The Discovery Of The New World

During the exploration of the New World Portugal, France, and Spain had one thing in common to search for new resources such as sugar, spices, and gold. The European arrival in the Americas set a new era off known as the Columbian Exchange which changed the America’s forever. Native Americans introduced the Europeans to several new crops such as corn, squash, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes. Portugal set off for a search for sea route to Asia, while in competition with Spain who was also seeking an active root to Asia as well. The French exploration occurred later after the “New World” was found, and their target was to find a Northwest Passage where they hoped for a route through North America to the pacific.

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

First, the Europeans had the means to explore and colonize the New World mainly because of their advances in technology. As Schweikart put it, “a wide range of technologies coalesced to encourage long-range voyages of discovery.” For example, the Arabs’ development of the astrolabe helped sailors establish the sun’s altitude above the horizon. Vikings farther north introduced new methods of hull construction, allowing vessels to withstand violent ocean storms. Sailors on the Baltic coast tinkered with larger and more controlled ship designs. Improved ships

By definition, a revolution is the overthrow of a suppressive government in favor of a new government, but it is also defined as a large change in society, or how it works. After the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus, European Nations competed in a race against one another to claim pieces of the new land. Before Columbus found this land, the sea separating the New World from Europe seemed endless. The Europeans were only interested in the land to the East. But with the New World there was so much to explore. The Europeans tossed aside their old toy to go play with a new one. During this time period of conquest throughout the New World it became known as the Age of Exploration. A New World meant more land, which meant places to build homes and plant crops, and more money to be earned by buying out new houses and selling new crops grown in foreign soil. These times of change are known as the American Revolution.

Their boats were now faster, stronger, and could hold more stuff. This was huge for the Europeans. Since they were faster that means that they could do the same amount of exploration as before but in less time which in the end means more exploring. Also the improvements made the boat easier to control and navigate. The new and improved European ships could also hold more cargo which allowed them to bring more stuff back with them, like crops and gold. If it were not for these improvements made to their ships the Europeans would have been traveling at the same slow and inefficient

In the course of the fifteenth century, the Portuguese developed the caravel, a small, light, three-masted sailing ship. Though somewhat slower than the galley, the caravel held more cargo and was highly maneuverable. When fitted with a cannon, it could dominate larger vessels, such as the round ships commonly used in commerce (Buckler 501-502). With the caravel, the Portuguese had the advantage over other ships in trade and were able to reach new parts of the world. The utilization of cannons and their compatibility with ships also gave Europeans a distinct advantage at sea. Although cannons posed serious technical difficulties for land warfare, they could be used at sea. The mounting of cannon on ships and improved techniques of shipbuilding gave impetus to European expansion (Buckler 501). The use of cannons eliminated many of the dangers that explorers without cannons might have, such as pirates or warships of hostile countries. But the technological advancements used in European exploration expanded far beyond weaponry. Instruments such as the compass and the nocturnal were essential in voyages. In fact, Christopher Columbus’s successful thirty-three-day voyage to the Caribbean owed a great deal to his seamanship and his knowledge and skillful use of instruments (Buckler 506). Even skilled sailors like Columbus needed the advancements in technology to be fully

Without the desire to acquire a safer trade route over sea to Asia, no one would have ever tried sailing west to get east. “The explorers of the fifteenth century and early sixteenth centuries did not set out to make a revolution in knowledge, but that is what they achieved,” wrote Christopher Farman in “The Ocean Adventures” found in Voyages of Discovery (Document 4). This quote shows how many of the explorers did not set out to find the Americas, but once they knew what it was the Americas were quickly integrated with their own world. Many of the foundational thoughts and ideas of today’s society would have never developed if not for this link between continents. Arthur M. Schlesinger makes note of this writing, “In fact it was precisely the contact with the Americas that stimulated Europe to develop further some of the principles we take for granted today as the basic minimum of human rights…” in Columbus on Trial (Document 5). Without all of this exploration the world would have continued to be stuck in isolation until inevitably some other group of people decide to explore the sea. Contact between the Old and New world would have happened at one point or

The development of the New World relied upon the buying and trading of slaves, as African Americans were critical labor force for plantations and construction crews that lead to the development of the Americas. During the course of slavery, ship Captains, Plantation owners and slaves composed journals of there their trips, tribulations and daily life. The stories and details vary, depending on who is recounting the tails, but one constant found throughout is that the poor treatment of slaves was evident. Even in journals written by people like Captain Phillips, who wrote about how he made his lively hood off of selling and buying African Americans, the inhuman treatment could be seen even though he had no intention of writing about it. On the other hand there are journals from African slaves, such as Harriet Jacobs, that served the purpose to detail the difficulties they faced and their harsh treatment rather than how they made money for their owners. No matter which stories one reads the sense of African slaves being treated inhumanly and like products in a store for the economic growth and profit for private traders can be seen.

This new era created not only economic advancements, and opportunities, but major advancements in general. Bigger and better ships were developed and designed, ships like a Galleon, Carrack, Caravel, and many more. These

The Federal holiday of ‘Christopher Columbus Day’ is celebrated on the second Monday of October because of Columbus’s ‘discoveries’ of the Americas in the New World. What most people do not know is that Christopher Columbus’s intentions were only for the betterment of himself. Columbus was a devout Catholic and could have been looking to spread the word of God to the ‘Indies’, his main goal was to find a water route from Europe to the West Indies. How did Christopher Columbus’s motives impact the way he and other conquistadors viewed and treated the Indians? Columbus 's desire for kind of wealth, especially gold in the New World strongly impacted the way he looked upon them. He saw that the Indians practiced no religion that he had seen

In summary of his first voyage, Christopher Columbus would spend two months travelling to the Indies, lose many men to scurvy, and turn not a profit but instead the promise of the New World (1; 2). Rife with shortcomings, Columbus’ voyages would have little to no short-term practicality, and rather leave a trodden path for future explorers to follow into the Americas—a path pleasing investors. Although he was bankrolled by the Catholic Monarchs, he would ultimately consider his expeditions a failure, never accomplishing his original goal: to find passage to India. This begs the question: what could Columbus have implemented to meet his real objective or even succeed in the Indies? In alternate histories, Christopher Columbus would have embraced

When Christopher Columbus first arrived in America 1492 on board the Santa Maria a new time line of settlements began. However, he was not the first one who discovered ‘the new world’ but he was the first one who was able to establish a permanent connection and relation with the new discovered land that was going to have great effects on the future. At first there were only a few hundred colonists from England, but later on in the early 1600s thousands of people were emigrating from Europe to North America. Either with the aim to live a new life of comfort and wealth or just with the purpose to adventure something new they began to settle in the new world. A group of settlers, called ‘the Puritans’, “arrived 1630 on board of the Arabella and several other ships under the guidance of John Winthrop” (Paul 138). Escaping from the religious pressure of the Catholic as well as the Anglican church they wanted to build up a new community with their own rules and religious ideals. Just in this society the plot of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter takes place: Hester Prynne, a young woman whose husband is believed to be dead, has an affair with another man, gives birth to a misbegotten child and is therefore sentenced in public to wear an ‘A’ on her cloths for all of her life and is barred out of the community. From now on she is living with her daughter Pearl not only on the outskirts of the village but also on the margins of society. Due to the fact that Pearls father is

In many a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, many resources from the New World of North America had been transported and distributed into the European areas of the Old World. In great means of success, the resources blossomed in popularity and caused many economic and agricultural effects on the inhabitants of the Old World. The great man behind such success was Christopher Columbus, an Italian seaman who, over the course of a decade modified the economic and agricultural successes of the Old World. The importations of multiple New World resources brought to the Old World many modifications regarding agricultural focuses, economic successes, and the diets and lifestyles of the European population.

As the Renaissance inspired new thinking and a greater focus in science, many great advancements were made in technology that pushed them toward exploration. One major improvement was maritime technology. For example, the Portuguese had crafted a new ship that used the European hull with triangle sails from the Middle East. This made sailing easier in strong winds and currents. Another advancement was the invention of the printing press. This allowed explorers to share information about their travels. It also inspired other explorers to try to travel to the same or new places. Due to all of the advancements in science, math, and geography the condition of Europe

The naval power of the west was able to combat China’s use of large ships due to the lack in numbers. The innovation of China 's ships, however, due to lack of timber did not cease. They stuck to short water routes to reach midway points. As this happened, the Europeans developed trade patterns and established naval power. This power was used by Christopher Columbus in the discovery of the Americas, despite the fact he failed to find his original goal. He wanted to sail west, and though he failed many times to get sufficient funding, he was able to get Queen Isabel to finance his voyage. His calculations were off and there were doubts as to whether or not the trip would be successful, but despite all this, he managed to reach the New World out of luck. Warehouses allowed larger products to be stored for long periods of time at ports. As immigrants came to the Americas, warehouses provided stability for farmers by allowing housing for goods to trade. The Chinese Government provided incentives for migration, which encouraged many people moved to new Chinese