Why European Nations Pursed Overseas Exploration and Colonization.

Abstract

European nations projected into overseas exploration and colonization for religious dominance, political power and desire for wealth. The Europeans learned about the fine mineral resources that existed in other parts of the continents, and their greed led them to possess these continents no matter the cost. Some of these resources existed in the Europe but the Europeans were greedy and wanted all the riches to themselves. The Europeans also wanted to force their religious beliefs on other people, and if they couldn’t have their way with this, it mostly resulted in a religious warfare.

Some Europeans left their nations to a settlement where they could practice their religion without being criticized or killed.

The Europeans were successful at the colonization of certain lands because they were carriers of certain diseases that the natives of their land of arrival lacked resistance to, which ended up causing the deaths of these natives. The Europeans all wanted to find a route to the home of spices, acquire skills and wealth. This exploration brought about the discovery of new settlements and discovery of riches like gold and silver. Exploration and discovery of riches required a lot of human labor, So the Europeans started enslaving Africans to help them do the labor work. Wealthy European colonization and exploration of the new world played a vital role in the developments of some parts of the world, as it brought about civilization. These settlements went on to be developed into countries and kingdoms today.In the early 1500’s, England had several problems they faced. One of the major problems was the religious conflict between the protestants (who believed in the reformation, which was the believe that salvation came not by good deeds but by the salvation of God) and the catholic.

Henry viii was king of England at the time and had broken away from a roman catholic church to start his own church of England which was a protestant religion. King Henry viii died in January 1547 and was succeeded by his only son Edward whom was only 9 years old. As young as he was, He was interested in the nation’s political matters, he was a protestant, and he oversaw the establishment of Protestantism in the country. He died in July 1553 without having children. He made his cousin his cousin (Lady Jane Grey) his heir instead of his first sister (Mary) because she was catholic, and if she got to the throne, she would reverse his reformation legacies. His tenure was filled with social unrest and financial troubles.

Lady Jane Grey only lasted 9 days in the throne as de facto queen before she was replaced by Mary. Queen Mary was a determined to make the nation a catholic, she ordered the burning of those who tried to refuse the restoration of her Roman Catholicism, she was very violent, because of her acts, the protestants opponents gave her the popular name “Bloody Mary”. Her reign lasted for only five years. She was married to Prince Phillip of Spain, but she didn’t bore children, so her protestant sister Elizabeth went on to be queen and she reversed all of Mary’s catholic rules. Queen Elizabeth had a great reign that is popularly known as “The Elizabeth Era”. She also reattempted at colonizing the Ireland with brutal expeditions that destroyed Irish villages and killed their citizens. (Her father King Henry viii first attempted at colonizing the Ireland but his attempts yielded no success). She ruled for over 50 years, and like the rest of her siblings, she didn’t have any offspring, even worse, Queen Elizabeth never got married.

Another reason England was late to the new world colonial exploits is because the nation was economically depressed. Their wool production had collapsed, the nation was in poverty, there was a high crime rate all through the nation. This economic depression couldn’t cover the expense of building a colony in Mexico, South America etc. However, England was able to overcome this situation by giving their navy ship captains license to plunder ships that carried new world riches. England’s navy stole from Spanish ships. These armed ships with England’s great navy were called privateers. The most famous of the privateers was Sir Francis Drake.Hernan Cortez and 600 men arrived in the coast of Mexico in 1519, and by 1521, they had conquered the Aztec empire. This was possible because they had technological advantages such as guns and horses compared to the Aztec soldiers that fought with wooden swords and traveled by foot. They were also able to form allies with the Indians who weren’t pleased with the Aztec domination, tribute demands and seizure of captives for religious demands. The majority of the Aztec empire suffered and died from a plague of smallpox, which was an European disease brought into their land by one of Cortez’ men. The Natives lacked resistance to this European disease which caused their deaths.

The Inca empire was the largest empire in the Americas stretching from over 2000 miles from what is now known as Ecuador to Chile. The Incan ruler died and a civil war had broken out between his two sons. This was a really difficult time in the Incan empire, and it was considered their weakest. This was the time the Spaniards arrived. The victor of the civil war between the brothers, Atahualpa, was captured and held hostage by the leader of the Spaniards – Francisco Pizarro – when he was on his way from the empire’s northern province to claim his throne in Cuzco. Although, Francisco received a ransom of golds and silver for the release of Atahualpa, Francisco still killed him. The Spaniards took control of Cuzco and the whole empire and went on to establish a capital at Lima. By 1550’s, Spain’s New World empire stretched from the Caribbean through Mexico to Peru. This colonization earned Spain a limitless amount of wealth. All of these was possible because Spain took advantage of Columbus’ discovery.

People moved from one settlement to another in search of religious freedom. Catholic Christianity united western Europe in one faith for over a thousand years. By the sixteenth century, the catholic churches had gained a lot of wealth, fame and influence. This success resulted to the Christians in northern Europe in condemning the pope and the church of being materialistic and accused the pope of misusing his power.

A German monk named Martin Luther expressed his beliefs on the church and claimed their beliefs and actions were always to please God. He expressed his beliefs which was reformation. He said salvation came not by good deeds but only by faith in God. This belief spread widely to the Catholic Church. His campaign started as a religious movement but gained political attention. In the Sixteenth-century, Germany was a fragmented region of small kingdoms and principalities. They were part of a Catholic political entity known as the Holy Roman Empire. The fragmentation in Germany and neighboring regions during the Holy Roman empire was termed “Kleinstaaterei”. Many German princes did not like the idea of imperial authority. A great number of these princes supported Luther’s movement. The Holy Roman empire attempted to silence these German princes, but the princes continued to protest. From that point on, these princes and all Europeans who supported religious reform became known as Protestants.

Predestination is the believe that God decided at creation the people that were going to receive salvation and those they going to suffer for eternity, and the outcomes cannot be altered by an individual’s spiritual life. This term was introduced by a French revolve named John Calvin. The theories of Luther and Calvin began to spread around Europe and caused a multiplication in Europe’s religious fragmentation. This reformation resulted in a religious divide of Western Europe and caused a century of destructive and bloody warfare. Protestants fought Catholics in France and the German states. Catholic popes established a Counter-Reformation to empower their Churches by internal reform and by persecuting its opponents until they accepted their religion. Europe thus fragmented into warring camps just when Europeans were coming to terms with their discovery of America. A difference in religion resulted in division among nations. Some of the key participants in exploration, such as Spain and Portugal, rejected Protestantism, while others, including England and the Netherlands, embraced religious reform. The reformation deepened the rivalries between European nations during the North American colonization which caused Protestants and Catholics to seek religious freedom in across the Atlantic (LIBRARY BOOK). This is one of the major reasons why England was late to race of New World colony and exploration.

The Colombian exchange which is also known as the grand exchange, is the widespread transfer of animals, plants, culture, technology and communicable diseases between the American and the Afro Eurasian hemispheres. It is the transatlantic biological and cultural exchange after the first European contact with the Americas. Some of the positive effects this process had was the introduction of livestock and food crops from the old world into the new world.

This exchange also developed the knowledge of the native Indians on how to use Horses in their advantage in case there was a warfare, they used the horses as a means of transportation, and hunting. This exchange also provided job opportunities for the Yaquis, Pueblos, and other people in the Southwest who began cattle and sheep rearing. New World food crops enriched Old World diets, and this resulted in a sharp rise in Europe’s population.

The Colombian exchange also brought about cultural exchanges like the transfer of European culture into the lives of the indigenous people such as the concepts of monogamy and nuclear family, owning of private property and knowing the roles each member of a family. The negative side of the Colombian exchange is that the Europeans were carriers of diseases such as small pox, measles, influenza and typhus. The native Americans lacked immunity to these diseases, so it caused a severe increase in the death rate of native Americans.

The Colombian exchange created a source of wealth through the tobacco company. As tobacco had become a luxury good which needed to be spread worldwide, and it required a free form of labor. Hence the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Millions of Africans were shipped from primarily west Africa to the Americas. And this took place between the 16th and 19th century. This enslavement of Africans brought about the emergence of the African American culture in the new world where they were transported, especially the Caribbean and Brazil. The journey that enslaved Africans taken from parts of Africa to America is commonly known as the middle passage.

Oceangoing mariners traveled beyond the sight of coastal features, so they needed a sturdier built ship than those that traveled the Mediterranean, and also had reliable navigational tools. In the 15th century, Prince Harry of Portugal who was a central figure in early days of the Portuguese empire aided the efforts of ship builders, map makers and other workers to solve the problems of building a strong ship that could stand the test of ocean travel.

By the 1500, a new ship called the Caravel had been designed by Iberian shipbuilders, this ship had a streamline body and steering rudder that made distant ocean travel more convenient and safer. The mariners also adopted two important navigational devices that allowed them to determine their position in relation to a known star’s location. These devices are the magnetic compass and the astrolabe.

References

1. Image. (n.d.). Retrieved 2 2, 2019, from Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1590_or_later_Marcus_Gheeraerts,_Sir_Francis_Drake_Buckland_Abbey,_Devon.jpg
2. Image. (n.d.). Retrieved 2 4, 2019, from Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AfricanSlavesTransport.jpg
3. Last Name, F. M. (Year). Article Title. Journal Title, Pages From – To.
4. Last Name, F. M. (Year). Book Title. City Name: Publisher Name.
5. https://www.answers.com/Q/Why_was_Montezuma_stoned_to_death

Did you like this example?

359

15