Wilhelm von Humboldts Vorstellung von Bildung

In the 1400s, things started off being easy for travellers. Then, things got tough. It wasn't just a matter of finding nice new places. It wasn't just a matter of finding new places, you estupido! To begin with, getting to the riches of Asia and China was easy. You started here, and went by horse or camel to here. Then, in 1453, it all got dangerous around Constantinople. The Turks took control, and there was only one way through. So, these countries of Europe, they all had to think again. How were they going to get to Asia to buy and trade their luxury goods? Three choices. One, pay the middle man. They bring the treasure halfway, and merchants buy from them. Easy, but expensive. Pay? No way, Jose. I want to go and buy the stuff myself. Cut out the middle man, as it were. Cut out his throat. Okay. Two, go it alone. But with no middle man, going by yourself was dangerous. Walking home to Europe with piles of treasure on your camel, you could meet some unfriendly locals. You could be ambushed. You could be taken prisoner. But there was another way that no one had tried yet. The time was right for a clever sailor like Dagama to go around here, by ship.