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Introduction
The fifteenth century was a century of far-flung exploration and ocean travel.
During this "century of the sail" the peoples of many civilizations took to the sea and risked
sailing with the winds. With the hardships of the previous century behind them, cultures around
the world began to expand. For those with access to water and the technology to exploit it,
great trade benefits awaited. The states that lined the coasts of maritime Asia developed
the most impressive and mature sea-going technologies. But the fastest-growing empire of the
fifteenth century was land based; in the Americas, the Aztecs developed a civilization rivaled
in speed and scale by only the Ottoman Empire.
The maritime accomplishments of coastal societies in Asia
and Mediterranean Europe during the century of the sail increased trade opportunities
and moved both people and goods across continents. The Ottomans expanded by
sea within the Mediterranean and proved that a land-based people could adapt to a sailing culture.
The Aztecs, with their entirely land-based empire, provided a point of contrast
to the ocean-based empire-building occurring elsewhere around the globe. As
European sailors learned how to ride the winds of worldwide exploration, ocean
travel would from this century onwards be synonymous with empire building.
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© 1999 Turner Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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