Before the 1400’s the European had not gained much interest in exploring the world. However, there was an explosion of exploration by the Europeans beginning in the 1400s towards the early 1600s. There exist a number of reasons for this new movement, ranging from economic reasons to technological advances. This paper aims at exploring the motives that inspired the European to explore and the factors that explained their success during that period in history. There are four main motives that inspired European exploration, which include the search for wealth, the discovery of trade roots, a desire to spread Christianity, and the advances in sailing technology (Duiker & Spielvogel 465). The factors that explained their success included the need for resources, individualism, renaissance, and population pressures.
Another motive for exploration was the desire to spread Christianity. Majority of European explorer of the 16th century were Christians. These explorers and their sponsors wanted to spread Christianity to other parts of the world. The Europeans held the belief that it was their responsibility to minister to the people they encountered.
The use of astrolabe and the development of the Portuguese caravel improved water voyage and made navigation more accurate and easy. This enabled European explorers to sail freely away from the coasts and into the open seas. These advancements in technology made it easier for European explorers to risk at the expense of exploratory voyage without the fear of succumbing to poor navigation or storms. In his attempt to find an alternative route to Asia by sailing west, Columbus accidentally bumped into Caribbean Island in 1492 (Duiker & Spielvogel 325). This resulted into the subsequent explosion of exploration of the continents of South and North America. Following this voyage, regions that had been geographically isolated started encountering each other resulting into exchange of diseases, flora and fauna, and increase production of food and human populations.
Prestige contributed to the success of Europeans in their exploration efforts. Just like modern nations, Europeans nations in the 16th century sought perfection in every endeavor ((Duiker & Spielvogel 521). Each European nation wanted to be recognized as the first to discover, explore, or bring items from exotic and new places. As such, the country that discovered a new trade route to the Far East controlled trade through that route.
Another factor that could have contributed to the success of Europe was population pressures. Before European exploration, Europe was not that overcrowded as it was heavily stratified. Europe was divided into classes, with the lower class stuck in poverty. For the lower class, the only means of achieving a better life was by moving to a new land. This increased the need for people to move to the New World to search for greener pastures.
In conclusion, the early European explorers had varying motives to explore the New World. They desire for wealth, finding alternative trade route, spread of Christianity, and advances in sailing technology motivated European explorers to explore into the New World. Factors that contributed to their success included population pressures in Europe and prestige among the early explorers.
Work Cited:
Duiker, J. William & Spielvogel, J. Jackson. World History: Since 1500. Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.: Cengage Learning. 2012. Print.
