Question

in the fifteenth century, portugals prince henry the navigator assembled a group of experts in navigation, cartography, astronomy, and marine engineering. their mission? to design a ship capable of crossing the open seas. their combined efforts yielded the caravel and sparked a new era of trade and exploration for european sailors. a relatively small ship at about 75 feet long, the caravel was nonetheless revolutionary, due to the use of triangular sails based on those used in arab ships. previously, european ships had relied on square sails, which limited them to sailing with the wind. however, triangular sails made it possible for ships to sail against the wind, allowing them to explore the open seas regardless of weather conditions. the caravels small size also made it useful for navigating shallow waters. the caravel launched the age of discovery and allowed portugal to rule the seas throughout the sixteenth century. portuguese explorers were the first europeans to round the cape of good hope at the southern tip of africa and it was portuguese sailors who established prosperous trade routes with india. however, portugals goals werent limited to trade and discovery; the countrys explorers committed drastic atrocities, including the enslavement of west africans to work brazilian plantations and the destruction of the muslim population of goa. how did the invention of the caravel contribute to the establishment of trade routes between india and portugal? choose 1 answer: a the caravel made possible long voyages over open ocean and thus enabled sea - based trade routes between the two countries. b the caravels ability to sail against the wind launched the age of discovery and thus led to portugals discovery of india in the sixteenth century. c the caravels ability to navigate shallow waters made possible the age of discovery and thus led to river - based trade routes between the two countries. d the caravels size made it possible to ship more valuable items than previous ships could and thus made it worthwhile to set up trade routes between india and portugal.

Explanation:

The caravel was designed for open - sea voyages. Its ability to sail against the wind and its relatively small size for open - sea navigation made long - distance ocean voyages possible. This enabled the establishment of sea - based trade routes between Portugal and India. Option B focuses more on the Age of Discovery rather than the trade route establishment directly. Option C mentions river - based trade which is incorrect as the trade was sea - based. Option D about shipping more valuable items is not mentioned in the text as a reason for trade route establishment.

Answer:

A. The caravel made possible long voyages over open ocean and thus enabled sea - based trade routes between the two countries.