Before any civilized country was established in the New World, the Mundus Novus, there were not many people from the 15th century that ever thought traveling across oceans could be possible nor did they know much about the world beyond their own communities. So, why did they take to the seas? Many historians believe this was motivated by the chance to explore, learn, and understand other cultures. The most willing to expand are the ones who will strive to succeed in the end. Little did they know that doing this would cause a chain reaction for civilization as we know it. These European civilizations stood at the threshold of a new area, but it was this era of time that began for Western European countries to expand and explore, which ultimately transformed European societies for years to come. According to Kreis (2011), “the Portuguese were the first country to send ships, then the Spanish and finally, in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, British, French and Dutch ships set out to discover a world, the New World” (historyguide.org, 2011). These long voyages brought many complications, but the possibility for wealth one could find in other parts of the world outweighed any negative outcomes. European powers were motivated by many factors that drove them to look overseas for new territories; desire for wealth and power, and improvements in technology for the “discovered” territories and peoples as a result of European exploration and expansionism, and its overall
Thanks to men like Christopher Columbus the world became an explorer's oyster. The findings of new created much curiosity in Europe to explore and conquer new lands in order to expand their empire. In the early 1600’s a surge of motivation to explore and settle new colonies came over England. The Result of this was the New England and Chesapeake colonies, who were both settled by immigrants from England. Many people decided they needed to escape England due to religious persecution and poverty. Hundreds of families, men, women, and their children, came in search of a New World where they could have a new start. Despite the striking similarities between the two colonies they grew
Possibly the biggest reason Europeans set out to explore the New World was the hope of riches they would find. A Portuguese merchant expressed how many luxury items would be able to be imported from the New World, bringing money to the mother country. To this merchant, the riches resulting from exploration were a great reason to continue to explore (Doc 5). Europe did indeed receive a lot of wealth from their colonies in the new world, so this aspect of their goal was fulfilled.
People living the the 15th century had multiple reasons for venturing beyond its confinement of land. Scientific curiosity of the world played a major part in the advancement of naval travel, but it was not the main cause of exploration in these times. The Age of Exploration was sparked by Europeans wanting to find sea routes to East Asia, which they called the Indies. Merchants and crusaders were bringing goods to Europe from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. These trade routes were controlled by the Muslims and the Italians. However, flaws
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.
Europe expanded across the Atlantic Ocean because they were geographically at an advantage. They had access to this new land the for the other places to get to it would either take too long or they would physically have to go through the European’s land to get there. They had this advantage and took it
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 Renaissance and the Age of Exploration brought on new ideas, technology, and tools that allowed the Europeans to travel across sea. The Europeans traveled to Africa in search of grains, spices, ivory, gold and slaves. Upon further exploration they found China. In China they found what they were searching for, they found silk cloth, spices and goods. The Europeans wanted to gain power by expanding their empire and search for gold. New technology, firepower, greed, and curiosity drove the Europeans to explore western
The desire to explore the unknown has been a driving force in human history since the dawn of time. From the earliest documented accounts, ancient civilizations have explored the world around them. Early adventures were motivated by religious beliefs, a desire for conquest, the need for trade, and an unsatisfying hunger for gold. The great Age of Exploration, beginning in the late 1400s, was an important era in the discovery and development of lands yet unknown to the Europeans. During this period, Europe sought new sea routes to Asia in pursuit of economic gain, increased glory, and opportunities to spread Christianity. Although these were motivations for explorers, the impact from the discoveries resulted in significant changes and
The desire for new trade routes by the Europeans was one reason the Age of Exploration began. In Document 1 it is written that the Europeans were afraid of the Ottoman Empire due to their rapid expansion and powerful military. This shows that Europe was afraid to challenge them and they were pushed to expand and find other trade routes. Document 2 depicts the power the Ottoman had and the control they held over Mediterranean Sea trade, therefore preventing the Safavid and Europeans from trading. Because of this, Europe
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.
In a time when European countries were prompted to explore the New World, two countries in particular had a desire to control not only Europe, but the world. The Age of Exploration occurred between the fifteenth and seventh century and led to the discovery of the Americas, which was called the New World at the time. During this time, countries such as Spain and England had citizens travel to the New World for multiple reasons yet had both similarities and differences in both of the country's new colonies. It was in this context that the Spanish and British colonies in the New World were both dramatically alike and different by the differences in the colonies’ religious practices, the similarity of the harsh treatment of Indigenous people through
By the early 1700s, many Europeans traveled to the New World. Majority of these people traveled because of religious, agricultural, and economic reasons. As a result, a diverse set of people traveled to Chesapeake bay and New England. Because of the different reasoning for travel, and different beliefs, they developed into two distinct societies.
In the early 1600s, the greatest empire of that time, the British empire, demonstrated one more time its immense level of power by conquering the New World. The Jamestown settlement, also known as the beginning of America, was occupied by a group of British conquerors willing to impose their traditions, culture, and language on the natives of Jamestown. Many historians, politicians, and influential people, as the Queen of England, have claimed that the first British settlement in America was founded by three principles that nowadays govern most of the countries in the world: democracy, equality, and diversity. While a vast number of people agree that America has been strengthened by embracing those three principles, many conservatives, as Patrick J. Buchanan, have disagreed with that idea. Patrick J. Buchanan, one of the most influential conservatives in the U.S. who has run for President three times, has mentioned in many of his publications how atrocious is for a country, especially for the United States, to embrace democracy, equality, and diversity. In “Deconstructing America,” Patrick J. Buchanan claims that the founding values of America have not only stopped it to prosper, but also have helped to destroy it and pull it apart. Patrick’s arguments of the destruction of America are actually very accurate and effective.
Throughout the Medieval Ages, there were many political events which deem worthy of acknowledgement. From the year of 476 to 1500, events ranging from the reign of Charlemagne to Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the New World occurred; without the events occurring in history, today’s society would not be the same as it is today. The world may be ruled under one nation or many more countries may have formed. The important events which shaped the future include: Charlemagne’s reign, the Crusades, the Hundred Years’ War, and Christopher Columbus’s Voyage.
One of the main reasons European Exploration started snowballing is the fall of Constantinople. This reason itself is why European Exploration began. The Ottomans controlled all the sea trade in the eastern Mediterranean, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and the rest of North Africa, and the power extended into Europe also. After the fall of the great Ottoman Empire it had sparked curiosity into European explorers to discover new sea routes, lands, and territories. They were preparing for this moment and they took full advantage of it, and that was starting with Portugal. In “Document 3” the map describes “A map of exploration routes coming from Portugal. Rulers of Portugal began to fund voyages of exploration under the rule of Prince Henry, ‘The Navigator’ a nickname earned for his interest in new navigation technologies he brought to Europe from the Arab world.” In the map it had presented the new sea routes around the southernmost tip of Africa because they were attempting to find new routes to Asia. If the fall of Constantinople never happened and they remained with their power, the exploration would have never started up. Europe still would’ve been isolated in the Dark Ages with poverty, death, and overall a corrupt