Unit 1

Renaissance: The Origins of a Western Worldview

Lesson 5

How did expansion to the West begin?

The image in Figure 1.1 is a reproduction of the Santa Maria - one of the ships Columbus used in his first voyage west.

Columbus' first voyage become very famous, but that fame was not for the reason the ships set sail. What huge mistake did Columbus make?

Watch

Eventually, the exploration of the West became important because explorers tried to find a way to the East by going west.

---

Click the link to watch the video, Great Explorers of Spain and Portugal: Aims and Discoveries, to learn about the journeys west by early explorers.