In order to understand colonization, it is important to consider the background of the events leading up to colonization. In Spain for instance, the re-conquest of Grenada as well as the search for new trade routes are important events that lead up to colonization. In England, the Civil War between parliament and the monarchy affected colonization as well. The living situation for people in the Holy Roman Empire was deemed not good enough for future generations. The dynamics and developments in Spain, England, and the Holy Roman Empire were all important to the colonization of the New World. There were many important events in Spain that paved the way for the colonization of the New World. For example, Europeans craved the spices of the East, but due to warfare in Asia, they tried to find new trade routes . At the time, Europeans knew that the Earth was round, but they did not know how far the ocean stretched, let alone the existence of other continents beyond the Atlantic Ocean. The demand for such spices allowed for many expeditions to occur, including Christopher Columbus. In addition, the explorers of the time were considered “renaissance men” who used new navigation tools such as the globe and sextant, and also referred back to Greek and Latin maps . The Renaissance and its innovations and new ways of thinking are responsible for the expeditions and the ambitiousness of the explorers. As the explorers were traveling in all sorts of directions around the world, they gained more knowledge and improved the maps, which are key aspects of the Renaissance. Furthermore, after the re-conquest of Grenada, the men of Spain still had a frontier mentality that carried over to the New World . As Spain used the plantations on the Az... ... middle of paper ... ...t from being able to openly worship and escape persecution as they belonged to minority religious groups. The combination of push and pull factors allowed for immigrants of the Holy Roman Empire to help the already established colonies of the New World. Through examining the series of events that occurred in Spain, England, and the Holy Roman Empire, there is a better understanding of the colonization of the New World. Spain began the exploration of the world that was unknown to them and took advantage of it. England followed in a similar path of being a colonial power but through pressure on their society. Finally, the immigrants of the Holy Roman Empire sought for a better life a left to colonize the New World which was more like a new beginning. The examination of the backgrounds of colonization could also bring new light on other important events in history.
During the colonial era, the economic conditions of both the New World and Great Britain were taking more notice then the religious concerns of the colonies. This was why Britain wanted to solve further economic problems through the colonization of the New World. For instance, many of their earliest settlers migrated to the New World due...
This text was created to bring to light the hardship Natives went through during the Age of Exploration. The populous, who only hear rumors and short stories from all territories west of the Atlantic Ocean, cannot grasp the tough and difficult task that is at hand in the Americas. From these short blurbs of what is said about the west, they make inferences of what it is like, and how it is possible for another land mass to be unknown to many for so long. But for those who do know what is past the Atlantic, know that this Agenda of the King and Queen must be fulfilled and to do so would be to claim land for Spain for it to be settled upon. On top of that is to further collect the riches of the Americas to benefit Spain in the conquest of the Americas.
In the 17th century, Europeans were eager to colonize in the newly discovered world. Europe was willing to invest time, resources and money into expanding their power. Powerful nations such as Spain, France and Britain settled there by this time and subtly encouraged Europe to do the same. Europe sent people overseas to two sections, The Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Chesapeake Colony. At the beginning, every aspect influenced their colonies success such as social, political, economic, and geographic.
Milanich, Jerald T. and Susan Milbrath., ed. First Encounters: Spanish Exploration in the Caribbean and the United States1492-1570. Gainesville: U of Florida P, 1989.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus was a self-made man who worked his way up to being the Captain of a merchant vessel. He gained the support of the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, for an expedition to the Indies. With the support of the Spanish monarchy, he set off to find a new and faster trade route to the Indies. Upon the arrival of his first voyage, Columbus wrote a letter to Luis de Santangel, a “royal official and an early supporter of his venture,” in February 1493 (35). The epistle, letter, entitled “Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage” was copied and then distributed in Spain before being translated and spread throughout Europe. The Letter is held in such regard with the people as it is considered the first printed description of the new world. Through his description of the nature of the islands, Columbus decided the future fate of the islands. His description of the vast beauty of the nature around him, declares both the economic and nationalistic motivations for colonizing the new world.
Throughout the history of mankind, numerous events such as the Crusades, have occurred in the name of religion and religious freedom. Sadly, the motivation for the early settlers coming to America wasn’t strictly about finding religious freedom. It was actually deeply rooted in the desire for economic growth and new trade opportunities. The New World presented itself as an opportunity for many to gain higher social economic status and growth in their business ventures. A number of known historical facts, including: hunger for new trade, poverty of many English inhabitants, and the rivalry between Spain and England, contributed and fostered the foundation and settling of the American Colonies.
The European colonization of the Americas granted new opportunities to second born males who would have been soldiers or serving under the church or any who were less fortunate. It gave people a new start away from the monarchy and corruption that was prevalent through Europe. The French, English, Dutch and Spanish primarily colonized the "New World" for commercial and trading gains. None of these European nations conformed its entire enterprise to a religious endeavor or even came close to doing so. This brought astounding changes to both the "Old" and "New World" changing the course of history in ways we take for granted.
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. However, even after centuries later, little is truly known of the mysterious voyage and findings of the new world.1 By examining “Letter from Columbus to Luis Santangel”, one can further contextualize the events of Columbus' exploration of the New World. The letter uncovers Columbus' subtle hints of his true intentions and exposes his exaggerated tone that catered to his lavish demands with Spain. Likewise, The Columbian Voyage Map read in accordance with the letter helps the reader track Columbus' first, second, third, and fourth voyage to the New World carefully and conveniently. Thus, the letter and map's rarity and description render invaluable insight into Columbus' intentionality of the New World and its indigenous inhabitants.
The immediate cause of the European voyages of discovery was the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. While Egypt and Italian city-state of Venice was left with a monopoly on ottoman trade for spices and eastern goods it allowed Portugal and Spain to break the grip by finding an Atlantic route. Portugal took the lead in the Atlantic exploration because of the reconquest from the Muslims, good finances, and their long standing seafaring traditions. In dealing with agriculture, The Portuguese discovered Brazil on accident, but they concentrated on the Far East and used Brazil as a ground for criminals. Pernambuco, the first area to be settled, became the world’s largest sugar producer by 1550. Pernambuco was a land of plantations and Indian slaves. While the market for sugar grew so did the need for slaves. Therefore the African Slave start became greatly into effect. Around 1511 Africans began working as slaves in the Americas. In 1492, Columbus embarked on his voyage from Spain to the Americas. The Euro...
Although Columbus certainly deserves recognition as being the one to truly open the way to the New World for Renaissance Europe, and all that was to follow, he was not the high-stakes risk taker that some historians would have us believe. However, neither was he the bumbling quixotic figure presented by those who, for their own reasons, attempt to present him as some sort of insane idiot, or, at best, an extremely lucky savant. What is true about Christopher Columbus is that, for the times in which he lived, he was a well read and learned geographer. Columbus was a student of navigation and sailing, and as such, his understanding of the world in which he lived was based on works previously com...
Latin America and the American colonies were “tamed” based on completely different ideologies. From a Latin American perspective, the most important of the European explorers were of course, the Spanish and the Portuguese. These explorers arrived in Christopher Columbus’ “new world” with the express goal of bringing glory and prestige to their homeland. In stark contrast, settlers came to the colonies seeking freedom from the religious persecution in Europe. The different approaches used in each area affected how well and to what extent the African, indigenous, and European cultures combined and shaped the characteristics of the regions today.
From 711-1492, Christian Spaniards lived under Moorish rule until eventually, the Christian Kingdoms took over during the Reconquista. The conflicts between the Muslims and Christians created a militaristic culture in Spain that surpassed that of any other European nation. Furthermore, being trained militarily was often exclusively attributed to the nobility however, in Spain, “many young men knew these skills and used them to their advantage.” Without a doubt, recently reconquering their homeland motivated the Spanish to a basis for expansion and conquest that most other European societies were lacking. In addition, the voyages of Christopher Columbus led to discovering the New World which undoubtedly contributed to added interest in conquest. Eventually, each conquest further raised Spanish hopes for fame and
Spanish exploration first began with a series of revolutions. First, the Commercial Revolution generated economic stability. Second, the Intellectual Revolution generated interest in the Earth's composition and the pursuit of exploration. Europe then called for a political revolution to end the disorganized and disorderly rule of its government. This revolution returned order and stability to the government and renewed interest in exploration to search for national wealth. The last of these revolutions was the religious revolution (note Columbus' voyage occurred before this revolution). As more people broke away from the national religion they searched for a place where they could worship freely, thus generating interest in the exploration of new lands.
(This was a major triumph for Jesuits who wished to spread it and others who just wanted to worship in peace.) The New World provided a place for this to happen, and many nations created colonies for people who wished to worship certain religions safely, far away from ugly biases. The Jesuits on the other hand, sought to spread Christianity to all, and especially toward the "savage" natives. So, they forced the Natives to deny their own religion, due to how it conflicted with Christianity, and had to start following the Europeans'. As a result of this, the Jesuits forced the natives to baptise their children (in order to further assimilate them into their religion) and worship Christian Gods.
Often times, the concepts colonialism and imperialism are confused and as result the terms are often used interchangeably. However, both concepts have different meanings. This paper will give a brief analysis of the difference between both concepts. In addition, it will also make reference to a country that experienced colonialism and one that experienced imperialism.