How Did Vikings Begin The Trend Of Exploring To The New World

Christopher Columbus started the world looking for new lands to obtain trade goods, other explorers from England, France, and Holland will follow him to the New World. They came

There were many causes of exploration in this time period. There was a large desire to find an easy pathway to Asia. This was important to Europeans because in Asia there were spices, silks, and wealth. Most of the European nations were also after new territory to make colonies and extend their empires. Spain’s main concern was mineral wealth. They went looking for “El Dorado” or the city of Gold. Spain, France, and England were interested in spreading Christianity as well. When the Spanish Crown approved Christopher Columbus and his men to sail across the Atlantic Ocean, their main goal was to find a more accessible and faster way to get to India. The previous route took you all the way around Africa and took a hefty amount of time. It would benefit Spain more if a faster way was discovered. The Spanish were hoping to find and quicker way and when they did, they had planned to regulate the path and force those who use it to pay Spain. In the eyes of the Spanish this was ideal and very much wanted by the Spanish crown. When Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas, he believed he had reached India and called the inhabitants of the island Indians. This was not the case, Columbus had actually reached land where no European nations had current colonies and was unknown to them. This caused other European powers to assemble groups to travel to

Until the late 1400's, Europeans did not know the existence of the two American continents ( North and South America ). To the European explorers, exploring the other side of the Atlantic was like exploring an entire different world, hence the name- the New World. In 1492, Christopher Columbus unknowingly discovered the new continent. His original motives for exploring was to find an easier route to Asia but instead, he discovered the New World. Thus; Spain, France and England began sending out conquistadors and explorers to the uncharted terrains of the new continent. Motives for the Spanish, French, and English explorers varied greatly, however, they were similar in some ways. The motives of the Spanish explorers were acquisition of

Many indirect discoverers of the world have been identified. A few of them were the Scandinavians, Marco Polo and the Crusaders. When the Scandinavians found North America approximately around A.D 1000 they formed settlements but were only there for a short period of time. Their settlements were abandoned and no large impact was made. During the time of the Crusades, Europe had desired goods, and silk from the East. These goods had traveled a long way and became intensely expensive for the Europeans, therefore they attempted to find a different source. They attempted to sail downward towards africa and around, but had ended up in the Americas. Their discovery was the beginning of a horrible time for the Natives of America. Shortly after the Europeans found they could sail west another adventurer by the name of Marco Polo began telling people about China, although it

Columbus, the first Spanish explorer to reach America, initially thought that the he had landed in the East Indies, which had been his ultimate goal. “His sea wanderings would have been written off as an expensive failure, once it was realized that he had not found the illusive water route to India, had it not been for the discovery of gold on Hispaniola in 1493”(Nash, 18). Once it became known that there were gold and other precious metals on this continent, people from Spain began to journey to America in hopes of gaining immense wealth. The Spanish claimed Panama, Mexico, parts of South America, and southern areas of what is now North America and these expeditions were typically led by military figures. The Spanish viewed America as land to be conquered and they viewed Native Americans

European nations in the 15th century began exploring new lands with three motives: religion, wealth, and glory. It was made possible by advances in naval fleet building and navigation, first pioneered by the Portuguese. Europeans began to be involved in extensive exploration, coming in contact with Africa, Americas and their prime target Asia. The main targets of the pioneering Portugese and Spanish was to find and alternate trade route for the Indies trade and also promote Christianity to the new lands. As the century unfolded, the search for newer territories to colonize and shortern routes to the exotic land of spices and silk became the initial driving force for the intensive early exploration by the Europeans .

The first of these nations to arrive in the new world was Spain, led by Christopher Columbus. In 1492, Christopher Columbus led the first voyage to the west in search for and alternate route to India, and China. The voyage failed in finding an alternate

After the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492, the powerful Old World scrambled to colonize it. The three major nations involved in this were Spain, France, and England. Spain took more to the south in the Central American and Mexico areas while France went north in the Canada region. The English came to America and settled in both the New England and Chesapeake area. Although the people in these regions originated from the same area, the regions as a whole evolved into different societies because of the settlers’ purpose for coming to America and the obstacles faced in both nature and with the natives.

Many people believe believed throughout history that the beginning of North America’s inhabitance was when Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the year 1492. They believed that he is the person who discovered America where in fact it was the Native Americans who made the initial discovery. Therefore, Columbus’s mission is considered more of a journey. One of the motivators behind the voyage was to move away from Britain and begin a new life in what was to them, land of potential opportunity.

By sailing the Atlantic Ocean in the late 1500s, Christopher Columbus publicized and popularized the area known as North America. The area soon began to be known as the area of new beginning, thus sparking a fervor of immigration to the new land. While many used the area to spread religious ideals, the primary reason most people left the land to have a new start in life. Specifically, the New World was settled primarily because of the desire to find gold and the importance of trading, while religion was used as a means of self-justification for their means of reaching their goal.

Age of Exploration Before Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, many believed the world only consisted of Europe, Northern Africa, the Indies, Japan, and China. The Age of Discovery happened inadvertently as countries were trying to find a faster trade route to the Indies. Portugal and Spain led the Age of Exploration as Portugal set off to find a trade to the Indies by sailing south of Africa. Spain then followed as Christopher Columbus suggested an idea to the Spanish Monarchs. He wanted to sail west to get to the east, and he had no idea what he had discovered.

There were many early expeditions from Europe to North America, most in search of a

America was named after a Florentine merchant, Amerigo Vespucci. He had documented in a series of descriptive books about his surroundings and the new continent. Christopher Columbus is said to be the first to explore this new continent. He was looking for a new route. Christopher Columbus realized that this new world was a separate continent on his third voyage in 1498 after he finally reached the mainland and cruised along the coast of South America, but then came to the conclusion that this continent wasn't connected to china and yet a separate continent in itself. Columbus was sailing for Spain because he couldn't gain support from Portugal. Columbus and his men landed on what is now Bahamas and called it San Salvador and

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

The Vikings were the first Europeans to land in the New World. The Vikings were a seafaring people from the late eighth to early 11th century who established a name for themselves as traders, explorers and warriors (Linden, 2004). The Vikings came from three countries of Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Numerous bands of Viking adventurers reached Iceland in the mid-9th century, and by 900 their new home had become a center for settlement (Linden, 2004). One principal reason for their tremendous territorial expansion was a rapid growth in population. They were seeking new colonies. They had systematically colonized the Shetland, Hebrides, and Faeroe Islands before venturing further north and westwards into Iceland and Greenland (History of the Vikings). The Vikings did not get credit for discovering the new world because they came, they saw and left. The main reason they did not settle there is that it takes a lot of work to colonize (Linden, 2004). You have to bring women, children and livestock, plus your original crew. The Silk Road was one of the first trade routes in the world, an ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean Sea extending some 6,440 km (4,000 mi) and linking China with the Roman Empire ( The Silk Road Roots). Marco Polo followed the route on his journey to Cathay (Mark, Joshua). The Silk Routes were not only conduits for silk, but also for many other products. The routes enabled people to transport trade goods, especially luxuries