European American Exploration

Additionally, the Europeans explorers also came with the idea of expansion of Europe religion. The Roman Catholic Church had made it their agenda to

When Europeans explored the world during the “Age of Exploration”, they colonized areas for a number of reasons. One reason was to spread Christianity. The Spaniards believed it was their God given duty to convert people to Christianity. A second reason was to acquire wealth through trade and exploitation of other countries’ peoples and natural resources. Colonizing and acquiring the land in Latin America also led to an increase in geopolitical power over other European countries.

The first example of european expansion in the book is that of Christopher Columbus. He sought to find a new route but instead caused a lot of suffering to the Native Americans. The first example was when he was have a hard time governing the people of Hispaniola so he used force of arms. He would sell off

With the dawn of the sixteenth century, there came together in Europe both the motivation and the means to explore and colonize territory across the sea. New developments in Europe, such as the Protestant Reformation and the changing political landscape, contributed to the drive towards exploration and colonization. Moreover, the advancement and invention of technology provided Europeans with the ability to make and defend their claims on American land.

The Encomienda System did more harm than good to the Native Americans. The Encomienda System allowed the spanish to trade indians to colonist in order to christianize them. Essentially they were slaves, they were forced to work under hard conditioned, resulting in death. Even with the spanish originally establishing the system with good intentions, the Native Americans were disadvantaged. Spanish missionary such as, Bartolome de las Casas, was against this system of labour, However this type of system favored those who benefited from the Native Americans.

Europe around the time of the Age of Exploration was experience a great population growth. From the Dark Ages came the centralization of countries and the rise of major economies. Also, the Renaissance brought advances in shipbuilding and new maritime techniques. There was also a common desire for a more direct route to Asia and avoid the Italian-controlled Mediterranean and the Middle-East. All these factors played a major part in the purpose of the European countries to participate in this Age of Exploration, however this is where the Europeans begin to

Consequently, because of European expansion- whether it was to find gold, escape religious persecution or to start a new life, led to the beginning of the end of many lives and cultural aspects among the American Indians.

The Europeans that have long since been referred to as “explorers” were conquerors. They should be considered conquerors because, although conquering may not have been what they had in mind when they set off, they did conquer new people and lands. They took lands that they did not own, and had no real right to take. They went as merchants, but decided to stay because they could make profits off the new land. They wanted the glory, for themselves and their country, of discovering and claiming a place not already claimed or known to the other European countries. Claiming and owning meant the most glory for the Europeans. They also thought that the Native peoples would be easy to convert to Christianity and would do as they were told. If they could control the lands and people, they basically owned the New Worlds anyway. With these all of these factors, conquering was inevitable.

On the other side he discovered a vast body of water that he named "South

The major motive behind 15th and 16th century exploration was trade, “European countries craved easy access to African and Asian goods—silk, dyes, perfumes, jewels, sugar, gold, and especially spices” (12). Europeans wanted to develop a transoceanic trade route to can better more direct access to African and Asian goods. Spices were incredibly desirable and exotic in Europe at the time and so very valuable. Spreading Christianity was a secondary motive for many explorations. Explorers and colonizers hoped that converting non-Christians would help further, “increase their nation’s wealth via direct trade with Africa, China, India, and the Moluccas” (12).

The late 15th century marked the beginnings of a period of discovery and expansion for Europeans. During these years of discovery, great forces behind drive for expansion existed. The Spanish and Portuguese's main forces included: the lust for the wealth of gold and silver, the acquisition of new lands which brought nobility, and the spread of their Christian based religion. The Spanish and Portuguese conquest of Latin America provides us with insight of these drives in the ultimate search for power. Unfortunately, these motives caused a European-Indigenous syncretism that virtually changed the native peoples way of life. Ultimately, syncretism meant survival for Native Americans in a world where their way of life did not suit the life

In 1492, the first European trip was made to the East. Columbus and his sailors sailed westward around the world. They were searching for an easier way to India. Instead they ended up in the place now known as America. But Columbus and his troops didn’t realize this after ten years of the trip.

The main motivation of European exploration was economic motives. People were beginning to become more interested in traveling by sea to reach Asia and Africa and all their riches(Duiker,494). The spice trade was what linked Europe to Asia, and the gold trade linked Europe to Africa. Furthermore, in the 15th and 16th centuries, as the economy and purchasing power of Europe developed and increased, the spice demand grew at a steady rate(Arnold,12). Therefore, spices were one of the few things that made overseas trade possible. Europe did not have very much gold to begin with, so ultimately the gold mines that they did possess were emptied. After 1400, Europe started trading with the areas that produced gold, increasing their amount of gold. Gold was very important to Europe, because not only was it used for decorations, but also their currency. In 1500, Portugal was controlling the flow of gold to Europe, making Portugal much wealthier(Buckler,500). Eventually, slaves were included in the gold

Last month, we got intel on the impact of later Spanish exploration and conquest! These explorations and conquests changed Spain rapidly. The Spanish took land and made it their own; they also expanded trade with different countries. Gold and silver from the Americans made Spain one of the world's wealthiest and powerful countries. But the Americans also brought foods like corn and potatoes to Spain that grew well in Europe, increasing their food supply. The Europeans were even introduced to chocolate!

The Europeans wanted to expand their international reach, in order to: meet the demand for spices, find new sources of precious metal, find new trade routes, and spread Christianity. The impact of European conquest resulted with violence and disease, surviving natives then encountered new political, social, and economic organizations, imposed by Europeans. The exchange of goods and people between Europe and the New World brought diseases to the Americas; it also brought new crops, and eventually altered consumption patterns across the globe. The Spanish established the encomienda system, in which the conquerors had the right to employ Native Americans as laborers or to demand tribute from them in exchange for providing food and shelter, it was a legalized slavery. A large decline in the Native’s population was caused by diseases introduced by the Europeans, as well as being overworked. Forced labor diverted local people from tending to their own crops, leading to malnutrition, and reduced