The Pros And Cons Of European Exploration

In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean bearing the name of the Spanish Crown in hopes that he had landed in the Indies of Asia using a direct sea route. Though that is not where he landed, his "New World" was a place of great wealth, new materials and crops, new source of labor, and new land for the European nations. The consequences for the native people of the Americas were much worse with devastating death tolls, enslavement, new diseases and racist attitudes towards them. Though it would not be fair to say that the Europeans did not share in negative consequences or that the indigenous people did not gain any advantages.

With the inventions of more efficient ships and the perfection of navigational instruments, the Spanish (as well as England and France) gained a curiosity to explore and find a way to Asia by water and

Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, European exploration and expansion thrived. Portugal led the way in this movement of exploration with their development of efficiently built ships known as caravels, seafaring devices such as compasses and astrolabes, and cutting-edge naval academies. Various European countries, including Spain, England, France, etc., followed Portugal’s example by utilizing their progressive naval technology. These technological advancements led to the crossing of oceans and eventually the circumnavigation of the world. These Portuguese sailing techniques were implemented by explorers such as Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Hernando Cortes, Francisco Pizarro, and Bernal Castillo allowing them to travel by sea to places such as Africa, East Asia, the Caribbean, and the Americas. These nations and explorers were persuaded to put in the time and effort to complete these complex expeditions by three essential motivations. Financial gain, political dignity, and religious expansion were fundamental motivators for the European Age of Exploration.

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

Portugal was one of the, if not the only, technological and economic geniuses of the fifteenth century. As a result of their genius, Portugal was able to build one of the first caravels and sail around the coast of Africa in an attempt to find a sea route to India. As a result of this attempt,

Technologically, European exploration was pushed forward through the development of new technology such as the astrolabe, which was an instrument used for triangulation, location of celestial bodies, and finding the local time when given longitude as well as latitude. In addition, Europeans improved the compass, maritime maps, and the design of ships. The caravel, a small ship developed by the Portuguese, was used to navigate around the African and European coasts due to its maneuverability and fast speed. Politically, many rulers were drawn to exploration because of the discovery, pursuit for wealth (gold), and a way to harm the Islamic empires. For example, Prince Henry of Portugal organized expeditions to the African coast in the 15th century. In addition, Spain tried to make their naval force and

Since they were assisted with better maps and navigation, more traveling took place. Along with these innovated maps, their new ways of science aided in the modernization of compasses. With these new breakthroughs, they can perform more things that they were not able to previously. The Europeans decided to explore the Americas because they wanted gain more religious freedom, achieve a developed community, and better trading opportunities.

Lewis and Clark paved the way for exploration of the western part of the Americas along with introducing new ideas about travel and people of the area. If it weren't for Lewis and Clark most of western America would have been left uncharted for many years to follow. The journey to discover a land route to access the Pacific ocean was rough but it had many benefits. Through the exploration many new plants, animals and tribes were discovered. The duo are true heros when it comes to exploration because they were able to work together to do what was required of them as they journeyed across unexplored land.

During the 15th and 16th century, countries such as Portugal set out to find out more about the world in an era called the “Age of Exploration.” The explorers set out on voyages mainly to find sea trade routes to Asia. Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus, and Ferdinand Magellan were the explorers that made the most important breakthroughs. They used different boats, tools, and maps to help them explore.

In my opinion, the benefits of the European exploration did not outweigh its consequences. One reason why the benefits did not outweigh the consequences is the Native American population. Another reason the benefits did not outweigh is because of the Columbian Exchange. Columbus also did not stand up to his promises. Those are some of the reasons why the benefits did not outweigh the consequences.

The printing press was one of the technological advances of the exploration and that transformed Europe. The compass was another one that transformed Europe also, electric light transformed and helped because it gave people lighting and also they wouldn’t have to be in the dark. The telegraph was the last one that helped Europe because that was like a radio so they can hear music

Whenever you hear about the European Exploration, or ‘The Age of Discovery’’ you hear a lot about what the Europeans gained from it, while they did learn a lot from this and gather a lot of new resources they were not the only ones affected. The Age of Discovery affected more areas that just Europe, it also affected the Americas and Africa. To prove this we must first know what European Exploration is.

At the time he did not know that he was in the Americas a new place never found before, he thought he was somewhere in Asia. Portuguese began importing Asian spices by the sea route around Africa. Spices that we use today would not have ever been spread across the world without The Age of Exploration finding new trade routes and exploring the world. With all of this new trade and imports going on, Antwerp, in the Netherlands became the richest trading city in

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

As the explorations of Spain and Christopher Columbus emerged in the late fifteenth century, Portugal also looked towards expansion. Given their conquest of the Moors and their unique geographic location, Portugal also looked to the sea. Expansion of trade with the east became the primary driver for the Portuguese. A sea route to the east could meet the desired ends versus an overland route through Muslim held territories. Sailing along the east coast of Africa, the Portuguese first rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1487 A.D.