Technological Advancements in the 15th Century

By J. Titus

Technological developments Advancement in ship designs Development in navigational

instruments Invention of the printing press Weapons

Caravel- Advanced ship design of the 15th Century

The Caravel Developed in the 15th century on the

Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal. Was based on the design of the vessels used by the Arabs (Muslims). It had two of three masts with triangular (lateen) sails. As time went by it increased in size with a square sail on the foremast and lateen sails on the others.

Caravel The square and triangular shape

combination of the sails gave the ship the ability to sail close to the wind, this was essential if successful voyages were to be made in regions where the wind pattern was unknown. Sailors could now handle the ship better at sea

The Stern-post Rudder

The stern-post-rudder Helped sailors to maintain a steadier

course.

The Astrolabe

The Astrolabe

The Astrolabe Was used to tell the location of the ship

at seas using lines of latitudes. The astrolabe was used to observe either the altitude of the sun at midday or the altitude of the polar star at night.

The Astrolabe It consisted of little more than a

graduated metal circle with a revolving pointer and a turning board in the centre.

The Quadrant

The Quadrant This was a graduated quarter circle of

wood, with sighting holes mounted on one edge, and a plumb-bob hanging from the apex. This was used to determine the location of the ship at sea.

Invention of printing

Invention of Printing With the invention of the printing press

information about geography, science, literature and news could be copied and passed on easily in the form of books, charts and maps.

Weapons The earliest guns were probably

produced by the Arabs in North Africa about AD 1250. These were soon copied in Europe and by the 15th century gunpowder and guns of all description s were widely used. Caravels soon carried cannons.

Assignment -Project Define Unification, exploration,

nationalism, crusade, imperialism, renaissance, colonialism, rivalry and aristocracy

Research the life and activities of Christopher Columbus in the form of a project. Project should be hand-written. It should include a biography of Columbus as well as his four voyages to the New World

Project Outline Cover Page Acknowledgement Table of Contents Content- Definition of terms, Biography,

voyage one, two, three and four. Appendices-Pictures Bibliography