Much of the European exploration of the Pacific was inspired by two obsessions, the search for the fastest routes to the spice-rich islands of the Moluccas (modern-day Maluku in Indonesia) as well as the theory that somewhere in the South Pacific lay a vast undiscovered southern continent, possibly also rich in gold, spices, and other trade goods.
European exploration of the Pacific began with the Spanish and the Portuguese. By the late 1500s, the Spanish had colonized the Philippines and had discovered several of the Caroline Islands in Micronesia, as well as the Solomon Islands in Melanesia and the Marquesas Islands in Polynesia. Spanish ships, known as the Manila Galleons, regularly crossed from the Americas to the Philippines but seldom encountered any islands unless blown off course. The Portuguese, sailing around the Cape of Good Hope to reach the Moluccas, explored the eastern islands of modern-day Indonesia in the early 1500s and also briefly encountered the island of New Guinea to the east. In 1600, however, the vast majority of the Pacific still lay unexplored.
Much of the European exploration of the Pacific was inspired by two obsessions, the search for the fastest routes to the spice-rich islands of the Moluccas (modern-day Maluku in Indonesia) as well as the theory that somewhere in the South Pacific lay a vast undiscovered southern continent, possibly also rich in gold, spices, and other trade goods.European exploration of the Pacific began with the Spanish and the Portuguese. By the late 1500s, the Spanish had colonized the Philippines and had discovered several of the Caroline Islands in Micronesia, as well as the Solomon Islands in Melanesia and the Marquesas Islands in Polynesia. Spanish ships, known as the Manila Galleons, regularly crossed from the Americas to the Philippines but seldom encountered any islands unless blown off course. The Portuguese, sailing around the Cape of Good Hope to reach the Moluccas, explored the eastern islands of modern-day Indonesia in the early 1500s and also briefly encountered the island of New Guinea to the east. In 1600, however, the vast majority of the Pacific still lay unexplored.
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