Age Of Exploration Essay

There were many explorers, conquistadors, and settlers from the Age of Exploration. They discovered land, metals, spices, and natives. Although, the discoveries of new colonies and the New World did have a major impact on our world today, these men should not be glorified. During the time of exploration the Europeans had three goals in mind, God, glory, and gold. They wanted to convert natives to christians, discover new land and spices, and mine precious metals such as silver and gold; money equals power. These explorers, conquistadors, and settlers wanted power for their country. Specifically, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. Portugal’s goals were to extend trade which equaled money, convert more people to christianity, and explore Africa for slaves and gold. Similarly, Spain wanted to bring glory to their newly unified country, introduce natives to catholicism, and find gold. The Dutch wanted to control the spice trade and all natives who inhabited the Moluccas. “The Dutch ejected the Spanish and Portuguese from the Moluccas, ordered some newly arrived English ships to leave, and seized direct control

Spain sponsored a series of explorers such as Christopher Columbus, and also sent missionaries and conquistadors on ships. Portugal stayed along coastlines and only set up trade posts. Also, Portugal used much violence when they tried to take control of the spice trade and failed. “Da Gama and his men also sank and looted Muslim and other local vessels, on one occasion using prisoners for crossbow practice; the hands, noses, and ears of the remaining prisoners were cut off and sent ashore in a boat, and the mutilated people were tied up and burned to death in one of their own ships” (Standage 96). This is just one example of the unjustified violence that was used just for power. This is another reason why these people should not be so glorified in today’s day and