European Exploration Motivation

There were many causes of exploration in this time period. There was a large desire to find an easy pathway to Asia. This was important to Europeans because in Asia there were spices, silks, and wealth. Most of the European nations were also after new territory to make colonies and extend their empires. Spain’s main concern was mineral wealth. They went looking for “El Dorado” or the city of Gold. Spain, France, and England were interested in spreading Christianity as well. When the Spanish Crown approved Christopher Columbus and his men to sail across the Atlantic Ocean, their main goal was to find a more accessible and faster way to get to India. The previous route took you all the way around Africa and took a hefty amount of time. It would benefit Spain more if a faster way was discovered. The Spanish were hoping to find and quicker way and when they did, they had planned to regulate the path and force those who use it to pay Spain. In the eyes of the Spanish this was ideal and very much wanted by the Spanish crown. When Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas, he believed he had reached India and called the inhabitants of the island Indians. This was not the case, Columbus had actually reached land where no European nations had current colonies and was unknown to them. This caused other European powers to assemble groups to travel to

1.) The desire to find new trade routes to Asia was one of the motivations for European explorations. Europeans were seeking the wealth of Africa and Asia. They wanted profit, they wanted gold. The spice market was also a huge profit of trading and several countries tried to gain control of spice trade. Another motivation was God and religion. Europeans wanted to spread the teachings of the Gospel to other parts of the world. They believed it was their duty to spread the word of God. Lastly, land was another motivation for European explorations. Some rulers, especially the King of Spain, and the King of Portugal, wanted to claim as much land as they could. The more land and money a country owned, the better their chance of domination in Europe.

The beginning of the Spanish Exploration begun in 1492 when Christopher Columbus set out on his first voyage with Spanish explores and conquistadors to conquer the Americas. The motives for the Spanish exploration was the three G’s gold, god and glory stated in source B. His objective was to not only to conquer the Americas but sail west until he reached Asia or The Indies, where the riches of gold and pearls awaited him and his men. Some of the difficulties connected to the exploration was the lack of knowledge of the oceans also the Spanish had beliefs that there were sea monsters lurking the deep but disease and starvation didn’t help the journey. Even more problems occurred such as wild natives, cannibals, reefs and shoals also storms,

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

Economics is the most important factor during the European exploration era. Brun states, “As trade increased, the economic well-being of Europe became more

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

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 most important motive for early European exploration across the Atlantic was the dream of enormous riches. Initially, explorers and merchants hoped to find a sea route across the Atlantic to the thriving markets of Asia. However, Columbus greatly miscalculated the circumference of the earth; thus resulting in the discovery of a completely new world to explore and exploit. Upon arriving in the Americas, the Spanish and Portuguese sought precious metals or land that could be worked for profit, usually by slave labor. For example, the Spanish experience in the Caribbean under the leadership of Columbus was characterized by a search for both natural and human resources, such as gold and slaves (Winn, 2/8). This conquistador mentality that

Economic factors motivated the Europeans to explore the Americas such as trade and expensive resources. Trade existed between countries, which supplied the Europeans with many new and useful resources. The Silk Road, located between Venice and China, was used to bring luxury goods from Europe to Asia. The Columbian Exchange also brought plants, animals, and human cultures between the New and Old Worlds. Unfortunately, it also brought diseases, which spread. “The abundance new foods such as corn, beans, peanuts, potatoes, avocados, pineapples, and tomatoes from the Americas enhanced people’s diets and changed their eating habits.” (Fraser 34) There was also economic competition between Spain and Portugal. This influenced Spain to sponsor an exploration and Christopher Columbus, who was strongly motivated to find gold. Gold brought wealth and power to the country. Europeans wanted a cheaper route to Asia and hoped to find riches such as gold and as well as spices, and plants to benefit

The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were a period of exploration and expansion for the powerful european monarchies, this change and the reasons for it affected european and american society's. A nation had to be well established and strong before it could explore and expand outward, this means that the europeans had to make changes themselves. Many christian european orders wanted to spread the christian religion to the native americans of the new world and also made some money from the towns they established. The Europeans were also in search of resources and a way to make their native currencies, many times the native americans were affected in the process.

God, Glory, and Gold- This was used to describe reasons for moving out west and colonizing the “new world”.The Spanish and Portuguese were pioneers in the new era of overseas expeditions because they had a favorable geographic location facing the Atlantic and North Africa.

During the age of discovery Prince Henry funded many voyages. A prince who was born 1394 in Portugal and son of King John, left an everlasting effect of Portugal. Even though Henry was not an educated navigator he funded a number of explorations that founded some of the country’s first colonies. Over the years Henry became enchanted by Africa, its resources (gold) and hoped to share Christianity among the people there. At the beginning of the voyages Europeans had not discovered or had any knowledge of anything past the west coast of Africa. Henry ordered his sailors to move beyond that point. Curiosity pushed explorers farther than they had ever been in centuries before. By 1436 they reached Rio de Oro but didn’t end there.

During the fifteenth and sixteenth century, exploration expanded dramatically. The Spanish, Portuguese, and English explorers during that time period had much in common, but also had their differences. First was their desire to search for new land in order to colonize it. Additionally, these explorers were searching for a variety of different plants for which they can use for food and medicine. They also wanted good soil in order to produce more crops. Furthermore, they all were in search for silver and gold in order to establish wealth in their country. Although these explorers had common objects that they were looking for, they also had many differences.

The Western European expeditions of the 15th-18th centuries had a multitude of causes, religious aims, desire for wealth, glory, and improvements in technology, it also caused a number of things, such as colonial expansion and the Columbian exchange, use of slaves, and rise of capitalism and mercantilism.