As Europeans during the fifteenth and sixteenth century sought to find faster and cheaper trade routes to distant east, governments started to fund expeditions in hopes to find new sources of revenue during a historical period of global exploration called the 'Age of Exploration'. However, little did they know that Native Americans civilizations thrived in other parts of the world. By understanding different landmasses and a knowledge of wind and water currents and revolutionizing technology, it had influenced fifteenth- and sixteenth- century European exploration and trade towards distant lands through new inventions which allowed better maps and a sense of direction when sailing, a better sense of knowledge of the wind and water currents, and navigational tools such as the flying compass, sextant, astrolabe, quadrants and the uses of latitude and longitude on maps.

Developments in cartography during the fifteenth and sixteenth century allowed Europeans to have better maps. An …show more content…
They figured that the water and wind currents tend to moe clockwise and counterclockwise circles which makes it difficult for sail-powered ships. Winds near equator blow from east; farther north and south with the westerlies prevails. Zones where there are few breezes called doldrums also made it difficult for mariners as there are few winds to propel the ships to its destination. These factors made it virtually impossible to sail from port to port in a straight path. Knowledge of the water and wind currents made sailing more predictable. Not only European exploration is influenced by this but trade by allowing merchants navigate towards for cargos of goods like spices, textiles, silks and gold. Vasco d Gama applied his knowledge on what he know and what to expect on the waters of the the coast of East and West Africa as he navigates around the Cape of Good Hope towards the