地理大发现新论

The Great Geographical Discovery

地理发现应指任一文明民族的代表首次到达了或最早了解了各文明民族前所未知的地表的某一部分,或率先确定了地表已知各部分之间的空间联系。15世纪60年代至17世纪末,欧洲人进行和完成了地理大发现,这段历史时期地理发现的规模、成果、意义和影响特别重大。地理大发现可依其主角的变换而分为前后两个阶段,即西葡阶段和英法荷俄阶段。航海探险和陆上探险分别是地理发现的第一途径和第二途径。大航海大探险若取得重大的地理发现成果便构成地理大发现。大航海及其时代则可据其航海的特点分为近岸远洋航行、跨洋远洋航行、环球远洋航行和极地冰海远洋航行四个阶段。

Geographical discovery refers to man from any civilized nation arriving at for the first time or being the first to learn about some place unknown to all or to determine the spatial connection between known places. From the 1460s to the end of 17th century, the Europeans made great geographical discoveries since the discoveries of this period has significant scale, achievement, meaning and influence. Geographical discoveries can be divided into two stages according to different discoverers, stage of West Portugal and that of Britain, France, Netherlands and Russia. Explorations on the sea and on the land are respec- tively the first and second ways. If the great explorations by the great navigations have made great discoveries, the discoveries become great geographic ones. The great navigations and the ages can be divided into four stages according to the characteristics： offshore oceangoing voyage, ocean-crosslng oceangoing voyage, global oceangoing voyage and polar ice oceangoing voyage.