Syllabus Edition
First teaching 2016
Last exams 2025
The Elizabethans & Exploration (Edexcel GCSE History)
Revision Note
Written by: Zoe Wade
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
The Importance of Technology in Elizabethan Exploration - Timeline & Summary
The 16th century was an exciting period for exploration. The Renaissance period encouraged new thinking. Elizabethans wanted to understand more about the world around them. Adventure and wealth drove explorers like Sir Francis Drake to make voyages across the world. Technology impacted Elizabethan exploration. Elizabethan explorers travelled further and more often than in previous centuries.
Navigational tools improved in this period. Maps, astrolabes and quadrants helped explorers accurately plot and navigate their journeys. There were improvements in ship design. Elizabethan galleons could travel faster and carry more goods. The ship design also protected English galleons from attacks from pirates or privateers.
Drake circumnavigated the world in 1577-80. This inspired many Englishmen to begin careers in privateering and exploration.
Why did Elizabethans Want to Explore?
From 1558 to 1588, many factors motivated Elizabethans to explore the world on voyages by boat
Factors that Encouraged Elizabethan Exploration
Factor | Why did this encourage exploration? |
|---|---|
Trade | England's conflict with Spain made Elizabethan merchants suffer. The cloth trade with the Netherlands was a fundamental part of England's economy. Merchants began to look for new, undisturbed places to trade in. English merchants exploited the existing African slave trade to lay the foundations of the Triangular Trade between England, Africa and the Americas. John Hawkins first brought enslaved Africans in 1562 to sell to Spanish colonists. He brought back valuable items like ginger and sugar to sell in England |
Wealth | Explorers reported back to England about the treasures available in the Americas such as precious metals and crops. The potential profits from these markets persuaded investors to fund voyages to the Americas. Queen Elizabeth hired privateers like Sir Francis Drake to find and steal the wealth in Spain's American colonies. Much of the interior of America remained unexplored. This provided an opportunity for explorers to discover further wealth in the Americas |
Adventure | Elizabethans had few opportunities to travel. The accounts of explorers like Sir Walter Raleigh inspired young men to voyage to the Americas. They desired treasure, fame and wealth, but many did not find this. Transatlantic voyages were very dangerous. Many of these young explorers would die from preventable diseases, mutiny or attacks |
New routes | Explorers wanted to find a new passage to the Far East. They believed that a faster route existed around North America. This was called the North-West Passage. Although the passage was not discovered until 1845, it inspired Elizabethan explorers to study the coastline of America |
Examiner Tips and Tricks
In the 16th century, the Spanish Empire was heavily involved in the slave trade. From 1502, the Spanish Empire transported people from the Congo-Angola area of West Africa to the Caribbean. Historians estimate that the Spanish Empire enslaved over a million Africans in the Americas between the 16th and 17th centuries. The Spanish Empire was the model that all European leaders wished to follow. In an attempt to become as rich and powerful as Spain, England began to involve itself in the slave trade. In modern times, we condemn the slave trade and the horrors Europeans inflicted upon enslaved Africans.
Worked Example
Describe one feature that motivated exploration between 1558 and 1588
2 marks
Answers:
One feature that motivated exploration between 1558 and 1588 was the pursuit of wealth (1). Elizabethans wanted to explore more areas of America to find precious metals and crops to sell back in England (1).
Examiner Tips and Tricks
This question previously asked students to describe two features of a given event. This question was out of four marks. However, as of 2025, Edexcel will split this question into two subsections, asking you to describe a feature of two different events. Each subsection is worth two marks.
New Technology That Helped Exploration
A better understanding of science developed in the 16th century
This enabled a development in naval technology and improved navigation
Progress in Ship Design - Elizabethan Galleons
Improvements in technology created better, faster ships for Elizabethans to use for exploration
The key areas of progress in Elizabethan ship design were:
The size and reliability of ships
Galleons were larger than previous trading ships
They could carry more food supplies for voyages and held more cargo for the return journey to England
16th-century galleons had a lower bow and stern than in previous designs
This improved the galleon's stability in stormy conditions
Improvement in sails
Galleons utilised different types of sails
Square sails create speed
Triangular (or Lateen) sails improved the ability to manoeuvre the ship
More sails and masts made galleons faster and more accurate
Placement of cannon
Designers placed cannons along the whole length of the galleon
This allowed sailors to protect themselves better from pirates or Spanish privateers
Examiner Tips and Tricks
An exam question may ask you to explain the extent to which the design of galleons helped to improve Elizabethan exploration. You do not need to remember every design feature of a galleon. You do need at least one clear example of how a galleon's design aided exploration. For example, the different types of sail created a fast ship. This helped on long voyages to the Americas. In this style of question, you would have to include different factors that improved exploration. You could mention the development of navigation technology and the increased motivation to explore the world.
Why did Drake Circumnavigate the World?
Sir Francis Drake was a famous explorer in Elizabethan England
He caught the attention of Elizabeth
She used Drake on secret privateering missions against the Spanish colonies in the Americas
Between 1577 and 1580, Drake became the second person in history to circumnavigate the world
This was not the initial aim of Drake's voyage in 1577
Elizabeth had tasked Drake to capture Spanish treasure and disrupt Spain's monopoly of the Americas
The Motivations for Sir Francis Drake to Circumnavigate the World in 1580
Reason | How did this reason motivate Drake's circumnavigation of the world? |
|---|---|
Personal vengeance | Drake had a hatred of Spain. Drake worked with his cousin, John Hawkins, on a slave trading voyage in 1567-68. Spanish ships attacked them, killing 325 of Hawkins' sailors. Circumnavigating the world would show the strength of English sailors |
Political factors | By 1578, Anglo-Spanish relations were at an all-time low. If Drake successfully navigated across the globe, it would be a powerful political victory for England. Philip II of Spain recognised England as a threat |
Wealth | When news of Drake's attempt to circumnavigate the world reached England, it attracted a significant number of private investors. When he returned to England in 1580, Drake had captured £400,000 of Spanish treasure. He became a very rich man |
Fame | Drake would become the second person in history to circumnavigate the world. Upon his return in 1580, he became a national hero |
Significance of Drake's Circumnavigation
Drake's circumnavigation of the world is a significant point in Elizabethan exploration
The impact of Drake on Elizabethan England
Examiner Tips and Tricks
A misconception that students have is that consequences are negative impacts of an event. Consequences are simply the outcomes that occur from an action. Consequences can be positive or negative. Do not be afraid to use the word 'consequence' when explaining the positive impacts of an event or period of history. Cause and consequence is a key second-order concept in history. A second-order concept is the different ways that historians can order and examine the past.
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