Milestone Two

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Dec 6, 2023

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7-1 Final Project Alexandra Cortes HIS-118: World Civilizations from 1500 10/15/2023
2 Through the exploration of the world’s oceans, there was a shift from an ancient to modern society. By Europeans gaining knowledge of the world’s regions through exploration by creating as well as borrowing new technology, they were able to gain a greater understanding of the world’s oceans and help their cause of globalization. Various European explorers traveled across the world on ships to expand their grasp onto different societies. Forces such as economic, religious, and political motivated Europeans to reach new lands. Europeans were able to establish new trade routes, such as the Colombian Exchange to exchange plants, animals, and food crops. The Triangular Trade, with the Colombian Exchange, dealt with the trade of human populations. Unbeknownst at the time just how great these trades would have devastated as well as have transformative effects on world populations. Globalization impacted the development of states from 1500 to the present because of the creation of links between all lands and people through exploration and epidemic diseases brought on through trade by Europeans that impacted the Americas and Africa. Social and Philosophical Forces As Christianity is a missionary religion, expanding those boundaries was important for Europeans. This was a main motivator for Christopher Colombus (1451-1506), when he went on his first voyage in 1492. Colombus documented his voyages in journals and wrote of his discovery of the Indies, “I believe that they would easily be made Christians, for they appeared to me to have no religion.” 1 Europeans saw Christianity as “the” religion and thus they sought to convert others that they came across on their voyages, to their religion. When European settlers came to North America and found “unclaimed” land, they staked out farms and excluded the Native Americans who had, over years and years, used that land. 2 1 Christopher Columbus, The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus, trans. J. M. Cohen (London: Penguin Classics, 1992). 2 Bentley, J., Ziegler, H., & Salter, H. S. (2021). Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past. Ebook. 510
3 Europeans had a very different way of life than Native Americas. They brought with them treaties and property deeds to transfer lands to different people, whereas Native Americans used lands to keep them healthy, hunt, and cultivate on. These lands were vital to Native Americans way of life, so when European settlers came and took them for themselves, they threatened their way of living. The Catholic faith was another prominent religion during this time, and the need for it to be spread to other nations and unknown territories was strong. Pope Alexander VI said in a papal bull in 1493, “Among other works well pleasing to the Divine Majesty and cherished of our heart, this assuredly ranks highest, that in our times especially the Catholic faith and the Christian religion be exalted and be everywhere increased and spread, that the health of souls be cared for and that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself.” 3 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella sought out explorers, such as Christopher Colombus, to find new lands in which to expand their faith onto its inhabitants. Enlightenment was a new thought-provoking concept for the time. The Enlightenment started a new wave of free thinkers, in which they sought reason as opposed to faith or tradition. Leaders of the Enlightenment period such as, John Locke (1632-1704) and Voltaire (1694-1778) sought for a world that did not rely solely on religious rankings and oppression. John Locke for example, believed that monarchs did not have a right to rule the land and instead promoted the idea that sovereignty relies in the people. Enlightenment also called for religious freedom. Voltaire abhorred the persecution of religious minorities, instead called for the freedom for them to freely express their views. Economic Forces 3 Alexander VI, Inter Caetera. p.1
4 Following the voyage made by Christopher Colombus to the Americas, the Colombian Exchange was created. This exchange allowed for the trade of new supplies, crops, such as potatoes and maize. The exchange also introduced tobacco to new regions, sugar and coffee. With all these good discoveries came losses as well. These include diseases, which Europeans brought to otherwise untouched communities. The Native American population is one of these communities that were defenseless against diseases such as smallpox, typhus, measles, and malaria. 4 It is estimated that around 50-90% of the Native American population was annihilated in 100-150 years following Christopher Colombus’ discovery of the Americas in 1492. 5 As well as diseases, the Colombian Exchange offered regions different products than they were accustomed to. The main ones such as sugar and coffee proved to have large profits for North America. Nutrition was transformed because of trade and allowed societies to flourish and grow as a result of the new crops they were able to cultivate. Another lucrative form of trade was the fur trade. Indigenous peoples trapped animals for Europeans and exchanged them for other goods such as wool blankets, tools, firearms, and iron pots. 6 Great Britian relied heavily on the 13 colonies in North America in terms of economics. So, when the 13 colonies announced that they wanted to leave England’s control, England created a Treaty with the colonies in which they could import slaves from the US colonies. 7 In the late 1700s, Britian saw an increase in profits of 50%. Before 1600, about two thousand enslaved people left Africa. However, once Europeans gained interest in commercial interests in Africa and the Americas, the slave trade expanded exponentially. Once Europeans settled in the Western hemisphere, they needed people to cultivate their lands. These settlers sought African 4 Nunn, Nathan, and Nancy Qian. 2010. “The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas.” The Journal of Economic Perspectives 24 (2): 163–88 5 Nunn and Qian, “The Columbian Exchange,” 165 6 Bentley, Ziegler, and Salter. Traditions and Encounters. 516. 7 Babacar M’baye, “The Economic, Political, and Social Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade on Africa,” The European Legacy, 609.
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