Age Of Exploration Research Paper

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Europeans began to explore further than they ever had before. Many history books have come to call this time period, The Age of Exploration. The motivation for exploration varied; the need for more land, freedom of religion, political centralization, economic and financial factors, and technological advances were among the many. These brave explorers left home in search of quicker trade routes, religious freedoms, new livelihoods, self-government, or simply to expand their respective nation. The explorers during The Age of Exploration often did not find exactly what they had been searching for, but none the less; their findings were sufficient to continue and many others to follow. The exchanges

‘Financial crashes were common, most famously, frequent bankruptcies by the Spanish crown.’ (Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc.) Additionally, as is common knowledge, religious reasons gave many colonists motivation to explore outside their borders. ‘The Protestant Revolution gave way for Puritans to break away. Some of the more radical Puritans, or separatists, wished to worship separate from the Church of England, which was illegal and the began looking for refuge elsewhere.’ (Brinkley 19) Finally, came a shift in technology, “changes in shipbuilding and in the development of navigational aids allowed bigger ships to sail with smaller crews over longer distances.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc.) This all gave the Europeans motivation to push out of their borders further than they had even

Many didn’t have a clue what to expect on their travels. ‘Portugal took the lead into exploration. Portuguese seamen sailed southward along the African coast, seeking a new route to Asia for the purpose of trade.’ (A+E Networks) Later, Columbus attempted to sail west in hopes of arriving in Asia, but instead found the Americas. Once, the Europeans started exploring “The New World”, they realized it held great potential and they began to settle the land. “Acquiring colonies gave Europeans abundant raw materials used for manufacturing”, and thus new trade routes were created. (Brinkley 19) “The emerging tobacco economy soon created a heavy demand for labor” ‘and the Virginia Company created the “headright system”, which gave plots of land to colonists. These headrights encouraged whole families to come.’(Brinkley