Age Of Exploration Dbq

Would doing wrong to obtain something good for you and others still act as a good deed? This became a controversial subject when it came to discussing the Age of Exploration. The Age of Exploration was a group of voyages that took place during the 1400’s-1600’s, in which Europeans explored the Atlantic, and Pacific oceans. Their main reasons for exploration were, religious freedom from the protestant reformation, goods, better trade routes, gold, and land. Goods such as spices prevented meat from spoiling *1. Unfortunately spices were only found in Asia, and it was difficult to obtain spices from Asia to Europe over land, so they became very expensive. Due to this several European rulers decided to find a new sea route, knowing that if their

Many opinions differentiate as to wether or not explorers did more harm than good. The various explorers conquered new lands, gained wealth, traded new foods and spices , and spread christianity. All of these became positive factors for those countries receiving the wealth, land, and spices. Yet what they did to conquer these lands forms the question of wether they did more harm than good. How would you feel if a stranger invaded your home, took all your valuable possessions, threw you and your family on some ship as cargo and abused them? This was reality for the natives as not only did these explorers put the natives who's land they took in crammed ships, they put them through countless amounts of unnecessary pain. Once conquering new lands, they instantly sold blacks into slavery. “Many blacks lost their lives after being shipped across the world on the Middle Passage”*2. The middle

“Small pox ended up killing 90% of all natives in the new world over years since the Europeans arrived.”*6 When praising the Age of Exploration for new culture, land, and crops, many seem to forget all about the Aztecs, the Maya, and the Inca. The Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas were the three most dominant and advanced civilizations that developed in the Americas prior to the arrival of the Europeans. The Aztec Empire was located in central Mexico, and ruled much of the region from the 1400s until 1519, when the Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes, arrived in Mexico, and by 1521 had conquered the Aztecs for Spain. “The Maya civilization began as early as 2000 BC and continued to have a strong presence in Mesoamerica for over 3000 years until the Spanish arrived in 1519 AD.”*7 The Mayans were the only American civilization to develop an advanced written language. The Inca Empire was centered in Peru, and ruled over much of the west coast of South America from the 1400s to the time of Francisco Pizarro’s arrival in 1532. “This wide ranging empire did not have the wheel, iron tools, or a writing system, but its complex government and system of roads created a society where everyone had a job, a home, and something to eat.” *7 The Inca were conquered by the conquistador Francisco