unknown sea expedition around 1620. The remains of this expedition's winter quarters were found by polar explorers in 1940 on Faddeevsky Island and on the mainland in Simsa Bay. There were the ruins of a hut, a ship's skeleton, dishes (copper pots), marine instruments (a queen, i.e. a compass), knives, and many coins of the early 17th century. and even scraps of a half-rotted "certificate of honor". Who exactly, where and for what purpose went by sea to the east - has not yet been figured out.

The discovery of the last section of the Northeast Passage to the Pacific Ocean is associated with the names of Semyon Dezhnev and Fedot Popov. Dezhnev was a "serviceman". He wandered around Siberia for about 20 years, mostly as an overseer collecting yasak for the treasury, more than once participated in battles with the Chukchi, was wounded by their arrows, more than once wintered in difficult conditions, endured poverty and hunger.

Fedot Popov served as clerks for the Moscow merchant Usov and took care of his interests in Siberia. At his expense in 1647 he equipped four kochas to sail east of the Kolyma. Semyon Dezhnev also took part in this campaign. The voyage was unsuccessful: impassable ice blocked the way. The next year (1648) seven kochi were equipped with a team of 90 people. Soon two koch were

broken by ice during a storm. People went ashore on the ice, but all died of hunger and in skirmishes with the Koryaks. Another storm recaptured two more koch, and they disappeared without a trace. It is possible that they were carried to the shores of America. When the remaining three kochs reached the “Big Stone Nose” cape, another one of them crashed on the rocks. People barely escaped and settled on the surviving kochas of Dezhnev and Popov. Koch Dezhneva turned south beyond the cape; after a severe storm he was thrown ashore at the rocky foot of the Koryak Mountains.

“And there were twenty-five of us on the nomad,” Dezhnev later said. “And we all went up the hill, we don't know our way, cold and hungry, naked and barefoot ... ... Twelve people reached the river. The Anadyrs and with great hardships overwintered at its mouth. The next year, Dezhnev found rich deposits of walrus tusks near the mouth of the river - an expensive commodity in those days.

Koch Popov was blown far to the south by the storm. He landed in Kamchatka and wintered at the mouth of the river. Kamchatka, and then went to sea. Kochi Dezhneva and Popova passed from the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the strait, now bearing the name of Bering.

Thus, Russian navigators and explorers explored the entire northern coast of Eurasia and the seas washing it, making a significant contribution to the chronicle of great geographical discoveries, in fact, solving the problem of the Northeast Passage to the countries of the East. Dezhnev's voyage and his discovery of the strait between Asia and America, some scientists of the 19th century. it is no coincidence that they were compared with the feat of Christopher Columbus.

Search for the southern mainland

After Vasco da Gama rounded southern Africa and the Portuguese colonialists rushed to India and the spice islands, and Magellan discovered the strait between the American mainland and Tierra del Fuego, geographers faced a fascinating mystery: whether Tierra del Fuego stretches far to the south and is there land to the south from East Asia? Indeed, the writings of ancient writers speak of a large land mass in the southern hemisphere; on the map of Ptolemy, it occupies the entire space around the South Pole and connects in the west with Africa, and in the east with Asia. But Ptolemy was wrong - Africa is washed from the south by the ocean. So is there an unknown southern continent at all? It is not at all easy to abandon the usual views, especially since legends about its fabulous riches and flourishing nature were persistently associated with the southern continent. The question of Tierra del Fuego was accidentally resolved by the English pirate Drake, who attacked Spanish ships off the coast of America.

In 1578, Drake set out on the path of Magellan. After passing the strait, on reaching the Pacific Ocean, Drake's three ships were caught in a fierce storm that lasted 52 days. Drake's companion, who compiled a description of the voyage, wrote: “No sooner had we got out into this sea (by others it was called Quiet, but for us it turned out to be Frantic), when such a violent storm began, which we had not yet experienced ... and they caused horror, because the wind drove us to them to certain destruction; then they disappeared from sight. " One ship went missing, the other was thrown back into the Strait of Magellan by the storm and went to England, and the Golden Hind (the ship on which Drake sailed) was carried almost five degrees south. It turned out to be south of Tierra del Fuego, at Cape Horn. It became clear that Tierra del Fuego is not the southern continent. Body of water to the south

from her later became known as Drake Passages. Having plundered several Spanish ships with gold and silver further along the coast of South America, Drake crossed the Pacific and Indian oceans and came to England with the loot. Within two years and ten months, he made the second round the world voyage after Magellan.

It would seem that the myth of the southern continent was finally dispelled after the discovery of the Drake Passage. But in reality everything turned out to be much more complicated. Here the Spaniards continued to search for the legendary Southern mainland from the side of their possessions in America. Saavedra (1527-1529), Villalovos (1542), Urdanetta (1565), Mendanha and Kyros (1585) sailed for this purpose. Kyros and Torres (1605-1606). They discovered many islands in the Pacific Ocean, often mistaking them for the southern continent and further entering the high latitudes of the southern hemisphere. And the mainland seemed to retreat further and further south. Finally, Torres managed to walk along the southern coast of New Guinea and see the protrusion of some unknown land further south. It was Cape York. At the same time, the Dutch navigator Willem Janz (Yaneson), sailing in the Malay archipelago, stumbled upon an unknown land and, heading south, entered a vast bay among the land that had not yet been explored. This was the Gulf of Carpentaria.

And only in 1642-1643. Dutchman Abel Tasman was lucky to see land beyond the 40th parallel. He sailed westward from the Dutch colony of Amboina across the Indian Ocean; from the island of Mauritius turned southward, went beyond the 40th parallel and abruptly changed course to the east. Along the stormy waters of the fortieth parallels, Tasman passed from the 60th to the 140th meridian and soon came to the big earth, now bearing his name. He took it for the outskirts of "Terra Australis Incognita" (unknown South land) and called the land of Van Diemen. Tasman proceeded further east and encountered another vast land, which he called the Land of the States. In 1644, Tasman described and compiled a detailed map of Australia's northern shores from Cape York to the southern tropic. So the true southern continent was discovered - Australia and neighboring New Zealand (the Land of the States). This important discovery was kept secret by the Dutch authorities so that other countries would not seize the newly discovered lands. Only in the 18th century. the Englishman James Cook again approached Australia and New Zealand, "discovered" them a second time and declared them colonies of England. Thus, the problem of the southern continent in the middle of the 17th century. has not yet been resolved. They remained unknown until the end of the 19th century. spaces in the far south the globe, beyond the 55th parallel.

Great geographical discoveries carried out at a time when in economically more developed countries Western Europe the capitalist mode of production took shape and the capitalist class arose. Initially, these were merchants who made capital on trade, large feudal landowners who used the free labor of slaves, the elite of the rulers of the church, who got rich on trading operations, monastic lands and extortions from people intoxicated by religion. All of them eagerly searched for sources and ways of further enrichment. Military campaigns against the Arabs (Moors) were blessed and subsidized by the head of the Catholic Church, the Pope. Expecting large profits, influential clerics and bankers helped organize Columbus's voyages. The Spanish king and queen helped equip Magellan's ships. Drake's pirate activities were favored by the British government. Merchant companies invested in organizing many British expeditions to search for sea routes to the East. The thirst for profit pushed the seafarers themselves into unknown distances, although this was often associated with the risk of losing their heads. The era of geographical discoveries was driven by economic reasons. As a result, some states seized vast territories as colonies, making them a source of unprecedented wealth. Hoping for enrichment, flows of immigrants poured into the colony. The colonialists enslaved and exterminated millions of local residents in the New World and in the countries of the East. Africa has been turned into a "reserved hunting ground" for blacks. Millions

unfortunate people, chained in shackles and stocks, were thrown as living goods by slave traders 1 across the Atlantic Ocean to America, on the plantations of the colonialists. With the discovery of new lands and the seizure of colonies, economic relations between the rival colonial powers changed, and new world trade routes arose.

The great geographical discoveries inflicted a strong defeat on the church. They personally showed people the falsity of religious fairy tales about the Earth, its structure, about its creation by God. Leading scientists began to oppose the teachings of the church, against religion. “Now,” he wrote in the 19th century. Friedrich Engels, “the whole world lay before the eyes of natural scientists,” and he did not fit into the dogmas of “Holy Scripture”. In the XVI century. N. Copernicus published his teaching on solar system and the movement of planets around the Sun, in the XVII century. the basic laws of planetary motion (celestial mechanics) were explained. It became possible to explain such complex issues as the change of day and night, their duration at different latitudes, the change of seasons, etc. Although the church and other obscurantists fought fiercely with the bearers of truly scientific knowledge, condemning and burning scientific books, declaring them heretical By imprisoning scientists in dungeons and burning them at the stake, science nevertheless inflicted more and more crushing blows on religion. Only the most obscure, ignorant people still remained (and still many in capitalist countries remain) intoxicated by religious fables. However, it was in the era of great geographical discoveries that science rebelled against the church. During this era, many natural sciences made tremendous progress - astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, etc.

Who discovered America?

"America was discovered by Columbus" - this is known to every student. Meanwhile, five centuries before Columbus, the Normans, the best sailors of medieval Europe, visited America.

In the IX century. the Norman Vikings discovered and colonized the island of Iceland. Eirik the Red in 982 discovered the largest island on earth - Greenland. About 987, the Icelandic sailor Bjarni with a squad went from Iceland to Greenland.

The road to Greenland was still new to the Normans. Instead of Greenland, They sailed far to the west and saw an unknown land covered with forest. These were the shores of America or the island of Newfoundland. Bjarni's companions decided that it was necessary to land ashore, but Bjarni, who wanted to get to Greenland as soon as possible, forbade them to stop.

1 The slave trade in markets in South America continued into the early 19th century.

The ship turned into the open sea. Having reached Greenland, Bjarni then returned to his homeland and talked about the lands he had seen in the west. Under the influence of his story in 1000 Leif Happy, the son of the discoverer of Greenland, Eirik the Red, decided to set out in search of lands in the west and was the first of the inhabitants of the Old World to enter American soil. So, almost five hundred years before Columbus, America was discovered. Does this belittle the glory of the great traveler Christopher Columbus? Of course not! After all, the discoveries of the Normans did not have historical significance: they were random and left without consequences. That is why scientists rightly believe that neither Bjarney, who saw the coast of America, nor Leif, nor any fisherman from the shores of Europe, who, perhaps, managed to see the American land before the great traveler Columbus, cannot overshadow the glory of Columbus.

Many, perhaps, will agree that the real education, which will certainly be useful to a person in life, we receive mainly outside the stuffy classrooms. No, this is not a passage in favor of revising the fundamental principles of the modern system of acquiring knowledge. But nevertheless, in addition to the usual schemes "school - teacher - class - control" and "university - teacher - group - exams" there are more specific ways to get to know yourself and the world around you and get a lot of necessary skills.
We also suggest looking at the 7daytravel travel site.

In fact, travel - The best way learn a lot for yourself. Do you walk the streets of Paris, climb mountain peak in the Himalayas or spend a sunny day on a Dominican beach, travel will never let you down as a teacher.

Below you will find 10 reasons why travel is the best form of education, no matter where you are heading or what kind of adventure awaits you.

Learning foreign languages
English is spoken in almost every part of the planet, and more often than not, it will work for you. However, it is always best to know the language of the country you are visiting. Traveling forces you to learn different languages. After learning the basics through books, apps, or videos, you can improve your skills by speaking with a native speaker.

Getting to know other cultures
Traveling not only to other countries, but even to other parts of your own country is the best way to learn a lot. You begin to better understand how diverse the cultures of the whole world are, to notice the similarities and differences between the traditions you are used to and the seemingly alien way of life.

Exploring history through sightseeing
Yes, you probably studied ancient civilizations and major historical events as part of an educational program, but nothing beats visiting historical sites in person, coupled with discovering many interesting facts.

Do you understand what the world is like today
Travel tells you not only how the world was in the past, but also how it is today. This is probably the best way to truly assess the political situation, economic scenarios and social structure of the world in which you and I live today.

You get to know nature
As you leave your comfort zone in the middle of the concrete jungle and begin to explore the world's most exotic natural phenomena, you will begin to understand the colossal power of nature. The greatness of nature is essential for solving most of the global problems such as climate change and air pollution.

You are learning new things for yourself.
Traveling will challenge you literally every second. As you open up a path into the unknown, travel will force you to do many things that otherwise would not have occurred to you, whether you tame elephants in Cambodia, roam the Appalachians, or dance samba in Brazil. while traveling, you will learn many new things for yourself. You can be shy and feel that it is not so easy to communicate with people. But travel will change this state of affairs, since it is almost impossible to do without talking with strangers on travel. Isn't it a personal development course?

You gain communication skills
If you spend your life in opposition, constantly reacting in one way or another to the circumstances looming over you, and at the same time want to change the established order, but do not know how to do it, travel will help you learn independence and the ability to control your own to one degree or another. destiny.

Travel teaches us to be more decisive
When you travel, you learn to be independent, especially if you go alone. You will learn to make decisions on your own and be proactive.

You learn compassion
When you travel a lot, encountering the many cultural characteristics of people around the world, you begin to understand that, despite all the differences, we are still very similar to each other, and your prejudices about skin color, gender or religion will gradually disappear. ...

You recognize yourself
This is probably the most important aspect of education that can be obtained through travel. Finding ourselves in unknown locations, in unfamiliar circumstances and in unfamiliar cultural layers, we see ourselves differently, noticing many important things in our character, behavior, habits and other components of our personality that we had not paid attention to before. You realize the real scale of your potential, understand what you enjoy with pleasure and what genuinely annoys you, and, finally, you come closer to understanding who you really are.

Travel has always attracted people, but before it was not only interesting, but also extremely difficult. The territories were not explored, and, starting the journey, everyone became an explorer. Which travelers are the most famous and what exactly did each of them discover?

James Cook

The famous Englishman was one of the finest cartographers of the eighteenth century. He was born in the north of England and by the age of thirteen he began to work with his father. But the boy was unable to trade, so he decided to go sailing. In those days, everyone famous travelers the world went to distant countries on ships. James became interested in the sea business and so quickly moved up the career ladder that he was offered to become a captain. He refused and went to the Royal Navy. Already in 1757, the talented Cook began to manage the ship himself. His first achievement was the drawing up of the channel of the river. He discovered in himself the talent of a navigator and cartographer. In the 1760s, he explored Newfoundland, which attracted the attention of the Royal Society and the Admiralty. He was entrusted with a journey across the Pacific Ocean, where he reached the shores of New Zealand. In 1770, he accomplished what other famous travelers had not previously achieved - he discovered a new mainland. Cook returned to England in 1771 as the famous pioneer of Australia. His last journey was an expedition in search of a passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Today even schoolchildren know the sad fate of Cook, who was killed by the natives-cannibals.

Christopher Columbus

Famous travelers and their discoveries have always had a significant impact on the course of history, but few are as famous as this man. Columbus became the national hero of Spain, drastically expanding the country's map. Christopher was born in 1451. The boy quickly achieved success as he was diligent and a good student. At the age of 14, he went to sea. In 1479, he met his love and began life in Portugal, but after the tragic death of his wife he went with his son to Spain. Having received support Spanish king, he went on an expedition, the purpose of which was to find a way to Asia. Three ships sailed from the coast of Spain to the west. In October 1492, they reached the Bahamas. This is how America was discovered. Christopher mistakenly decided to call the locals Indians, believing that he had reached India. His account changed history: two new continents and many islands discovered by Columbus became the main direction of travel of the colonialists in the next few centuries.

Vasco da Gama

Portugal's most famous traveler was born in Sines on September 29, 1460. From a young age he worked in the navy and became famous as a confident and fearless captain. In 1495, King Manuel came to power in Portugal, who dreamed of developing trade with India. For this, a sea route was needed, in search of which Vasco da Gama was to go. There were also more famous sailors and travelers in the country, but for some reason the king chose him. In 1497, four ships sailed south, rounded and sailed to Mozambique. There I had to stop for a month - half of the team by that time was sick with scurvy. After a break, Vasco da Gama reached Calcutta. In India, he established trade relations for three months, and a year later returned to Portugal, where he became a national hero. The opening of the sea route, which made it possible to get to Calcutta past the east coast of Africa, was his main achievement.

Nikolay Miklukho-Maclay

Famous Russian travelers also made many important discoveries. For example, the same Nikolai Mikhlukho-Maclay, who was born in 1864 in the Novgorod province. He could not graduate from St. Petersburg University, as he was expelled for participating in student demonstrations. To continue his education, Nikolai went to Germany, where he met Haeckel, a naturalist who invited Miklouho-Maclay to his scientific expedition. Thus, the world of wandering was opened for him. His whole life was devoted to travel and scientific work. Nicholas lived in Sicily, in Australia, studied New Guinea while implementing the project of the Russian Geographical Society, he visited Indonesia, the Philippines, the Malacca Peninsula and Oceania. In 1886, the naturalist returned to Russia and proposed to the emperor to establish a Russian colony overseas. But the project with New Guinea did not receive royal support, and Miklouho-Maclay fell seriously ill and soon died without completing his work on a book about travels.

Fernand Magellan

Many famous sailors and travelers lived in the era of the Great Magellans is no exception. In 1480 he was born in Portugal, in the city of Sabroza. Going to serve at the court (at that time he was only 12 years old), he learned about the confrontation between his native country and Spain, about travel to the East Indies and trade routes. So he first became interested in the sea. In 1505, Fernand got on the ship. For seven years after that, he plowed the sea, participated in expeditions to India and Africa. In 1513 Magellan went to Morocco, where he was wounded in battle. But this did not temper the craving for travel - he planned an expedition for the spices. The king rejected his request, and Magellan went to Spain, where he received all the support he needed. Thus began his journey around the world. Fernand thought that the route to India from the west might be shorter. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean, reached South America and discovered the strait that would later be named after him. became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. On it, he reached the Philippines and almost reached the goal - the Moluccas, but died in a battle with local tribes injured by a poisonous arrow. However, his journey opened up a new ocean to Europe and the understanding that the planet is much larger than scientists had previously thought.

Roald Amundsen

The Norwegian was born at the very end of an era in which many famous travelers became famous. Amundsen was the last of the seafarers to try to find undiscovered lands. From childhood, he was distinguished by perseverance and faith in his own strength, which allowed him to conquer the South Geographic Pole. The beginning of the journey is associated with 1893, when the boy left the university and got a job as a sailor. In 1896, he became a navigator, and the following year set off on his first expedition to Antarctica. The ship got lost in the ice, the crew was sick with scurvy, but Amundsen did not give up. He took command, healed the people, remembering his medical education, and brought the ship back to Europe. Becoming a captain, in 1903 he set out in search of the Northwest Passage off Canada. Famous travelers before him had never done anything like this - in two years the team covered the path from the east of the American mainland to its west. Amundsen became known all over the world. The next expedition was a two-month hike to the South Plus, and the last venture was the search for Nobile, during which he disappeared without a trace.

David Livingston

Many famous travelers are associated with sailing. he became an explorer of land, namely the African continent. The famous Scotsman was born in March 1813. At the age of 20, he decided to become a missionary, met Robert Moffett and wished to go to African villages. In 1841, he came to Kuruman, where he taught local residents how Agriculture, served as a doctor and taught literacy. There he also learned the Bechuan language, which helped him travel across Africa. Livingstone studied in detail the life and customs of local residents, wrote several books about them and went on an expedition in search of the sources of the Nile, in which he fell ill and died of a fever.

Amerigo Vespucci

The most famous travelers in the world were most often from Spain or Portugal. Amerigo Vespucci was born in Italy and became one of the famous Florentines. He received a good education and trained to be a financier. From 1490 he worked in Seville, in the Medici trade office. His life was connected with sea ​​travel for example, he sponsored Columbus's second expedition. Christopher inspired him with the idea of ​​trying himself as a traveler, and already in 1499 Vespucci went to Suriname. The purpose of the voyage was to study coastline... There he opened a settlement called Venezuela - Little Venice. In 1500 he returned home with 200 slaves. In 1501 and 1503. Amerigo repeated his travels, acting not only as a navigator, but also as a cartographer. He discovered the bay of Rio de Janeiro, which he himself named. Since 1505, he served the king of Castile and did not participate in campaigns, only outfitted other people's expeditions.

Francis Drake

Many famous travelers and their discoveries have benefited mankind. But there are also those among them who left an unkind memory in themselves, since their names were associated with rather cruel events. The English Protestant, who sailed on a ship from the age of twelve, was no exception. He captured local residents in the Caribbean, selling them into slavery to the Spaniards, attacked ships and fought with Catholics. Perhaps no one could match Drake in the number of captured foreign ships. His campaigns were sponsored by the Queen of England. In 1577 he went to South America to destroy the Spanish settlements. During the journey, he found Tierra del Fuego and the strait, which was later named after him. Having rounded Argentina, Drake plundered the port of Valparaiso and two Spanish ships. When he reached California, he met the natives, who presented the English gifts of tobacco and bird feathers. Drake crossed the Indian Ocean and returned to Plymouth, becoming the first British to travel to travel around the world... He was admitted to the House of Commons and awarded the title of Sir. In 1595 he died in the last campaign in the Caribbean.

Afanasy Nikitin

Few famous travelers of Russia have achieved the same heights as this native of Tver. Afanasy Nikitin became the first European to visit India. He made a trip to the Portuguese colonialists and wrote "Voyage across the Three Seas" - the most valuable literary and historical monument. The success of the expedition was ensured by the career of a merchant: Afanasy knew several languages ​​and knew how to negotiate with people. On his journey, he visited Baku, lived in Persia for about two years and reached India by ship. Having visited several cities of an exotic country, he went to Parvat, where he stayed for a year and a half. After the province of Raichur, he headed to Russia, laying a route through the Arabian and Somali peninsulas. However, Afanasy Nikitin never made it home, because he fell ill and died near Smolensk, but his notes were preserved and ensured world fame for the merchant.