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How did the Age of European Exploration influence the Scientific Revolution?

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The Age of European Exploration influenced the Scientific Revolution by driving advancements in technology and science. Navigational challenges led to improved cartography, better ships, and the development of tools like the astrolabe and magnetic compass. These needs fostered scientific discoveries. Additionally, encounters with new cultures and lands encouraged explorers to question existing knowledge, leading to the principle of empiricism, which became central to the Scientific Revolution.

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The Age of Exploration relied on the creation or improvement of many forms of technology. Cartography, or the making of maps, became more accurate during this time period, which guided navigators on their journeys. Ships, such as the caravel, were created that offered safer and more efficient passage. In addition, tools for navigation developed. For example, the astrolabe, first used by astronomers, was later adapted by mariners to use the angle of the sun to determine the latitude of one's location. The magnetic compass was also useful in determining a ship's path. Navigation required the development of better timepieces, such as hour glasses and, later, clocks, so sailors could determine the time of their shifts on deck. Scientific discoveries evolved as a result of the needs of explorers for more accurate maps, faster ships, better tools for navigation, and more accurate timepieces. These discoveries helped fuel the development of the Scientific Revolution.

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The Age of Exploration began in Europe in the middle of the fifteenth century and it was not long after that a Scientific Revolution also began to take place. Part of the reason for this was practical: as men left Europe in search of new trade routes and new lands to conquer, they faced many challenges in navigating the oceans and reaching these far-away destinations. It was these challenges which led to new advances in astronomy, mathematics and science. 

Coming face-to-face with new cultures and make new discoveries also led the explorers to rethink and reconsider many of their existing ideas about the world. Empiricism, for instance, is a defining principle of the Scientific Revolution. This notion, that experience is the only true source of knowledge, was borne out of the exploration of the late medieval period and the new experiences which it created. 

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