Geographical explorations and discoveries of Eurasia. Who discovered Eurasia? Who opened and when Asia

When studying the question of who discovered Eurasia, it is impossible to name one person. This continent is so large that in different periods of history in different places it was explored different people. We will find out who took part in the most important expeditions, thanks to which humanity has a complete picture of the world around us.

History of Eurasia exploration

Eurasia is the largest continent on the globe, which is characterized by a wide variety of relief and climatic conditions. It consists of two parts of the world, which were historically divided - Asia and Europe.

Eurasia is the cradle of many ancient civilizations that developed on the continent over many millennia. Scientific and cultural heritage Ancient China, India, Babylon, Assyria laid the foundation for the scientific potential of our time.

Rice. 1. Ancient civilizations of Eurasia.

The following factors served as the impetus for the development of the mainland:

The need to develop trade relations. So at the end of the III century. BC e. The first trade route connecting China, Europe, India and the Middle East was formed.
Military raids, seizure of territories and strengthening the power of militant tribes.

Eurasia was gradually discovered by its inhabitants, who did not even guess about the size of the mainland. For example, the Phoenicians were the first to discover the Mediterranean coast. The ancient Greeks continued to explore new territories. They sailed in many seas of Europe, discovered the Apennine and Balkan Peninsulas, reached the lands of modern Spain and France.

Period of great geographical discoveries

However, the greatest surge of discoveries occurred in the period from the Middle Ages until the twentieth century, when, thanks to brave travelers, humanity was able to get a complete picture of the largest continent on the planet.

Who was the first to discover Eurasia. The first people on the continent

All the main stages of evolution of the human species passed in Africa and, only fully formed, began to expand to the neighboring continent. Until recently, Africa and Eurasia were connected by the relatively wide Isthmus of Suez, and only in the XlX century. it was torn apart by an artificially created shipping channel.

It was along this isthmus and the Red Sea, which was very shallow at that time, that the first Homo sapiens crossed to the Middle East, settling on the Arabian Peninsula. Such a significant event happened, according to some estimates, about 70,000 years ago.

According to a theory common among modern scientists, people, leaving Africa, slowly moved east along the coasts in search of new sources of food, which they were served by shellfish that lived in shallow water. This path was long and difficult and took about 25,000 years, and of course, the route was not so direct - numerous groups fought back and went deep into the continent. Thus, those who discovered the continent of Eurasia were the first people who left the African continent, but it will take many more millennia for humanity to comprehend its place in the world.

Who discovered Eurasia and in what year. The emergence of the term

Europeans are used to believing that the primacy in geographical discoveries unconditionally belongs to them. And although the contribution of European navigators, traders and travelers is really great, one should not discount the Asian explorers, who also contributed to the study of the geography of the continent.

However, the Europeans still gave the name to the mainland. For a long time, after the outlines of the continent were in more defined, in scientific literature used a variety of terms to name the largest continent of the Earth.

For example, Alexander Humboldt, the great German scientist, one of whose specializations was geography, used the name Asia for the entire continent, without dividing it into parts of the world. But his Austrian colleague Eduard Suess in the 1880s had already added the prefix "euro" and thus formed the name Eurasia, which quickly entered into scientific use.

Great northern expeditions

If the southern shores of Eurasia were mastered by mankind for many tens of thousands of years, then the northern outskirts of the continent remained unexplored for a long time, as severe climatic conditions prevented this.

First of all, the powers that had access to the North Atlantic were interested in the study of the northern regions, and especially Russian empire, whose borders passed through unexplored and undescribed lands. The Russians began to move north in the 15th century, but they reached Kamchatka only in the 15th century.

The first Russian citizens who came to the Kamchatka Peninsula, from the detachment of the great and discoverer of the north-east of Siberia. This, however, was a land expedition.

Bering Strait

For a long time, researchers were occupied with the question of the existence of a bridge between Eurasia and North America, but it was not so easy to answer it. Answering the question of who discovered Eurasia, one cannot avoid mentioning the name of the famous Danish navigator and Russian citizen Vitus Bering, who made a huge contribution to the exploration of the coasts of the northeastern part of the Eurasian continent.

The first sea expedition, the purpose of which was to discover the strait or prove its absence, took place in 1724, when, on the personal order of Peter I, Bering set sail, as a result of which he entered the Chukchi Sea without encountering obstacles and not seeing the American coast. Thus, it was proved that the two continents were separated by a strait, which was named after its discoverer.

The success of the first Kamchatka expedition inspired researchers to organize a whole series of campaigns that went down in history as the Great Northern Expedition. Each of these campaigns brought more and more information about the coast of the Arctic Ocean, and the outlines of the mainland became more and more clear, as if emerging from the sea haze.

Colonization and international cooperation

Arguing about who was the first to discover and explore Eurasia, one cannot name one name, but one can recall the numerous travelers who contributed to the exploration of unknown lands and cartography.

At the turn of the XV-XVl centuries, the leaders in the exploration of overseas lands were the Portuguese, but they were in no hurry to share their knowledge, rightly fearing competition. However, the competitors' curiosity was so great that no obstacles could stop the spies of neighboring states from penetrating the holy of holies of Portuguese cartography - the Indian House, the place where information about the newly discovered lands was stored.

It was as a result of a special espionage operation planned by order of Duke Ercole l d "Este that the famous map was stolen from this vault, which went down in history under the name Cantino Planisphere. On this map you can see the world as it seemed to the Portuguese in the 15th century. On this map the coast of Brazil and a narrow strip of the southern and southeastern coasts of Eurasia are visible.

Great Explorers

Today we can confidently say that a special contribution to the study of Eurasia was made by such researchers as Vasco da Gama, who reached the shores of India, and Willem Barents, who stubbornly sought the northern route to the East Indies, but discovered and explored the Arctic.

The era of the Great Geographical Discoveries lasted for more than two centuries and included the exploration of Spanish and Portuguese navigators who were looking for new ways to India, as well as the campaigns of Russian Cossacks to Siberia and to the Pacific coast. Therefore, answering the question of who discovered and explored Eurasia, one can name such names: Bering, Vasco da Gama, Timofey Yermak, as well as the names of many other remarkable people.

The territory of Central Asia was discovered for science by researchers of the 18th century. Step by step, information about oases, deserts and foothills became the property of the scientific world. The path to the mountainous regions was paved by P.P. Semenov. He was followed by a large group of travelers.

An outstanding explorer of Central Asia was Nikolai Alekseevich Severtsov(1 827 - 1 885). V 1 857-1 858 he studied the regions of the Aral Sea, the lower reaches of the Syr Darya, the northern part of the Kyzyl Kum. He was attracted by the prospect of penetrating the mysterious Tien Shan. But on this path, Severtsov had to overcome serious trials. Once, in the valley of the Syr Darya, Severtsov became the object of an attack by a robber detachment of Kokand, with a blow to the chest with a spear, he was knocked down from his horse and almost hacked to death. Later he recalled: “The Kokandian hit me on the nose with a saber and cut only the skin, the second blow to the temple, splitting the cheek bone, knocked me down, and he began to cut off my head, struck a few more blows, deeply cut my neck, split the skull .. ... I felt every blow, but strangely, without much pain. Severtsov spent a month in captivity, being threatened with impalement if he did not convert to Islam... He was released as a result of an ultimatum from the Russian military authorities.

Despite this incident, which almost cost Severtsov his life, his interest in the study of the Central Asian region did not fade. In 1964, he made a trip from the fortification of Verny (the future city of Alma-Ata) to Tashkent with sorties into the mountains of the Trans-Ili Alatau, Karatau, Talas Range. The following year, the Turkestan scientific expedition began its work, represented by two detachments: the mathematical (topographic) expedition was led by K.V. Struve, and the natural history expedition was led by Severtsov. In 1866, reconnaissance was carried out in the Karatau ridge, interesting materials of a botanical and zoological nature were collected, and a number of manifestations of non-ferrous metal ores were discovered. In 1867, Severtsov made the first circular route in history through the interior regions of the Tien Shan. Leaving Verny, Severtsov crossed the Zailiysky Alatau, went to the eastern shores of Issyk-Kul, crossed the Terskey-Alatau, penetrated the surface of the Syrts, which made a strong impression. The alpine hilly plain is occupied by steppe and even desert vegetation. Meadows stand out only in the most humid areas. “As anyone,” Severtsov recalled, “but I had a bewitching charm in these autumn views of the Tien Shan, without forest and without greenery, but with the strict majestic beauty of the bold outlines of the mountains and the hot sunny color in the frosty, marvelously transparent autumn air ; the charm is partly in the very contrast of these colors of the sultry, sun-scorched steppe with the mountainous lines of the landscape and with ice on the stream ... ”(Quoted from: Andreev, Matveev, 1946. P. 45). In 1873, Severtsov's book "Vertical and Horizontal Distribution of Turkestan Animals" was published, in which six vertical natural belts: salt licks (up to 500 m); cultural (600-1000 m) with a predominance of undulating steppe with oases; deciduous forest with an upper limit of 2600 m and below; coniferous, spruce and juniper forests, their upper limit is 3000 m; alpine herbs; eternal snow.

Since 1869, research in Central Asia began Alexei Pavlovich Fedchenko(1844-1873), botanist, entomologist with a very great natural-geographical erudition. In the first two years, field work was carried out in the Zeravshan basin and in the Kyzylkum desert. In 1871, a trip was made to the high-mountain zone, the first visit to the Zeravshan glacier took place. Then the Alaysky ridge was crossed, and the panorama of the grandiose ridge, called by Fedchenko Zaalaisky, opened before the traveler. Fedchenko named the prominent peak of this ridge after the Governor-General of Turkestan K.P. Kaufman, who greatly contributed to the development of research in the newly annexed region to Russia. V Soviet time this peak was renamed Lenin Peak. Fedchenko failed to penetrate the "roof of the world", as the Pamirs are called; followed by a strict ban by the governor of the Kokand Khan.

In 1873 Fedchenko died in the Alps on the slope of Mont Blanc. Assessing scientific contribution Fedchenko, an outstanding scientist and traveler I.V. Mushketov emphasized that his research “is distinguished not by the vastness of the routes, but by the extraordinary thoroughness and amazing variety of observations; the spaces traversed by him are small, but the results obtained are so significant and important that they would do honor to a long-term and numerous expedition.

Ivan Vasilievich Mushketov(1850-1902), the first professional geologist in these parts, who brought invaluable services to the study of the geography of Turkestan, began a multifaceted study of the nature of Central Asia in 1874. Having received an invitation to take the position of an official for special assignments under the governor general, the first task for Mushketov began the search for combustible minerals. Mushketov conducted exploration of a number of coal manifestations in the Karatau ridge, revealed deposits of polymetal ores and salts, but realized that the success of the case was impossible without extensive geological mapping of the territory. Planned studies of the Ili river basin, the ridges of the Northern Tien Shan - Zailiysky, Kungei-Alatau and Terskey-Alatau began, a route to the Dzungarian Alatau was completed. In the report of 1875, he gave a general orographic and geological outline of the Tien Shan, compiled a map of the distribution of mineral deposits in the vicinity of the city of Gulja.

In 1877, Mushketov climbed the Alai Range through the Ferghana Valley and descended into the Alai Valley. Compared to the wooded ranges of the Northern Tien Shan, the area was striking in its desert. “All these mountain valleys,” Mushketov wrote, “are literally devoid of any kind of vegetation, not to mention the forest ... Stones, stones and snow ... There was something oppressive, bleak in this terrible desert ... » The return was no less difficult than the ascent to the mountains. Who knows what ovrings are, he will understand that people and animals felt during their passage.

In 1878, Mushketov took part in the Pamir expedition of Severtsov, although their parties worked independently of each other. Severtsov made his first attempt to penetrate the Pamirs in 1877, but it was unsuccessful. In 1878 Severtsov crossed the Zaalai Range and penetrated to Lake Karakul on the East Pamir Plateau, then went to Lake Rangkul and Lake Yashilkul. A number of other lakes have been discovered. Severtsov was the first who singled out the Pamirs as a special mountain system "the orographic center of the entire Asian continent" - a combination of syrts and mountain ranges. At the same time, Mushketov was conducting research in another region of the Pamirs, went to the Kashgar Kyzylsu valley and discovered Lake Chatyrkul, about the vicinity of which Mushketov stated that "I have never seen a place more lifeless ...". There weren't even fish in the lake. In the mountains of Turkestan, Mushketov became interested in studying glaciers. And soon became one of the greatest connoisseurs of this natural phenomenon. Descending from the Gissar Range along the gorge of the Surkhandarya River, Mushketov made a boat rafting down the Amu Darya to Turtkul, from where he crossed the Kyzylkum desert to Karalinsk (Kzyl-Orda). From the abode of snow storms, the expedition members fell into the hot embrace of a sand blizzard. The result of Mushketov's research in Central Asia was the first geological map of the entire territory of Russian Turkestan, compiled jointly with Professor G.D. Romanovsky, and the first volume of the essay “Turkestan. Geological and orographic description according to data collected during travels from 1874 to 1880. Mushketov visited Central Asia more than once. The cycle of Mushketov's Central Asian studies was awarded a prize by the Academy of Sciences, and the highest award by the Geographical Society: the Konstantinov medal.

In 1877 - 1878. in the Ferghana Valley conducted research by A.F. Midden-dorf. He studied loess deposits and a sandy massif in the central part of the valley, changes in nature that occurred over the historical period under the influence of a long economic activity, advice is given on further development irrigated agriculture. Middendorf's observations and scientific conclusions are set forth in his book Essays on the Ferghana Valley (1882).

In 1878, an expedition headed to the upper reaches of the Amu Darya Vasily Fedorovich Oshanin(1844-1917). They discovered the ridges of Peter I, Darvazsky, Karateginsky and the language of a grandiose glacier, named by him in memory of an untimely deceased friend by the name of Fedchenko.

In 1884-1887. In the Tien Shan, Alai, and especially in the Pamirs, interesting research was carried out Grigory Efimovich Grumm-Grzhimailo(1860-1936). “In the Pamirs, including Alai here (only the valley is meant), - the traveler noted, - there is no woody vegetation. If it is, then as an exception, and then it is tal and tamarisk" (Grumm-Grzhimailo, 1896). Only on the northern slopes of the Alai Range are juniper, poplar, rarely birch, mountain ash, rhododendron. In the valleys there are huge thickets of hawthorn, sea buckthorn, apricots, wild almonds, and wild roses. Grumm-Grzhimailo described animals - the inhabitants of the Pamir-Alay mountains, among which he mentioned tigers. But they kept in tugai near the banks of the Amu Darya. Scientists were given accurate characteristics of local residents - Kara-Kyrgyz and Tajiks.

In 1886 on the initiative of P.P. Semenov, an expedition was carried out to the central regions of the Tien Shan under the leadership of I.V. Ignatiev. Members of the expedition from the shores of Issyk-Kul went to the valley of the Sary-Dzhaza river. In its upper reaches, the Semenov and Mushketov glaciers were discovered. In the upper reaches of the Inylchek River, they examined largest glaciers the Khantengri massif. From under the water of Issyk-Kul, Ignatov extracted a number of objects, evidence of the inhabitants of the region at a time when the lake level was much lower.

The independent route in this expedition was completed by Andrey Nikolaevich Krasnov(1862-1914). Research was carried out along the southern coast of Lakes Balkhash and Alakol, along the valley of the Ili River. Krasnov climbed the slopes of the Trans-Ili Alatau, visited the Sary-Dzhaz gorge, examined part of the Tien Shan on Chinese territory. On the basis of the collections and observations made, Krasnov prepared a fundamental work “Experience in the history of the development of the flora of the southern part of the Eastern Tien Shan” on 413 pages of text (1888), protected as master's thesis in botany in 1889. In the scientific method of Krasnov, the ability to highlight typical features was clearly manifested. He singled out high-altitude plant belts, touched upon the problems of speciation with the leading role of the influence of living conditions. The process of evolution of vegetation in the course of mountain building from a desert primary foundation is shown (Aleksandrovskaya, 1996). Krasnov's return to St. Petersburg took place through the deserts of Central Asia, and their types were distinguished: sandy, clayey, stony and saline.

In 1886 in the Trans-Caspian region, in the Karakum desert and in the Turkmen-Khorasan mountains, on the instructions of the administration of the railway from Krasnovodsk to Tashkent extensive research was carried out by V.A. Obruchev and K.I. Bogdanovich, pupils of I.V. Mushketov. Obruchev established the genesis of sands associated with river accumulation and eolian processing, identified three types of sandy relief: hilly, ridge and sandy steppe. On the maps of the Transcaspian lowland, part of the territory was called the Obruchevskaya steppe for many decades. Recommendations on measures to combat blown sands have been prepared. Obruchev's scientific results were published in 1890 in the book "The Trans-Caspian Lowland". Bogdanovich established that the Turkmen-Khorasan mountains, of which the Kopetdag ridge is a part, strongly drop to the east, abruptly breaking off to the valley of the Tejen River, and also drop to the northwest, where their connection with the Elburz ridge is formed. Bogdanovich gave the first description of the orography of these mountains.

It must be said that Bogdanovich was not the first Russian traveler in these parts. In 1837-1839. Ivan Viktorovich Vitkevich passed through the north of the Iranian Highlands up to Kabul on a diplomatic mission. He visited the deserts of Deshte-Lut and Deshte-Kevir, discovered the system of the East Iranian mountains. In 1843-1844. On behalf of the Shah's government, geologist Nikolai Ivanovich Voskoboinikov conducted surveys in northern Iran. He gave a description of the Elburs Range, compiled an orographic scheme of Northern Iran and topographic maps of a number of explored places. In 1858-1860. the expedition of Nikolai Vladimirovich Khanykov worked fruitfully on the Iranian Highlands. From the Caspian, the expedition members went to Mashhad, explored the southern slopes of the Turkmen-Khorasan mountains, and reached Herat. Botanik A.A. Bunge made an excursion to Tebes and put the northern end of the East Iranian mountains on the map. Later, Khanykov also visited the East Iranian mountains. The expedition crossed the Deshte-Lut desert, went to Kerman, mapped the Kuhrud ridge, passed through Isfahan to Tehran and completed the research. In 1861, Khanykov published on French book "Expedition to Khorasan".

Since 1901, the life and work of an outstanding traveler has been connected with Central Asia Nikolai Leopoldovich Korzhenevsky(1879-1958). First, he made sorties to the Tien Shan, then to the limits of Gissar-Alay, in 1904. traveled to the Pamirs. Along the valley of the Muksu River, Korzhenevsky climbed the slopes of the ridge of Peter I. Korzhenevsky named the first of the open glaciers after Mushketov. Six years later, Korzhenevsky again visited the area. From the Mushketov glacier, a view of the slender peak opened up, and Nikolai Leopoldovich named it after his wife Evgenia. This is one of the three 7-thousanders located in the Pamirs. The name of the peak survived all periods of renaming and has survived to this day. Korzhenevsky discovered an unknown ridge and gave it the name of the Academy of Sciences. Korzhenevsky named one of its main peaks in honor of Academician Karpinsky. On the account of Korzhenevsky there are 70 discovered and studied glaciers of the Pamir-Alay. He compiled the first catalog of glaciers in Central Asia.

A significant part of the expeditionary research in Central Asia was carried out at a young age by L.S. Berg.

GREAT GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERIES, a conventional term, adopted mainly in the historical literature, denoting the largest geographical discoveries European travelers in the 15th - mid-17th centuries. V foreign literature the period of the Great Geographical Discoveries is usually limited to the middle of the 15th - the middle of the 16th century. In Russian literature, the Great geographical discoveries are divided into two periods: the first - the middle of the 15th - the middle of the 16th centuries, the second - the middle of the 16th - the middle of the 17th centuries.

Exploration by the Portuguese of the West Coast of Africa.

Great geographical discoveries became possible thanks to the successes of European science and technology. By the 15th century, reliable enough for ocean navigation were created sailing ships(caravels), the compass and sea charts were improved, the experience necessary for long-distance navigation was gained. An important role in the Great geographical discoveries was played by the asserted idea of the sphericity of the Earth, with which the idea of the possibility of a western sea route to India through Atlantic Ocean. New trade routes forced the search for Turkish conquests, which blocked the traditional merchant ties with the East through the Mediterranean. In overseas lands, Europeans hoped to find wealth: precious stones and metals, exotic goods and spices, ivory and walrus tusks.

The first systematic expeditions in the Atlantic Ocean began the Portuguese. The activity of Portugal at sea was predetermined by its geographical position in the extreme west of Europe and the historical conditions that developed after the end of the Portuguese Reconquista. All the forces and energy of the Portuguese kingdom were directed to the search for new lands overseas, on the African coast. It was there that the Portuguese kings saw the source of the future glory and wealth of their state.

Traditionally, the success of Portugal at sea is associated with the name of Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460). He was not only the organizer of sea expeditions, but also seriously engaged in the development of open lands. In 1416, the Portuguese sailor G. Velho, following south along Africa, discovered the Canary Islands, in 1419 the Portuguese nobles Zarco and Vash Teixeira discovered the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo, in 1431 V. Cabral discovered the Azores.

During the 15th century, Portuguese caravels explored the sea route along the western coast of Africa, reaching more and more southern latitudes. In 1482-1486, Diogo Can (Cao) crossed the equator, opened the mouth of the Congo River and passed along the coast of Africa to Cape Cross. Kahn discovered the Namibian deserts, thereby refuting the legend that the tropics were impassable since the time of Ptolemy. In 1487-1488, Bartolomeu Dias made a new unparalleled voyage to the south. He reached the southern tip of Africa and went around it, opening the cape Good Hope. The voyage of Dias opened up the prospect of establishing a sea route to India around Africa for the Portuguese.

Opening of sea routes to America and India.

The successes of the Portuguese aroused interest in sea expeditions in neighboring Spain. Based on the concept of the sphericity of the Earth, the navigator Christopher Columbus suggested trying to reach India by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. The Spanish government gave him three caravels (the largest with a displacement of 280 tons), and in 1492 an expedition led by Columbus reached one of the Bahamas, thereby discovering America. In 1592-1504, he made four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, discovered the Greater Antilles and part of the Lesser Antilles, coast of South and Central America. Columbus died in 1506, fully convinced that he had discovered new way to India.

The news of the discovery by the Spaniards of new lands in the west stimulated the efforts of the Portuguese. In 1497-1498, Vasco da Gama sailed around Africa on four ships and, with the help of Arab helmsmen, reached the real India. In Spain and Portugal, sea expeditions were equipped annually, which made overseas voyages and discovered new lands. Interested in overseas countries and other European states. In 1497-1498, England equipped expeditions led by the Italian navigator John Cabot, who reached the shores of North America near the island of Newfoundland. In 1500, the Portuguese squadron under the command of Pedro Cabral, heading for India, was strongly deviated due to the equatorial current and reached Brazil, which Cabral mistook for an island. Then he continued sailing, rounded Africa and proceeded through the Mozambique Strait to India. Like previous travelers, Cabral considered the land he discovered in the west to be part of Asia.

The travels of the navigator Amerigo Vespucci were important for understanding the essence of the discovery of Christopher Columbus. In 1499-1504, he made four voyages to the shores of America, first as part of a Spanish expedition led by Alonso Ojeda, and then under the Portuguese flag. Comparing the data obtained, the Spanish and Portuguese navigators discovered the entire northern coast of South America and its eastern coast up to 25 ° south latitude, Vespucci came to the conclusion that the open lands are not Asia, but a new mainland, and proposed calling it the "New World". In 1507, the German cartographer and publisher Martin Waldseemüller, in a preface to Vespucci's book, suggested that " New World"in honor of Amerigo - America (without the knowledge of Vespucci) and this name came into use. In 1538 it was applied to the Mercator map and to South and North America.

The conquest of America by the conquistadors. Voyage of Magellan.

John Cabot's research in North America was continued by his son Sebastian Cabot. In the years 1506-1509, leading the English expeditions, he tried to find the so-called Northwest Passage to India and managed to reach the Hudson Bay. Finding no shortcut to India, England showed little interest in open lands over the ocean.

In 1513, the Spanish expedition of Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Finally confirmed the difference between America and Asia Ferdinand Magellan, who carried out the first circumnavigation(1519-1521), which became practical evidence of the sphericity of the Earth. An expedition led by Magellan explored southeastern part South America, opened the strait between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans (Strait of Magellan) and sailed through the South Pacific. Magellan visited the Mariana and Philippine Islands (where he died in a skirmish with the natives). Of the 239 people who sailed with him, 21 returned to Europe. This expedition established the presence of a huge ocean between America and Asia, gave an idea of the relative size of land and sea on the globe.

In 1513-1525, the Spanish conquistadors J. Ponce de Leon, F. Cordova, J. Grijalva discovered the entire eastern coast of South and Central America, the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and the Florida peninsula. Hernan Cortes conquered Mexico, the power of the Spanish king established itself in the islands of the Caribbean and Central America. The search for gold, the mythical country of El Dorado, led the conquistadors far into the depths of the American continent. In 1526-1530, Sebastian Cabot, who entered the Spanish service, explored the lower course of the Parana River and discovered the lower course of the Paraguay River. In the second quarter of the 16th century F. Pizarro, D. Almagro, P. Valdivia conquered Peru and Chile; Francisco Orellana sailed the Amazon from the Andes to the mouth in 1542. By 1552, the Spaniards explored the entire Pacific coast of South America, discovered the largest rivers of the continent (Amazon, Orinoco, Parana, Paraguay), explored the Andes from 10 ° north latitude to 40 ° south latitude.

In the second quarter of the 16th century, French navigators also achieved significant success. J. Verrazano (1524) and J. Cartier (1534-1535) discovered the eastern coast of North America and the St. Lawrence River. In 1540-1542, the Spaniards E. Soto and F. Coronado traveled to the Southern Appalachians and the Southern Rocky Mountains, to the basins of the Colorado and Mississippi rivers.

Russian explorers. Northeast and Northwest passages.

A new period of great geographical discoveries begins at the end of the 16th century. If earlier the Spanish and Portuguese navigators played the leading role, then from now on, representatives of other countries also act on an equal footing with them. Holland was especially active, having achieved independence from Spain and in a short time became the leading maritime trading power.

The honor of discovering Northeast Asia, the vast expanses of Siberia belongs to Russian explorers. Since ancient times, the Pomors, who inhabited the coast of the White Sea, went on long voyages on small sailing ships, discovered the shores of the Arctic, the islands of the Arctic Ocean (Grumant). After the conquest of the Kazan Khanate, Russian state able to expand eastward. In 1582-1585, Yermak Timofeevich, having crossed the Ural Mountains, defeated the detachments of the Tatar Khan Kuchum, thereby starting the development of Siberia. In 1587 the city of Tobolsk was founded, long time remained the capital of Russian Siberia. In the north of Western Siberia, on the Taz River, in 1601, the city of Mangazeya was founded - the center of the fur trade and a stronghold for further advancement to the east. Russian explorers - Cossacks and service people- opened the basins of the Yenisei and Lena rivers, passed all of Siberia from west to east, and in 1639 I. Yu. Moskvitin reached the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. By the middle of the 17th century, K. Kurochkin, M. Stadukhin, I. Perfiliev, I. Rebrov traced the course of all the great Siberian rivers. Vasily Poyarkov and Yerofey Khabarov in 1649-1653 with their troops reached the Amur. The explorers went around the entire northern coast of Asia, discovering the Yamal, Taimyr, and Chukotka peninsulas. The expedition of Fedot Popov and Semyon Dezhnev was the first to cross the Bering Strait, which separates Asia and North America. In 1697-1699, Vladimir Atlasov's campaign against Kamchatka completed the discoveries of Russian explorers in Siberia.

During this period, the idea of opening a direct sea route to Tropical Asia from Northern Europe dominated the minds of sailors in northern European countries. It was assumed that such a path should exist somewhere in the east - the Northeast Passage, or in the west - the Northwest Passage. Attempts to find a new route to Asia led to intensive study of the North Atlantic and the Arctic. English and Dutch sailors played a leading role in the search for the Northeast Passage. The Dutch navigator Willem Barents in 1594 passed the western coast of Novaya Zemlya to its northern tip, and in 1596 reached Svalbard. During these voyages, the Northern Sea Route showed little promise, but a direct trade route was established from North-Western Europe to Russia through Arkhangelsk.

From 1576 to 1631, the English navigators M. Frobisher, D. Davis, G. Hudson, W. Buffin undertook an energetic search for the Northwest Passage. John Davis in 1583-1587 made three voyages in the waters of the North Atlantic, discovered the strait between Greenland and America (Davis Strait), explored the coast of the Labrador Peninsula. Henry Hudson made four expeditions to North America from 1607-1611. A hundred years after Sebastian Cabot, he again passed the strait between Labrador and Baffin Island into a vast bay in the depths of North America. Later, both the strait and the bay were named after Hudson. A river in eastern North America is also named after him, at the mouth of which the city of New York later arose. Hudson's fate ended tragically, in the spring of 1611, the rebellious crew of his ship landed him and his teenage son in a boat in the middle of the ocean, where they went missing. the bay and the sea, later named after him, discovered a number of islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, moving along the western coast of Greenland and reached 78 ° north latitude.

In the first quarter of the 17th century, Europeans began to explore North America. English, Dutch, French settlements appear on its Atlantic coast. At first, France achieved the greatest success in this region, to a large extent due to the activities of the first governor of Canada, Samuel Champlain. In 1605-1616, he not only explored part of the east coast of North America, but also traveled deep into the continent: he discovered the Northern Appalachians, climbed up the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes and reached Lake Huron. By 1648, the French had discovered all five of the Great Lakes.

Discovery of Australia. Significance of the Great Geographical Discoveries.

At the same time, at the beginning of the 17th century, European navigators penetrated the most distant part of the world from Europe - areas located south of Southeast Asia. The Spaniard Luis Torres in 1606 discovered the southern coast of New Guinea and passed through the strait separating Asia and Australia (Torres Strait). In the same 1606, the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon discovered Australia ( West Coast Cape York Peninsula). In 1642-1642, the Dutchman Abel Tasman made a number of voyages in this area, discovered Tasmania, New Zealand, Fiji, part of the coast of Northern and Western Australia. Tasman defined Australia as a single land mass and named it New Holland. But Holland did not have enough resources to develop a new continent and a century later it had to be rediscovered.

The great geographical discoveries were of world-historical significance. The contours of inhabited continents were established, most of earth's surface, an idea was obtained about the shape of the Earth as a huge ball and about its size. The great geographical discoveries gave impetus to the development not only of geography itself, but of many other areas of natural science, providing extensive new material for botany, zoology, and ethnography. As a result of the Great geographical discoveries, Europeans first became acquainted with a number of new agricultural crops (potatoes, maize, tomatoes, tobacco).

As a result of the discovery by Europeans of new countries and new trade routes, trade acquired a global character, and there was a manifold increase in goods in circulation. The movement of trade routes from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic contributed to the rise of some countries (England, Holland) and the decline of others (merchant republics in Italy). The colonial system formed after the Great geographical discoveries became one of the levers of the primitive accumulation of capital, while at the same time the flow of gold, silver and precious metals that poured into Europe from America caused a Price Revolution.

First stage:
History of Asian exploration - limited information on the geography of Asia was known to the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia. The campaigns of Alexander the Great (4th century BC), Egypt's trade with India, and the existence of a trade route ("silk road") from China to Asia Minor contributed to the gradual accumulation of information about Asia. However, more deep knowledge about this part of the land were received later.

Second phase:
In the 7th century The Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who wandered around Central and Central Asia, India, presented information on the geography, ethnography and history of the countries he saw in one of his main works, Notes on the Countries of the West, completed in 648.

The Arab traveler and geographer Ibn Khordadbeh (IX-X centuries) described the provinces of Asia Minor. Biruni compiled a work on India, Masudi gave a geographical and historical description of the Muslim countries, India, China, Palestine, Ceylon.

In the IX-X centuries. various regions of Central and Western Asia were studied by Mukadassi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Fadlan and Ibn Rust. The Arab traveler Idrisi (XII century), who lived most of his life in Sicily, described in a consolidated geographical work Asia Minor which he visited.

In the XIV century. Ibn Battuta, who visited many Asian countries, wrote a great work in which he gave a very colorful and lively description of these countries, including information about minerals.

In the XII-XIII centuries. Europeans who made Crusades, collect information about the countries of Central and South Asia. In 1253-55, the Flemish traveler, the monk Rubruk, undertook a trip to Mongolia for diplomatic purposes. The report on this most significant (before M. Polo) journey of a European to Asia contained valuable information on the geography of Central Asia (in particular, it indicated that the Caspian Sea is not a sea, but a lake).

A significant contribution to the development of ideas about Asia was made by the traveler M. Polo (1271-1295), who lived in China for about 17 years. The “Book” (1298), written from his words in a Genoese prison, where he ended up during the war between Venice and Genoa, first introduced Europeans to Persia, Armenia, China, India, etc. It was a reference book for such great navigators as Columbus , Vasco da Gama, Magellan and others.

The Venetian merchant and traveler M. Conti, who wandered around India in 1424 and visited the islands of Ceylon, Sumatra, Borneo, and Java, on behalf of the Pope in 1444 dictated an account of this journey.

In 1468-1474 the Russian merchant A. Nikitin undertook a journey to India. His travel notes, containing multilateral observations, were published under the title "Journey Beyond the Three Seas."

In the middle of the XV century. Europeans began to look for sea routes to Asia. Portuguese sailors reached India in 1497-1499 (Vasco da Gama), visited Malacca, Macau, the Philippines, Japan. In the second half of the XVI-XVII centuries. the Dutch, British, and Spaniards continued to penetrate into the countries of South Asia.

In 1618-1619, the Siberian Cossack I. Petlin visited Mongolia and China, plotted the route on a map, and described what he saw in a book translated into English, French and other languages.

One of the first Europeans in 1690-1692 visited Japan, the German naturalist and physician E. Kaempfer, who collected extensive material on the nature, history and life of the people. His book, published in 1728 in London, served for a long time as the main source of information about Japan.

During this period, the greatest contribution to the study of the northern regions of Asia, where Europeans did not penetrate, was made by Russian explorers. TO late XVI c., after Yermak's campaign, became generally known Western Siberia.

In 1639, I. Yu. Moskvitin with a detachment of Cossacks reached the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. In 1632-1638, a detachment led by E. P. Khabarov studied the Lena River basin. In 1649-1653 he crossed the Stanovoy Range, traveled to the Amur region, and was the first to map it. In 1643-1646, a detachment of V. D. Poyarkov passed along the rivers Lena, Aldan, Zeya and Amur, who also presented drawings of the routes traveled and collected valuable information about the Far East.

In 1648, the expedition of S. I. Dezhnev rounded the Chukchi Peninsula and discovered the strait separating Asia from America, and the cape, which is the extreme northeastern point of Asia. The Siberian Cossack V. V. Atlasov traveled around Kamchatka in 1697-1699, reached the Northern Kuril Islands and compiled a description (“skaski”) of the discovered lands.

In the 17th century Russian explorers, despite the extremely difficult climatic conditions, overcoming vast expanses, discovered almost the whole of Siberia. This stage ended with the compilation of the first maps of Siberia, made by the Tobolsk governor P. Godunov and his countryman geographer and cartographer S. Remizov.

Third stage:
During this period, exploration of the north and northeast of the Asian continent by Russian travelers and navigators continued. By decree of Peter I, the Kamchatka expeditions are equipped, led by V. Bering, A. Chirikov was an assistant.

The first expedition (1725-1730) went overland through Siberia to Okhotsk, and then, after building ships, Bering went to sea, rounded the shores of Kamchatka and Chukotka, discovered the island of St. Lawrence and passed through the strait, which now bears his name.

Second Kamchatka expedition(1733-1741), also known as the Great North due to the scope of his work, occupies an outstanding place in the history of the study of the Arctic and northern regions of Asia. The Asian shores of the Arctic Ocean were mapped, the Commander, Aleutian and other islands were discovered, and the shores of Alaska were explored.

Separate detachments were led by the Laptev brothers, V.V. Pronchishchev, S.I. Chelyuskin (whose names are immortalized on geographical map). A great contribution to the study of Central Asia was made by missionaries who gave in the early 18th century. description of China, Mongolia and Tibet.

At the end of the XVIII century. Russian traveler and naturalist PS Pallas explored Eastern Siberia and Altai. In 1800-1805 Ya. Sannikov discovered and described the Stolbovoy and Faddeyevsky Islands of the Novosibirsk archipelago, suggested the existence of Sannikov land to the north of it.

In 1811, V. M. Golovnin undertook a trip to the Kuril Islands, compiled their inventory and map. During the expedition, he was captured by the Japanese. His memoirs about his stay in captivity in 1811-1813, containing information about the country and the customs of the Japanese, became the first description of Japan in Russian.

In 1821-1823, P. F. Anzhu explored the coast of the Arctic Ocean (between the mouths of the Olenek and Indigirka rivers), performing a number of astronomical and geomagnetic observations.

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F. P. Wrangel in 1820-1824 led an expedition to study the northern coast of Eastern Siberia. According to information received from the Chukchi, he determined the position of the island in the Chukchi Sea, later named after him.

In 1829, at the invitation of the Russian government, A. Humboldt undertook a trip to the Urals, Altai, southwestern part Siberia, on the shores of the Caspian Sea, in the Kyrgyz steppes, the results of which were covered in the works "Central Asia" and "Fragments on the Geology and Climatology of Asia". F. P. Litke during his round-the-world trip in 1826-1829 explored the eastern coast of Asia and Kamchatka.

Fourth stage:
From the middle of the XIX century. the role of systematic research conducted by scientific institutions, geographical societies and topographical services of England, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan and China. The number of monographic descriptions of Asia has increased.

Russian geographical society, created in 1845, develops work in Siberia and the Far East. In 1856-1857, P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky traveled to the Tien Shan (gave his first orographic scheme), explored the western spurs of the Trans-Ili Alatau, and was the first European to climb the slopes of the Khan-Tengri massif. In memory of his achievements in the study of the Tien Shan in 1906, "Tyan Shan" was added to his surname.

A. P. Fedchenko in 1868-1871 made several trips around Turkestan, the first Russian traveler visited the Alai Valley, discovered the Zaalai Range, explored the lower reaches of the Syr Darya River.

In 1872-1876 A. I. Voeikov visited South and Western Asia, China, Japan, India, Central Asia, collecting valuable information about the climate of various regions of Asia. In 1877-1880, I. D. Chersky gave a detailed geographical and geological description of the Baikal coast.

In 1870-1885, four expeditions were organized to Central Asia under the leadership of N. M. Przhevalsky, who discovered many previously unknown remote areas - Kunlun, Nanshan, Tibet, etc. His research was continued by Russian travelers - M. V. Pevtsov, G. E. Grumm - Grzhimailo, G. Ts. Tsybikov. V. A. Obruchev, who worked a lot in Central Asia, made three expeditions to the Transcaspian region (1886-1888), discovered a number of ridges in the Nanshan mountains, the Daursky ridge, etc., explored the Beishan highlands.

In the end XIX- early XX centuries Russian scientists (I. V. Mushketov, L. S. Berg) continue systematic studies of Asia. Building Trans-Siberian Railway also stimulated regular surveys of the territories adjacent to it.

For the first time, the northeastern passage from Europe to the Far East was carried out in 1878-1879 by N. Nordenskiöld, later (1911-1915) this route, only from east to west, was repeated by the expedition of B. A. Vilkitsky. During this period, in-depth geographical research scientists from Asian countries (Japan, China, India, Indonesia).

Since the middle of the XX century. research is being intensified in the Russian part of Asia, connected with the economic development of a vast territory, regional scientific centers and institutes are being created that carry out mapping (including large-scale) and comprehensive study of Siberia and the Far East. Regular sailings are being established along the Northern sea route. Systematic research is being carried out by international expeditions.