The American Journey : A History Of The United States

European imperialism during 1450-1750, began as a plan to gain more riches for the European nations. The Europeans did this for three main reasons, which were for God, Gold, and Glory. The Europeans domination over Latin America, Africa and Asia were made out to be good for the native people of these lands. However, the Europeans were not there to help these geographic areas. They were there to spread their influence and gain riches for themselves and the European nations. The successes and failures of the Europeans and non Europeans would decide their relationship status for as long as they could co-exist.

The imperial goals of the British, French, and Spanish in North America between 1580 and 1763 were similar in that all three European states sought to capture the wealth and commerce offered by the New World and in that they all used imperialism as a means of increasing the authority, territory, and influence of their state; however, the British, French, and Spanish imperialistic goals differed in that Britain's religious goals were those regarding asylum, while the French and Spanish sought to gain converts; moreover, the relationships the British, French, and Spanish wanted to form with the natives differed drastically. These goals continued to be a main focus of the British, French, and Spanish imperial efforts from 1580 to 1763. All three European powers sought to capture the wealth and commerce of the New World--namely, they sought to take advantage of the abundance of raw materials and the market for trade offered by North America--which caused economic and political tensions between the three states; therefore, the goal of capturing the wealth offered by the New World was the most significant goal and forged the relationships and tensions between the British, French, and Spanish in both North America and Europe.

1492 was the year which set the seeds of change in North America. Columbus’ discovery was what prompted nations, like Spain and Portugal, to begin sailing West, instead of East. Shortly after Columbus’ discovery of the Bahamas, Spain and Portugal settled which nation would receive certain parts of the New World with the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. The Treaty of Tordesillas was proof that nations were taking Columbus’ discoveries

During the European age of expansion in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, various European nations were colonizing the newly discovered Americas. Spain and France would become prominent players in the Western Hemisphere, both conquering and colonizing new territories. However, each country had different methods of developing their colonies in the New World. Spanish and French settlements contrasted greatly with one another in terms of economic development and Native American relations.

In the 17th century England and Spain were both in a race to settle the New World. After Christopher Columbus had reached this New World Spain almost immediately sent people over to explore and colonize. After the Treaty of Tordesillas secured their land, Spain’s empire quickly expanded across The Americas. England had a bit of a late start when it came to colonization. Even though their first few attempts such as Jamestown, and Roanoke were not very successful England kept at it. Eventually, England and Spain became the two most powerful nations in the Americas. Even though both nations had the same goal, their political, religious, and economic development were very different.

1). The Nations of Europe sought to expand their empire because they were on the verge of overpopulation.Between 1550 and 1600 the population grew from three million to four million people. Also, England and Spain were at a war for power. The Spanish attempts at colonizing the New World had been extremely successful, for they had gained both wealth and power. The English did not see such success, as their ships would crash, be lost to the seas, or their colonization efforts would cease to be useful. Through the Spaniards control over the Americas they had gained a massive naval army, noted as the Spanish Armada. The Spanish attempt to invade England in 1588 failed which lead to the beginning of the fall of the Spanish empire in the New World.

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who received credit for the discovery of the Americas in 1492. His goal was to discover another route to India instead, he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in Hispaniola which is present day Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Although, historians argue he did not technically discover the Americas, he opened trade routes between the Old World and the New World. He influenced later explorers and impacted the development of the Columbian Exchange. The historians present their attitudes towards the consequences and outcomes of Christopher Columbus and his discovery. They also state their argument on his controversial legacy about whether Christopher Columbus should be perceived as a hero or a villain.

As early as the fifteenth century, Europeans began to become eager to discover the New World that was unknown to them. With the concerns of rapid population growth, commerce, new learning, and the rise of competing for nation states, they set out for new adventures and discovery. For a long time, Spain and Portugal were the only European powers with New World colonies.

Christopher Columbus is known for being an explorer and is said to have made one of the most important voyages in world history without even wanting to. Something else that is also believed is that he “opened up” the Americas to European nations, which changed the course of American history. Before he went on his voyage though, he was in need of resources. So he asked Portugal, France, Italy among many other countries but they all denied Columbus and thought his statement was incorrect. Columbus’ statement was that he had found a faster way to get to Asia than the Portuguese had, which was going around the continent of Africa. Columbus lived a majority of his life in Spain, so when it came to setting sail for the west, Spain was one of the first nations he asked for funding. Though it took Columbus a little more than a few years to convince a nation to fund his voyage, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand from Spain subsequently granted to endow him in 1492. He would then leave for “Asia” on August 3, 1492. There are many unanswered questions and thoughts on why Spain decided to finally fund Columbus’ voyage, especially since he was an explorer that was born in Italy.

If you ask Americans, who discovered America? they will tell you it was Christopher Columbus. However, the history books were wrong. Christopher Columbus was an explorer navigator. He is most famous for sailing across the Atlantic Ocean and claiming parts of America for the Spanish empire in 1492. Columbus initiated the colonization of the new world. However, Columbus was not the first to discover America. According to other historians there were many other explores that discover the continent. If Columbus did not discover the new world who did? America was named after an Italian explorer named Amerigo Vesovcci. Vesovcci demonstrated in 1502 that Brazil did not represent what Columbus believed to be Asia. Because of his discovery the continent

The European powers that were in much need for resources during the 1500s through 1800s were Great Britain, France and Germany. During 1500 and 1800 Africa seemed like an impossible feat to conquer because of malaria but this wouldn’t stop the persistence of the leaders of France and Great Britain. The idea of exploring and conquering new land meant more to these leaders because of the motivation to keep their national security strong and keep their economy stronger. These countries would use their remaining resources to look for more disposable ones so that their empires could grow considerably. Great Britain would be dug in the

Christopher Columbus set out on his first voyage from a Spanish Port of Palos to find a new world on August 3rd 1492 on his first voyage. Which was sponsored by the Queen of England. He brought three ships with him the Santa Maria the Pinta and the Nina and they landed in the Bahamas. When Columbus arrives in America he thought he had discovered a new trade route to the West Indies but he was wrong and he found a land that was unknown to the Europeans. After the Europeans found out about this new land many people went to either find gold or try to be free of the English law.

"The first voyage of Columbus in 1492 fortuitously discovered a whole new world and set in motion a chain of events whose profound consequences gave new directions to the histories of Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia. It was the voyages of Columbus and those who followed him that brought the Americas into the consciousness of the Europeans"(Knight 28).

After Columbus reported his findings back to the Spanish royalty and their advisors, they began plotting to settle on North American soil. Columbus' second voyage to the New World in 1493 established the first Spanish colony in the New World, which they named Hispaniola (this is now known as Santo Domingo). Columbus arrived to the New World with 17 ships, 1200 men, and an abundance of crops, livestock, and plant life. These were the first foreign biological entities to step foot on North American soil, which began an ecological change. The Spaniards also brought disease with them to the New World, which soon began to spread and caused a biological holocaust of sorts. Within a single generation of Columbus' death in 1506, Spaniards had explored much of South America, Central America, and southern parts of North America. Even up to 100 years after his death, Spain remained the dominant settler in North America. It wasn't until the 1580s that England was able to leave their island.

Christopher Columbus, in many eyes, created a path for European exploration and colonization of the Americas. His excellent navigation skills set a precedent for other explorers. He is renowned for four voyages across the Atlantic from Spain. He is most known for “discovering” the Americas when he was instead looking for a more efficient route from Europe to Asia. Columbus opened the way for conquest and colonization. Although Columbus was Italian, the navigator and survivalist was hired and sponsored by the Spanish monarchs in 1492 to explore and find a new route to Asia. There are speculations as to why Spain would hire a foreign explorer, but there are many simple explanations as to why. Therefore, this paper will give in-depth explanations and justifications of the reasons why the Spanish monarch, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, sponsored the expeditions led by Christopher Columbus, an Italian.