(1) "Discovery of new routes".

Since the15th century, the Portuguese have been sailing south along the west coast of Africa, occupying some islands and coastal areas and plundering local wealth.

From 1487 to 1488, Portuguese bartholomew Diaz reached the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, which became an important breakthrough in exploring new air routes.

On July 8th, 497, vasco da gama, a Portuguese aristocrat, set out from Lisbon on the orders of the Portuguese king, bypassed the Cape of Good Hope and went north along the east coast of Africa. After that, * * * sailor Ma Ji crossed the Indian Ocean, arrived in Kalikut, the west coast of India, on May 20, 498, and returned to Lisbon the following year with a lot of spices, silk, precious stones and ivory.

This is the first successful voyage around Africa to India, and it is called "the discovery of new routes".

(2) "Discovery of the New World".

While Portuguese organizations are exploring new routes, Spain is also trying to find routes to India and China.

1492 On August 3rd, the Italian Christophe Columbus set out from Barros Port (ancient capital Seville, now Seville) and led an expedition westward across the Atlantic Ocean. On August 3rd of the same year 1 12 arrived in San Salvador Island (Walterlin Island) in Bahamas, and then arrived.

After that, Columbus made three voyages to the Western Ocean, arrived in some parts of the West Indies, Central America and South America, plundered a lot of gold and silver, and then returned to Spain.

This is what people call "the discovery of the New World".

(3) "the first voyage around the world".

1565438+On September 20th, 2009, Portuguese-Portuguese navigator Fernando Magellan, at the behest of the King of Spain, led an expedition from Puerto Barros, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, went south along the east coast of Brazil, bypassed the strait between the southern tip of South America and Tierra del Fuego, and entered the Pacific Ocean.

152 1 arrived in the Philippine islands in March, where Magellan died.

Later, Magellan's companions continued to sail and finally arrived at Hera Island in Haarma, the spice islands (now Maluku Islands).

Then, loaded with spices, they crossed the Indian Ocean through lesser sunda islands, bypassed the Cape of Good Hope, went north along the west coast of Africa, and returned to Spain on September 7, 522, completing the first round-the-world voyage in human history.

The "geographical discovery" is the product of the development of social production, the requirement of the times when feudal society declined and capitalism began to rise, and the inevitable need of the emergence and development of European capitalist economy to expand the origin, market and means of exchange of raw materials.

It promoted the primitive accumulation process of capitalism and had a great impact on the distribution of world productive forces.