History of the discovery and exploration of North and South America. History of exploration of south america

Landscaping and planning 14.10.2019
Landscaping and planning

The history of South American exploration can be divided into two phases:

First stage
Europeans became reliably aware of the existence of South America after the voyage of H. Columbus in 1498, who discovered the islands of Trinidad and Margarita, explored the coastline from the Orinoco River Delta to the Paria Peninsula. In the XV-XVI centuries. The greatest contribution to the exploration of the continent was made by Spanish expeditions. In 1499-1500, the Spanish conquistador A. Ojeda led an expedition to the northern coast of South America, which reached the coast in the region of modern Guiana and, following in a northwesterly direction, explored the coast from 5-6 ° S. sh. to the Gulf of Venezuela.

Later, Ojeda explored the north coast of Colombia and built a fortress there, marking the beginning of the Spanish conquests on this continent. The survey of the northern coast of South America was completed by the Spanish traveler R. Bastidas, who in 1501 explored the mouth of the Magdalena River and reached the Gulf of Uraba.

The expeditions of V. Pinson and D. Lepe, continuing to move south along the Atlantic coast of South America, in 1500 discovered one of the branches of the Amazon delta, explored the Brazilian coast to 10 ° S. sh. H. Solis went further to the south (up to 35 ° S. latitude) and discovered La Plata Bay, the lower reaches of the largest rivers Uruguay and Parana. In 1520, F. Magellan explored the Patagonian coast, then passed into the Pacific Ocean through the strait, later named after him, completing the study of the Atlantic coast.

In 1522-1558. explored the Pacific coast of South America. F. Pizarro walked along the coast Pacific Ocean up to 8 ° S sh., in 1531-1533. he conquered Peru, plundering and destroying the Inca state and founding the City of the Kings (later called Lima). Later - in 1535-1552. - Spanish conquistadors D. Almagro and P. Valdivia descended along the coast to 40 ° S. sh.

The study of inland regions was stimulated by legends about the hypothetical "country of gold" - El Dorado, in search of which the Spanish expeditions of D. Ordaz, P. Heredia and others in 1529-1546 crossed the Northwestern Andes in different directions, traced the currents of many rivers. The agents of the German bankers A. Ehinger, N. Federman and others surveyed, mainly, the northeast of the continent, the upper reaches of the Orinoco River. In 1541 F. Orellana's detachment for the first time crossed the mainland in its widest part, tracing the middle and lower reaches of the Amazon River; S. Cabot, P. Mendoza and others in 1527-1548 passed through major rivers Parana Basin - Paraguay.


The extreme southern point of the continent - Cape Horn - was discovered by the Dutch navigators J. Lehmer and V. Schouten in 1616. The English navigator D. Davies discovered the "Land of the Virgin" in 1592, suggesting that it was a single land; only in 1690 D. Strong proved that it consists of many islands and gave them the name Falkland Islands.
In the 16-18 centuries. detachments of the Portuguese mestizo-Mamiluks, who committed aggressive campaigns in search of gold and jewelry, they repeatedly crossed the Brazilian Plateau and traced the course of many tributaries of the Amazon. Jesuit missionaries also took part in the study of these areas.

Second phase
To test the hypothesis of the spheroidal shape of the Earth, the Paris Academy of Sciences sent an Equatorial Expedition to Peru in 1736-1743 to measure the meridian arc, led by P. Bouguer and C. Condamine, which confirmed the validity of this assumption. In 1781-1801, the Spanish topographer F. Azara carried out comprehensive studies of the La Plata Bay, as well as the basins of the Parana and Paraguay rivers. A. Humboldt explored the Orinoco river basin, the plateau of Quito, visited the city of Lima, presenting the results of his research in the book "Journey to the equinox regions of the New World in 1799-1804."

The English hydrographer and meteorologist R. Fitzroy in 1828-1830 (on the expedition of F. King) surveyed the southern coast of South America, and later directed the famous world tour on the ship "Beagle", in which Charles Darwin also took part. The Amazon and the Brazilian Plateau adjacent to it from the south were explored by the German scientist V. Eschwege (1811-1814), the French biologist E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1816-1822), the Russian expedition led by G. I. Langsdorf (1822-1828), English naturalist A. Wallace (1848-1852), French scientist A. Coudro (1895-98). German and French scientists studied the Orinoco River basin and the Guiana Plateau, American and Argentinean - the lower reaches of the Parana and Uruguay rivers in the La Plata region.

The Russian scientists N. M. Albov, who studied Tierra del Fuego in 1895-1896, G. G. Manizer (1914-1915), N. I. Vavilov (1930, 1932-1933) made a great contribution to the study of this continent.

The discovery of South America is directly related to the name of Christopher Columbus, the famous navigator who was looking for India. His search lasted about a month, the three ships Pinta, Santa Maria and Nina left Spain in 1492 to cross Atlantic Ocean. Then Columbus saw the land that is now the Bahamas. Then the famous navigator was sure that he was in Asia, and called the islands of Western India - the West Indies. After that discovery, the navigator made three more sea voyages.

And only in 1498, Columbus visited the territory of South America - he landed on the coast, located opposite the island of Trinidad. Columbus was sure that he had discovered India.

The real discovery of South America happened with the help of another navigator - Amerigo Vespucci. This happened at the beginning of the 16th century, when an Italian took part in a journey to the shores of the West Indies.

Then Vespucci realized that his predecessor had discovered not India, but an unknown continent, which was then called the New World. The name came from the name of Vespucci himself - the territory was called the land of Amerigo, which later turned into America.

The proposal to name the mainland in this way came from the German scientist Waldseemüller. Subsequently, one of the countries in South America was named after Columbus. The significance of the discovery of the mainland of South America is still being discussed. Indeed, in those days, the inhabitants of Europe did not know anything about the other part of the world, and the bold journey of Columbus forever changed the ideas of mankind about our planet. This is the largest geographical discovery.

But after the discovery, a long process of colonization began. After it became known about the discovery of new lands by Columbus, conquerors headed there from Europe, who wanted to find incredible treasures, riches and appropriate the lands for themselves. These conquerors were called conquistadors.

But in order to implement their ideas, they needed to exterminate and enslave indigenous people South America. This process was accompanied by constant looting and devastation of the newly discovered territories.

Simultaneously with the conquest, many geographical studies of new lands took place: maps of the coast were created, long passages overland.

One of important points In the history of the development of South America, the expedition of the scientist Alexander Humboldt is considered. The German researcher set himself the goal of studying the nature of the mainland and studying its indigenous population.

His works are invaluable - he described the nature around him, studied about 12 thousand plants and even created a map of South America, which can be called geological.

He conducted such in-depth research for 20 years that the book he subsequently wrote was called almost the second discovery of America.

This work is of particular scientific importance, since the studies of the German scientist are extensive and relate to many geographical factors.

Russian scientists were also studying South America. For example, the botanist Vavilov investigated the origin of many cultivated plants in 1932-1933 These plants are native to South America.

The discovery of South America is directly related to the name of Christopher Columbus, the famous navigator who was looking for India. His search lasted about a month, three ships Pinta, Santa Maria and Nina left Spain in 1492 to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Then Columbus saw the land that is now the Bahamas. Then the famous navigator was sure that he was in Asia, and called the islands of Western India - the West Indies. After that discovery, the navigator made three more sea voyages.

And only in 1498, Columbus visited the territory of South America - he landed on the coast, located opposite the island of Trinidad. Columbus was sure that he had discovered India.

The real discovery of South America happened with the help of another navigator - Amerigo Vespucci. This happened at the beginning of the 16th century, when an Italian took part in a journey to the shores of the West Indies.

Then Vespucci realized that his predecessor had discovered not India, but an unknown continent, which was then called the New World. The name came from the name of Vespucci himself - the territory was called the land of Amerigo, which later turned into America.

The proposal to name the mainland in this way came from the German scientist Waldseemüller. Subsequently, one of the countries in South America was named after Columbus. The significance of the discovery of the mainland of South America is still being discussed. Indeed, in those days, the inhabitants of Europe did not know anything about the other part of the world, and the bold journey of Columbus forever changed the ideas of mankind about our planet. This is the largest geographical discovery.

But after the discovery, a long process of colonization began. After it became known about the discovery of new lands by Columbus, conquerors headed there from Europe, who wanted to find incredible treasures, riches and appropriate the lands for themselves. These conquerors were called conquistadors.

But in order to implement their ideas, they needed to exterminate and enslave the indigenous population of South America. This process was accompanied by constant looting and devastation of the newly discovered territories.

Simultaneously with the conquest, many geographical studies of new lands took place: maps of the coast were created, long passages overland.

One of the important moments in the history of the development of South America is the expedition of the scientist Alexander Humboldt. The German researcher set himself the goal of studying the nature of the mainland and studying its indigenous population.

His works are invaluable - he described the nature around him, studied about 12 thousand plants and even created a map of South America, which can be called geological.

He conducted such in-depth research for 20 years that the book he subsequently wrote was called almost the second discovery of America.

This work is of particular scientific importance, since the studies of the German scientist are extensive and relate to many geographical factors.

Russian scientists were also studying South America. For example, the botanist Vavilov investigated the origin of many cultivated plants in 1932-1933. These plants are native to South America.

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The first Europeans who visited in the XVI and XVII centuries. in South America, there were adventurers and missionaries. In the XVIII century. they were followed by scientists who sought to map the mainland and study its geology, as well as flora and fauna. animal world. The first scientific expedition went in 1735 to Peru.

Alexander von Humboldt

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) - one of the greatest scientists and travelers (pictured on the left), a brilliant naturalist, astronomer, biologist, geologist, excellent linguist. In June 1797 Humboldt left Berlin for Paris. In June 1799, together with the French physician Amy Bonpland (1773-1858, pictured right), he sailed from Europe to South America. The following month, they reached the northeast coast of the continent near Caracas, in present-day Venezuela. One of the first plans of the expedition was to study the river. Orinoco. But on the way to it, travelers had to cross dry, dusty, waterless steppes - llanos, stretching to the south. Along the way, explorers kept records of every species of plant, animal, and bird they encountered—even in the deserts, where they were thirsty and burned by the scorching rays of the sun. Travelers descended the fast rivers and made their way through the stuffy jungle, in which the silence was broken only by the cries of parrots and monkeys, and the people were tormented by clouds of blood-sucking insects.

Through the mountains to the south

The second journey of Humboldt and Bonpland in South America began in 1801. In January 1802, the travelers reached Quito, one of the highest cities in the world, having made a tiring journey along rivers and mountains. Near Quito, they climbed to a height of 5878 m and almost reached the top of the Chimborazo volcano. The travelers then headed south through virgin forests and the spurs of the Andes and finally arrived in Lima (Peru). Here they studied the ruins of buildings created by civilization (their culture flourished in Peru after the 13th century and was wiped off the face of the earth by the Spanish conquistadors in the 30s of the 16th century, see the article ""). Humboldt also mapped a powerful cold current that runs along the coast of Peru and brings rich schools of fish. Subsequently, this current received the name of Humboldt, and now it is called the Peruvian Current.

Back to Europe

When the scientists returned to France in 1804, they were greeted by huge crowds of people. In total, they traveled 64,000 km across South America and collected 30 cases of specimens, as well as 60,000 plant species, many of which were previously unknown. Humboldt returned to Germany and devoted 23 years of his life to preparing for the publication of his own works, which amounted to 29 volumes.

Charles Darwin (1809-1892) English naturalist and traveler. In December 1831, he set off on the ship Beagle on an expedition to the coast of Chile. Darwin described everything he saw in detail, and although the ship was cramped, he amassed a huge collection of minerals, fossils, plants, animals, birds and shells. Everything that the scientist saw on the expedition made him reconsider habitual views on the origin and development of life on .

land of giants

In the spring of 1832 the expedition arrived in Bahia (Brazil). Darwin was struck by the incredible variety and brightness of flowers and birds that appeared before his eyes. Then the Beagle went south, to the shores of Patagonia. There, researchers have found fossils of some extinct animals, including the giant sloth and the armadillo. The ship then sailed along the windy and cold shores of Terra del Fuego off the southern tip of South America. Darwin traveled through the Argentine steppes - pampas, lived among gauchos (cowboys).

lost World

In September 1835, the expedition reached the Galapagos Islands, located 965 km from the coast of Ecuador in. Here Darwin discovered species of birds, animals and plants found nowhere else on earth. Cut off from the mainland, they were isolated from the rest of the world. These findings played an important role in Darwin's creation of the theory of the origin of animals and humans (more on this in the article "").

Doubts about the authenticity of the Bible

In October 1836, the Beagle returned to England, and Darwin devoted 20 years to describing his discoveries. In 1859, he published On the Origin of Species, where he outlined his theory of evolution, which refuted the teachings of the church. One of the most daring was Darwin's assertion that all living things evolved over millions of years. This caused a scandal, as it contradicted what was said in the Bible, that God created the world in six days and since then it has not changed.

Percy Fawcett

Percy Fawcett (1867-1925) - officer with twenty years' experience in South America. He was inspired by the legend of Eldorado, the "golden man", and he believed that somewhere deep in the Brazilian jungle, the remnants of ancient civilization. In 1921, near Salvador (Bahia), Fawcett discovered ancient ruins. This gave him the idea to test his theory and find one of the lost cities, which he called the city "Z" (z).

Unsolved Mystery

April 20, 1925 Fawcett, along with his eldest son Jack and his school friend Reilly Rymall, set off on a trip. On rivers teeming with piranhas, they sailed to Brazil, to Mato Grosso. There traces of them were lost forever. For several years, various rumors had been heard from the jungle about what had happened to them. Perhaps Fawcett and his companions fell at the hands of the Indians, but there is no evidence for this version. Their disappearance remains as much of a mystery as Fawcett's mysterious City of Z.

The discovery of South America is directly related to the name of Christopher Columbus, a famous navigator who was looking for India.

His search continued for about a month, three ships "Pinta", "Santa Maria" and "Nina" left Spain in 1492 to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Then Columbus saw the land that is now the Bahamas.

History of the discovery of South America

Then the famous navigator was sure that he was in Asia, and called the islands of the West Indies - the West Indies. After that discovery, the navigator made three more sea voyages.

And only in 1498, Columbus visited the territory of South America - he landed on the coast, located opposite the island of Trinidad. Columbus was sure that he had discovered India.

The real discovery of South America happened with the help of another navigator - Amerigo Vespucci. This happened at the beginning of the 16th century, when an Italian took part in a journey to the shores of the West Indies.

Then Vespucci realized that his predecessor had discovered not India, but an unknown continent, which was then called the New World. The name came from the name of Vespucci himself - the territory was called the land of Amerigo, which later turned into America.

The proposal to name the mainland in this way came from the German scientist Waldseemüller. Subsequently, one of the countries in South America was named after Columbus.

History of mainland exploration

The significance of the discovery of the mainland of South America is still being discussed. Indeed, in those days, the inhabitants of Europe did not know anything about the other part of the world, and the bold journey of Columbus forever changed the ideas of mankind about our planet. This is the largest geographical discovery.

But after the discovery, a long process of colonization began. After it became known about the discovery of new lands by Columbus, conquerors headed there from Europe, who wanted to find incredible treasures, riches and appropriate the lands for themselves. These conquerors were called conquistadors.

But in order to implement their ideas, they needed to exterminate and enslave the indigenous population of South America. This process was accompanied by constant looting and devastation of the newly discovered territories.

Simultaneously with the conquest, many geographical studies of new lands took place: maps of the coast were created, long passages overland.

One of the important moments in the history of the development of South America is the expedition of the scientist Alexander Humboldt. The German researcher set himself the goal of studying the nature of the mainland and studying its indigenous population.

His works are invaluable - he described the nature around him, studied about 12 thousand plants and even created a map of South America, which can be called geological.

He conducted such in-depth research for 20 years that the book he subsequently wrote was called almost the second discovery of America.

This work is of particular scientific importance, since the studies of the German scientist are extensive and relate to many geographical factors.

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