John William Elmer Mrs.

Jackson APUSH 25 August 2011 DQ1 By the dawn of the 16th century, the Renaissance had been in full swing for over 200 years and had widened Europe's horizons by exposing its people to other cultures and new technologies. Exposure to the Arabians during the Crusades also had a lasting effect on the Europeans by giving them a taste of foreign philosophies, science, technologies, and foods. Marco Polo had even given hint of many new spices and luxuries in the East. These outside influences drove the Europeans toward finding new routes to Asia, to help decrease the costs of the new favored items such as sugar, silk, anesthesia, and perfume. By the beginning of the 16th century, Europeans had the motivation to sail and explore the seas due to religious zealous and the want to spread Christianity, economic reasoning such as finding a new route to trade with Asia or a means of making their spices themselves, and the technologic means with increases in technology such as new discoveries from the Muslims and Chinese that helped improve the durability of ships and more accurate navigational systems. The goals of many explorers was to ensure religious domination, by spreading the religion of Christianity. Both the Spanish and the Portuguese were supporters of the Roman Catholic Church and sent many conquistadors to the Americas to harvest souls for Christianity. Clergymen were sent to the New World and churches were built in each city to spread the religion and built many elegant religious buildings. Many of the

natives were converted in South America, but most of the natives died whether from warfare, or the spread of European diseases. God, glory, and gold were the three main motives of exploration. One of the main reasons that Europeans began to explore was for the economic gain and the new goods that foreign places had to offer. At first, the conquistadors had been looking for a new route around Africa, but after the discovery of the New World, the goals changed to colonizing as much land as possible. The Portuguese discovered Brazil in 1500 and by 1518, had started its first sugar plantation to begin trading with Europe. By the 1530s, the sugar industry had become established and slaves were being imported from Africa to work. The Atlantic Slave Trade started to pick up around 1503 with slaves being imported by the Portuguese with their colonies in Brazil, and the Spanish with their colonies in the Caribbean. This style of trading later became the Triangular Trade system where raw materials were shipped to the mother country, who then made manufactured goods, and these goods were then shipped to Africa and back to the colonies in return for slaves and more materials. Gold was a main target for many conquistadors and was sought for no matter the consequences. Hernn Corts toppled the Aztec Empire in 1521 and large amounts of gold was salvaged for the use of trading with other countries such as China for goods. By 16th century, Europe had made significant improvements in their maritime technologies which allowed them to explore farther across the sea. Many of these improvements originally made by the Muslims or Chinese. The caravel was a

sturdier ship fixed with axeled rudders for easier stirring and was able to effectively sail against the wind. The astrolabe was a tool that could determine latitude and distance from the equator. Eventually they came upon the magnetic compass which made it infinitely easier to determine direction. Also, improvements to the sails were made by replacing lateen sails with cotton or linen and by adding a fourth mast. Portuguese sailors realized the need for a sturdier boat and deck planks were placed side by side to make sure that no water could get through. With all of the improvements to the boats, fewer men could man the boat, leaving more for loot, and they could sail farther away from land and back to Europe from Asia. Essentially, the Europeans began to explore to spread their religion, find easier trade routes or a new place to trade, and had the means of traveling with new navigational tools and improved boat structures. The Age of Exploration was a huge leap in human history and led to events such as the Columbian Exchange which was beneficial for Europe and Asia, but detrimental to the Native Americans. Also, without the Age of Exploration, the Atlantic Slave Trade could not have occurred.