What Led European Explorations

1. There are a few reasons why the European Exploration expands dramatically in the 15th century. First, many European countries at that time have got plenty of food or resources, and due to the Mediterranean trade and so on, many Europeans got enough wealth from that, and the technology like compass was available. More importantly, due to the Black Death which killed about a third of the European population, the remaining population started to take greater risks and they want more wealth from Asia and Africa, some counties may focus on the state wealth, others may have individuals who focus more on the individual wealth.

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.

DBQ: Age of European Exploration Imagine having everything taken from you because a couple of guys want the land you own. During the Age of Exploration, Europeans were trying to find land and other treasures when they came across Native Americans. However, this was not good for the Native Americans; it was actually very destructive. These Native Americans suffered great hardships, after coming into contact with the Europeans. Some hardships were an unfair fight between these two cultures, their population began to decrease, and they didn’t have the freedom to worship their own religion.

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.

In the early 1400’s ,the Europeans began to have control over the world by setting colonies in the Americas, along the coast of Africa, and parts of southeast Asia. This is referred to as the Age of Exploration . This Age was  caused by advances in technology and it was motivated by the desire for glory, religion , and economic factors. The accomplishments of the European Age of Exploration were that ideas and goods were being exchanged, wealth allowed them better ships and navigation tools, and they had the chance to claim land and territories. These factors contributed in bringing a European Golden Age.

The European Exploration was a time where Europeans explored new places, bringing new ideas to Europe. These explorations were a major factor in taking Europe from a “Dark Age” to a Renaissance. There are many causes that led to these great accomplishments, and the Renaissance.

- Because Spain and Portugal were rivals, they were always trying to out beat each other. Since the Portuguese set up trading posts in Africa first, other European countries started and later on Spain set up posts too. Because the Portuguese didn’t like taking water routes, it took them longer to get to India through land to get spices and jewels. While this was happening, the Spanish people became unified and seeing that they were now stronger, planned to outstrip their rivals of the Indian

In the early 1500s, European countries began dominating the world by exploring and building colonies, trading posts, and outposts in the Americas, along the coast of Africa, parts of India, and Southwest Asia. This time period is referred to as the Age of Exploration. It lasted until the 17th century. The Age of Exploration was caused by advances in technology and motivated by the desire for the three Gs, religious factors, and economic gain.

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.

Hence, The Spanish explorations were most notably able to occur due to the King and Queen’s efforts to unify the Spanish nation and the growing competition between the unified Spain and its neighboring country, Portugal (Nardo, 1947). The King and Queen did many other things to improve and fund exploration in Spain, and perhaps the most significant thing they did was sponsor Christopher Columbus after he proposed an exploration to India, guaranteeing that he could discover and establish valuable trade routes from India to Eastern Asia (Nardo, 1947). The King and Queen agreed to sponsor him because Spain often sought out trade opportunities and wanted to find gold and valuable spices from Asia, specifically from India, and this exploration almost guaranteed all of that (Nardo, 1947). Therefore, the reasons for Spanish exploration include the desire to establish trade routes between India and Eastern Asia, to find valuable resources, the empire’s competition with Portugal, and the King and Queen’s unification of their kingdoms and sponsorship of Christopher

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 .

Events which occurred in the 1500s that began a new era in global connections are, Vasco da Gama sailed across the Arabian Sea and found a cosmopolitan society in Calicut in southern India. Da Gama’s expedition also opened the door to direct maritime trade between European and Asian peoples and helped to establish permanent links between the worlds’s various regions. Ming emperors sponsored expeditions that visited all parts of the Indian Ocean basin. Merchant and military vessels established an Ottoman presence throughout the Indian Ocean. Between 1400 and 1800, European mariners launched exploratory voyages to nearly all of the earth’s waters.

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

The European economic motivation was the main cause of European exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries. New trade, and the search for gold and spices were the three main motives behind Europe’s thirst for exploration and discovery. Trade with Asia and Africa was shrinking, Europe’s gold supply was drained, and spices were growing in demand, forcing Europe to send explorers in search of new resources and trade.