American Exploration essays

American Exploration essays Why did Europeans embark upon world and what brought them and Africans to the New World? How did Britains colonization efforts compare to that of Spain? European monarchs forcefully consolidated their previously diffuse political power and raised new revenues through increased taxation of an already hard-pressed peasantry. In England, Henry VII in 1485 founded the Tudor dynasty and began uniting a previously divided land. In France, the successors of Charles VII unified the kingdom and levied new taxes in 1453. Most successful of all were Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, who married in 1469 and founded a strong Catholic Spain. (15) This was the emergence of the nation state or unified nation. The unified nation brought along nation laws, national currencies, and nationwide combined resources. New technological developments played a large role in the era. One of the most important developments was that of the printing press in 1450. The printing press was important in that it enabled information more accessible. Books like Marco Polos travels were printed. Fueling the imagination of many European, that there might be an easier way to trade in the orient. Other inventions like the Astro-lab and the Compass made navigating ships easier. Each country desired an easier way to obtain African and Asian goods like spices, gold, silver, and slaves. This was helped with the newly discovered Westerlies wind that made returning from Africa routine. Every nation by the 15th century had tried to set up a colony for trading, but England. With most of the world still hurting economically from the 100-year war, it was important for all nations to find new ways to gain capitol through exploration. Religion, also, influenced the desire for exploration. A concern for spreading Christianity around the world supplemented the economic motive. Explorers and colonizers (especiall...