What Geographical Advantages Did Western Europe Have in Its Encounters

question 51

Essay

What geographical advantages did Western Europe have in its encounters with the non-Western world in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries? How did the Portuguese lead the way in exploration? What role did Prince Henry the Navigator play? How did imported eastern ideas and innovations spur the Portuguese advance?

---

Definitions:

Transitional Forms

Fossilized remains that show intermediate characteristics between ancestral species and their modern descendants, often cited as evidence of evolution.

Fossil Record

The collection of fossils that has been discovered, providing evidence of the history of life and evolutionary processes on Earth.

Reptiles

A group of cold-blooded animals with scaly skin that typically lay eggs on land, such as snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and turtles.

Amphibians

A class of cold-blooded vertebrates that includes frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts, primarily living in moist environments.