Write a very short note on The ‘Great Discoveries’ of the late fifteenth century.

The late fifteenth century marked an era of unprecedented maritime exploration, commonly referred to as the 'Great Discoveries' or the Age of Exploration. Initiated by a desire for new trade routes, resources, and expanding territories, European nations embarked on daring voyages that would significantly alter the course of history.

Led by explorers like Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, and Ferdinand Magellan, these maritime journeys opened up new horizons and fundamentally transformed the understanding of the world. Columbus's 1492 expedition, backed by Spain, resulted in the discovery of the Americas, challenging existing perceptions of the Earth's geography and initiating the Columbian Exchange—an exchange of plants, animals, and cultures between the Old and New Worlds.

Vasco da Gama's successful voyage around the Cape of Good Hope to reach India in 1498 established a sea route to the lucrative spice trade, reducing dependence on overland routes controlled by intermediaries. Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, though completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano after Magellan's death, circumnavigated the globe from 1519 to 1522, proving the Earth was not flat and further expanding the known boundaries of the world.

These 'Great Discoveries' had profound consequences, leading to the establishment of global trade networks, the colonization of new territories, and the blending of diverse cultures. While these expeditions brought about economic prosperity for some, they also sparked conflicts, exploitation, and cultural exchanges that shaped the interconnected world we recognize today. The late fifteenth-century exploration set the stage for the Age of Discovery, leaving an enduring legacy that transformed the global landscape and laid the foundations for the modern era.