Christopher Columbus Motivation

Running Head: CRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 2 Christopher Columbus’ influences and experiences and how they contributed to successes and failures in his voyages of exploration. Alexander Bidnyy Qatar Canadian School Christopher Columbus was born on October 30th, 1451 and died May 20th 1506. He was a Genoese navigator, explorer, and colonizer, and was born in the Republic of Genoa (present Italy).  

When Christopher Columbus sailed to America he was happy and proud of himself because he was the first to discover the land which is now named america, and he was also happy because he found out that there were a lot of resources found on that land which he found was necessary to take and use. According to the document A “Day after day they looked for land;They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand” this shows that the purposely are trying to find land for them to dock and discover. Additionally according to the document A “Columbus sailed on to find some gold To bring back home, as he'd been told.He made the trip again and again,Trading gold to bring to Spain” this shows that he was there not just to discover land but to make riches too and

At the time of Columbus’ voyage, nearly all of Western Europe practiced Roman Catholicism. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, two Roman Catholic Christians, wanted to spread Christianity as much as they could to any lands they could reach. The Roman Catholic Church held renown power during this time and every Catholic ruler did not wish to be excommunicated from the Church. Respectively, the furtherment of Christianity would deem a favorable notice from the Pope, who at the time, came from Spain. If the Spanish sponsored Columbus, the explorer could claim new land for the Spanish Empire and through the establishment of missions and the work of missionaries, Christianity could

Christopher Columbus lived in an age of Moslem expansion in the east. With the fall of Constantinople in 1453, direct land routes to the Indies were closed to European merchants and traders, thus creating the need to find a sea route to the Indies. Portugal had spent years sailing the coast of Africa to reach the Indies, but Columbus thought he had a better way: sailing west. With the defeat of the Moors in 1492 Queen Isabella of Spain was willing to consider to Columbus' proposal to sail west. The motivations of Columbus sailing west to the Indies, whether economic, spiritual or personal, were all based on ancient authorities, writings and personal beliefs.

It is thought by many that Christopher Columbus was a skilled sailor on a mission of greed. Many think that he in fact did it all for the money, honor and the status that comes with an explorer, but this is not the case entirely. Columbus was an adventurer and was enthused by the thrill of the quest of the unknown. “Columbus had a firm religious faith and a scientific curiosity, a zest for life, the felling for beauty and the striving for novelty that we associate with the advancement of learning”. He had heard of the legendary Atlantic voyages and sailors reports of land to the west of Madeira and the Azores. He believed that Japan was about 4,800 km to the west of Portugal. In 1484, Columbus wanted support for an exploratory

The early voyages by the Portuguese and Spanish were motivated by gold, trade and the spread of the Catholic faith through religious conversion. The voyages of a few adventurers show that the Spanish and Portuguese goals were to spread Catholicism, expand trade, and expand the kingdom of the Spanish and the Portuguese to the new lands they’ve discovered. These adventures were Christopher Columbus who attempted to find a new route to Asia to extend Spain’s trade and to colonize, Bartholomew Columbus and his successful founding of Santo Domingo, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and his

During the Crusades, Europeans brought luxury good from Italian merchants, who got them from Arab traders; Europeans taste for luxury items greatly increased. During the 13th and 14th explorers like Marco Polo claimed that Asia had the luxury goods the Europeans desired. This began the race towards finding a trade route to Asia. Christopher Columbus and many other explorer seek funds from Kings,Queens, and wealthy businessman to fund their explorations. After gaining funds from the King and Queen of Spain .Columbus set sail off on August 3, 1492 from Spain to investigate this a all-water route to Asia. This letter written by Columbus foreshadows the clash of two completely different cultures.

Motivation represents the reasons for people's actions, desires, and needs. When talking about Exploring and conquering the New World,it would generally have to do with its resources and wealth. As Christopher Columbus's went in search for wealth by trying to finding a new route to Asia and the Indies, he eventually discovered the “new” lands of the Americas which produced great natural resources and important materials. For the spanish conquistadors, the lust for silver and gold was a more common motive, it would drive the explorers to act against the native americans and eventually destroy them. England was more focused on the desire to colonize more of the americas as possible. France however, was a late comer in the exploration for the

An alternate history in which European’s did not desire a Western route to Asia would greatly affect the encounter between Europeans and the native American people. In such a world, Christopher Columbus’s motivations would be primarily religious in motivation, in contrast for the desire for monetary gain and fame. Conceivably, the encounter between native American peoples would have been viewed as a great discovery rather than an obstacle to their primary one. With such a mindset, and without the expectation of riches, it is feasible that Columbus may have treated the Taino people very differently. In the absence of the pressure for monetary gain from Spain, there would be less incentive for Columbus to enslave, and eventually decimate the

For around one thousand years, the Catholic European states continued to remain in the same Western section of the continent. However, “God, glory, and gold” were still motives that the European countries had for expansion and trade. Queen Isabella of Spain decided to sponsor Columbus's Voyage when he believed that Asia could be reached more easily by sailing west for spices. However, columbus had ended up running

The European countries experienced the unprecedented territorial expansion during late fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries. Spain was one leading country that had expanded its power over Latin America. Just as Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Spain supported Christopher Columbus for the sake of God and Spain, the first conquistadors shared in some measure the sense that they had both a territorial and a religious mission to accomplish.

Christopher Columbus and his goalsCertainly, Columbus was a devout Catholic. He lived during the period of the great Spanish Inquisition, which led to the defeat of the Jews and Muslims. Perhaps he wanted to continue the Spanish legacy and spread the faith toward the west. However, personal ambitions may have also sparked Columbus's interest in finding a water route to the Indies. He asks for gold many times from the natives and searches all the islands in hopes of discovering more. He views the natives as a source of economical benefit, hoping to employ them for practical purposes. Even though there are not any indications of immense amounts of gold and spices in the New World, Columbus continues to ask for more Spanish support in order

The Europeans wanted to trade with the Asians for goods, with the main item being looked for at the time being spices. These goods are very important for the Europeans as Spices had given additional flavour to the meals, as well as said to preserve food, and would then show many of the Europeans to have a higher social status.

Christopher Columbus was an italian explorer, navigator, and colonizer that thought that if you sail West on the Atlantic Ocean, you could get to Asia the fastest. He didn’t realize that the Western Hemisphere was between Europe and Asia. He misinterpreted the size of the earth. So, he thought Japan would appear on the horizon of the sea if he went West for three thousand miles. For many years he tried so hard to get England, portugal, Spain, Genoa, and Venice to support him and give him ships and men. Columbus was ready to set sail on his voyage to find new lands for whatever country would pay for him. This is either because of his arrogance or his ambition, but it was difficult to find someone to support him. The rulers of England and France were not very interested in his voyage and the Portuguese rejected his plan, not once but twice. The Portuguese are the ones that had started exploration while starting around 1420 caravels, small portuguese ships, were going along the African coast while carrying goods like spices, gold, slaves and more from Europe and Asia. Columbus had a large amount of influential supporters with him at court that helped convince King Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile to help and support his expedition. Columbus received a polite agreement from the Spanish monarchs. When the fall of Granada happened, they were now to focus on challenging exploration and trade with portugal in 1492. The Spanish monarchs supported Columbus’s Westward

Spain’s current economic fall was foreshadowed in its history. Although, the economic status of Spain was not well known in the past, the country struggle under Muslim ruler due to religious difference between different groups leaving in the country. The moors took over Spain in