The Age of Exploration, spanning the 15th to 17th centuries, marked a transformative period driven by Western Europe’s quest for new sea routes to the East, spurred by the desire to bypass Ottoman control and meet the high demand for Eastern goods. Innovations in navigation, such as advanced sailing ships and instruments like the compass and astrolabe, facilitated unprecedented oceanic voyages. Led by figures like Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator and explorers like Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan, Europeans expanded their reach across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, establishing trade routes and colonies. The era also witnessed the Columbian Exchange, a profound exchange of plants, animals, and diseases between continents that reshaped diets, economies, and demographics globally. The commercial revolution that ensued brought significant economic changes, laying foundations for the rise of European dominance and the interconnected global trade networks that followed.