Global History+Sapphire and Topaz? D:

The nation of Portugal was small and research poor, like most of the districts in Panem. Except ours. Yes, I know that. Quite some time ago, during the 13th-15th centuries, they ventured out into the Atlantic. That’s on the eastern side of Panem. This isn’t geography, Tope. So they discovered islands in the Atlantic and naturally set up trading posts on them.

>Let me talk for a while. Now, considering that the quickest route to the place which housed life’s most desirable amenities, aka Asia, was over land, European traders tended to run into trouble with pesky interferences. They were nearly as irritating as Topaz barging into my room asking to borrow a hairbrush while I’m busy studying. Well, I can see why you’d be bothered by that, considering your hair’s so ratty that you need all the time with that hairbrush you can get. Anyway, they were determined to find an easier way to get that hairbru—I mean, those spices from Asia. On top of this, they also wanted avoxe—um, I mean, slaves, from Africa, as well as ivory and gold. Especially gold. Who wouldn’t want gold?

>All right, moving on. Anyway, the Christian religion was spreading throughout Europe, but many wanted to spread it even further. Besides, the New Testament told them to, right? Christian kingdoms reconquered Spain in the Reconquista, and this inspired Crusaders fighting for the possession of the holy land.

>There were many advancements in technology that enabled European mariners to travel offshore. Something called a sternpost rudder as well as both square sails (for catching winds from the back) and triangular sails (for catching wind from the sides as well) were used to steer the boats. Damn, I feel like we’re in District Four with all this boat talk. Where’s Takeba? Will you stop interrupting me? No, I won’t, because it’s my turn to talk now.

>So on top of the freaky District Four ship whatsits and crap, new navigational instruments were also developed. Nothing like we’ve got now, of course, considering this was centuries and centuries ago. I mean, really, I’ve got this GPS on my cell that can track my position anywhere in Panem and plus it talks, too. Would you concentrate, please? As mediocre as it may seem to you, this stuff’s important. Why? These idiots left us with a destroyed continent, anyway, and it was our supreme smarts that put the place back together and made it fit for living. But that’s beside the point. So they make these little tools, right? One’s a compass, which we’ve actually still got nowadays, but much more high tech. And then there’s an astrolabe, which was supposed to pinpoint your latitude and longitude. It was eventually replaced by the cross staff, which I assume did the same thing. Otherwise, why the hell replace it?

>It was important that these European sailors also had knowledge of wind patterns and currents if they were to be braving the sea for long periods of time. They learned that trade winds were north and south of the equator, and took note of the regular monsoons in the Indian Ocean basin. Also, volta do mar—What the hell does that mean? If you keep quiet for a second I’ll explain! Anyway, as I was saying, volta do mar is a term meaning “return through the sea” It was a technique derived to provide sailors with a way to return to Europe without sailing against winds.

>So there’s this guy, Prince Henry. I guess they call him Dom Henrique, too, because that’s what it says here…and “the Navigator”, which probably refers to the things he did…he was from Portugal, and he encouraged the exploration of West Africa. He sponsored a lot of voyages down the western coast of the continent, and conquered the Moroccan port of Ceuta. The Portuguese liked this area for trading so much that they established more posts. Explorations of Africa continued even after Henry’s death, and there was this other guy, Bartholomew of Sandwich or something—…Bartolomeu Dias? Oh. Right. Dunno where I got Bartholomew of Sandwich from…well, old Barty there sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost tip of Africa, and reached the Indian Ocean. Disappointingly, though, he was s quitter (unlike me). His crew was restless, and besides, there were insane storms! Wouldn’t you go back if your ship was being tossed around that much? …No. Because I don’t quit.

>On a different note, there was also an explorer by the name of Vasco da Gama who tried the same thing that Dias did. But he didn’t quit, and he succeeded. Message here, obviously! Yes, he successfully made it into the Indian Ocean basin. He was Portuguese as well. It wasn’t a pleasant trip, though, and less than half the crew returned; however, it prompted further expeditions and by 1500 the Portuguese had built a trading post at Calicut, India and were stopping at ports all throughout the basin. The English and Dutch were close behind.

>Christopher Columbus! Even we Panem citizens who could care less about what you people did to screw up the world in the past have heard of him. To put it frankly, he was a dick. But that’s unimportant right now. Back on topic: he harbored this crazy idea that the world was smaller than it seemed, and round. Back then, this was unheard of. He thought he’d be able to sail east from Europe and end up in India much faster than if he were to sail around Africa like most of the European psychopaths. Do you just live to insult people? Nah, just the ones who strike me as pathetically stupid. His voyage was sponsored by Fernando and Isabel of Spain, since the Portuguese had no patience for his whimsical mutterings that strongly suggested he was somewhat mad. As most know, he landed in the Caribbean Islands and thought he was so fantastically brilliant that he’d made it to the Indies! Yay him! Yeah. Not. Can you manage to finish this one off in a polite manner, or do I have to do it for you? I can manage. Anyway, he went back to his sponsors, all happy and such, believing he’d made it to Asia. The dumbass. He returned to the Carribbean three additional times, but found next to no gold, which sucked for him. Stories of his voyages were passed around, though, and many others followed in his wake.

>Ferdinand Magellan was a very important name in global history, as well. He had his sights set on following Columbus’s route to find that fabled western path to Asia. The Portuguese didn’t sponsor him, though, since they were content with sailing around the Cape of Good Hope. He set out to circumnavigate the world eventually, though, sailing under Spain as Columbus had done. It was a hellish trip, though; a vast majority of the crew suffered from scurvy as they crossed through the Pacific, making it there after sailing through the Strait of Magellan in southern South America. And then, when they reached the Philippines, they got caught in political disputes an Magellan’s own life was taken. Wait, he died, too? What the hell? And he still gets credit for circumnavigating the globe? Yes, he does, because his remaining crewmembers made it back.

>James Cook was another explorer…although this book refers to him as Captain James Cook. Ooh, Captain. Well, isn’t he just something. He led three expeditions to the Pacific, but died in a scuffle with Hawaiian natives. Good Ripred, there’s more death in these exploration stories than in the Games! And that’s saying something, considering there’s already eight people dead and more to follow quite soon. Back on topic. Pfft. I should be allowed to talk about the Games all I want. Anyway, Captain Cook charted eastern Australia, New Zealand, and other places which he also added to European maps of the Pacific. He spent time on these islands, too, learning things about the indigenous people. He even went up to check out the Arctic Ocean, which I personally would have never done. Hate the cold. So because of him, Europeans now had a far increased knowledge of the globe. How exciting.