Motivated by the search for “God, Gold, and Glory” in the West and “Christians and Spices” in the East, the era between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries is characterized by European exploration and discovery. While in Southeast Asia this exploration was primarily illustrated by the spice trade, in the America’s European exploration allowed for the creation and domination of a new world. Driven by these aims, several western European countries were able to gain control or influence over widening segments of the globe throughout the Early Modern Era both politically and economically. As a result of this age of European exploration and conquest, Europeans not only united the old and new worlds, but they also gradually brought various…
The book, 1491, by author Charles C. Mann delivers a meticulously crafted masterpiece of the “true” history of the Native Americans before the Europeans invaded the Americas and rewrote their history. Mann delves deep into the once pristine and massive empires of Native Americans that are typically disregarded in our modern day society due to sheer ignorance of life before modern colonization began. The author himself, Charles C. Mann, is a highly accomplished writer that has written for many big time companies such as The New York Times, Smithsonian, and even The Washington Post. He has received multiple writing awards from a vast majority of fields that range from the American Institution of Physics to the Lannan Foundation. In fact, 1491,…
In order to adequately answer this question we must first identify the reasons for colonization in each of these regions. To begin, the southern colonies were colonies that were established by the English and included Roanoke, Jamestown, Maryland, Virginia Company, Georgia and the colonies in the Carolinas. Roanoke was the first English colony in the New World, in response to the French founding several colonies in the New World. The purpose of Jamestown was for economic gain. Furthermore, investors had hoped it would be there way to get rich quick and easy, though it turned out as anything but.…
The europeans were one of the most influential people during the time of the Age of Exploration in the 1400s. Sailors set out to explore the new world each with their own reasons from looking for wealth to seeking the thrill of adventure. The discovery of settlements greatly impacted the influence of European in places all over the world. The beneficial influence from the europeans created new settlements with diverse culture, which helped spark the revolution of worldwide trade and the growth of developed settlements and countries.…
This chapter depicted the tremendous transformation regarding the European exploration, conquest on the Americas and on the Pacific Islands. Epidemic, smallpox, measles and other diseases ravaged and devastated the native/indigenous groups. This led to depopulation amongst them. They maintained their communities under influence of European migrants and Euro-American children. This was the formation of multicultural societies, “mixed”.…
a) Briefly explain, with reference to TWO of the factors listed below, how there came together in Europe in the early 16th century both the motivation and the means to explore and colonize land across the seas. Religion conflicts arose between the Protestants and the Catholics. The Catholics of Spain and Portugal, along with the Protestants of England and Holland, acquired a desire to spread their versions of Christianity to other people as a result of religious rivalries. Religion also provided the means for exploration. The monarchs in Spain were Catholic.…
Westward exploration and expansion were motivated by many different factors, focusing on power, dominance, money and spirituality. Spaniards, English, Canadians, Russians and Native Americans all viewed this region as extraordinary, and strived for sovereignty rights. From 1760-1815, many accomplished explores came west looking for adventure, excitement, exploration and for many, wealth. Trade was connected directly with economic success in governments. Many English trappers headed west after the fall of the French fur trade, and found ample new supplies of wild life, to commence a worldwide love for the newly desired beaver fur.…
Many changes in trade, technology, and demographics were brought about by the cultural exchange brought about by European exploration. The Age of Exploration had far-reaching impacts on world history. Europeans and their descendants were the prime beneficiaries of the events in the early modern era. The new global economy stimulated Europe and helped to finance the Industrial Revolution, making these countries even wealthier compared to other regions. An innate sense of superiority soon emerged that allowed Europeans to financially and culturally dominate much of the world.…
Age Of Exploration; Heroic or Heinous? I woke up late that Monday morning, basking in the fact that there was no school. It was early October, and the stress of fourth grade was really getting to me. Christopher Columbus was a man I thought I would be forever grateful for and as far as I was concerned, Columbus was wonderful, exploration was wonderful, and this day off was extra wonderful.…
England provided ideal circumstances for its colonizing empire. A population spike, religious dissensions, and economic opportunity motivated people to emigrate to the West. National greed, nationalism, and rivalry with Spain led royalty to pursue colonies. The colonizing drive helped provide an essential, much-needed component of imperial mercantilism. Truly, the English incorrectly thought that their imperialism was more “enlightened” than Spain’s conquest for “gold, God, and glory.”…
At first glance, European imperialism and thus colonialism seems ridden with atrocity and demise for those upon whom it is imposed while serving the pride and prejudice of those who have imposed it. The question that this paper seeks to answer, however, is one that is layered and cannot be superficially analyzed based on popular views and discourse. For the findings of this paper to prove academically valuable and sound, one must aim to consider with as little (if any at all) bias as possible. Therein lies credibility.…
Spanned in the 15th through the 17th century, the Europeans explored through the Atlantic Ocean and established their Maritime empires in the New World. One of the most remarkable events in the Age of Exploration was when Columbus discovered the Americas. This discovery sparked the Spanish colonization, which had a great effect in the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange referred to the trade and transfer of animal, food, diseases, and bullion between Europe and the New World (Nathan Nunn and Nancy Qian). The Columbian Exchange decreased the population and developed capitalism in the European society.…
The Age of Exploration was a time of discovery when glory was great, gold and land was procured by the lots, and God was accepted as the sole higher power in a variety of regions. Although these seem to be a magnificent time, not all benefited from this period. A multitude of explorers had to go to great lengths to achieve these goals, including terrorizing people, which influenced others to do the same. Through the immorality of the motivations, actions, and events that occurred during the Age of Exploration, many of the most celebrated European explorers of the world such as Christopher Columbus, Hernando Cortes, and Francisco Pizarro were not heroes, but were in fact, terrorists. Christopher Columbus was revered for his accomplishments…
This paper examines Portuguese, Spanish, English, and Dutch explorers and how and why the different groups acted the way they did in the areas they were exploring. Though all parties were European, each have different cultures and backgrounds. This directly affects their interactions in foreign countries. The Portuguese, Spanish, English, and Dutch were all unique in their oversea doings, each group acting and reacting in different ways for different reasons than their neighboring explorers.…
When Europeans came to North America for the first time, they called it The New World, because to them it was a land that was mysterious in many ways. The native population that lived in North America was nothing like that of Europe and the environment of North America was even more foreign. There was no way of knowing the effect of European settlement and what the consequences of their actions would be on the native people and the land. Before the invasion of Europeans in North America, the Natives had a system of living. Their way of life and ability to live off the land were soon challenged by European expansion and technology.…