European exploration in the Americas
BY THE end of the lesson, students should be able to:
1. Outline five factors that motivated Europeans to explore and settle in the Caribbean up to the end of the 17th century.
European exploration in the Americas beginning in the 15th century was motivated by: a) Desire for mineral wealth. b) Technological advancements. c) Wind systems and ocean currents. d) Trade improvements. e) Desire to spread Christianity.
DESIRE FOR MINERAL WEALTH
European exploration of the Americas was influenced by the desire to gain mineral wealth. In an age when a country’s wealth was measured in the amount of gold and silver (bullion) it physically held, European countries strived to ascertain as much of this commodity as possible. Since this theory held that one nation could only prosper at the expense of another, voyages of exploration were seen as necessary to find new lands and untapped reserves of bullion before other competing nations found them.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS
Technological advancements played a critical role in facilitating European exploration in the Americas in the 15th century. A lot of this technology was aided by the Renaissance – a period of learning. The Renaissance resulted in the development of ideas in science, politics, religion and geography. The technological advancements allowed Europeans to develop seaworthy ships that were larger and stronger to travel further distances. They also allowed them to develop better maps. Previously, sailors had to rely on hand-drawn maps which were usually inaccurate. In addition, they developed new navigational instruments such as the compass and the astrolabe (see Figure 2). The compass showed in what direction a ship was moving, and the astrolabe used the sun or star to ascertain a ship’s latitude.Other devices included the quadrant (see Figure 1) hourglass, sextant, sundial and cross staff. In addition, there was an improvement in ship designs; bigger ships were built that could carry a larger amount of traded goods. These ships were known as carracks. These new technologies provided the Europeans with the catalyst to undertake exploration.
WIND SYSTEMS AND OCEAN CURRENTS
The trade winds provided the wind system that enabled European exploration of the Americas, beginning in the late 15th century. The trade winds/currents, specifically the North Equatorial Current and the South Equatorial Current (they flowed east to west), were equally important as they took the ships back out of the Caribbean. Please see figure below illustrating the trade winds.
TRADE IMPROVEMENTS
European exploration in the Americas was also influenced by the desire to find an alternative trade route to the East. European products such as linen cloth, wines, furs and woolen goods were exchanged for jewels, ivory, gold, perfume, cotton, silk, coffee, dye and spices. Merchants, adventurers and government officials were optimistic of finding precious metals and expanding the areas of trade, especially for the spices of the East. Many of these spices were used to preserve meat as well as to add flavour to food. Arab traders who had a monopoly on the trade route primarily provided these spices.
These overland trade routes were quite dangerous since they were plagued by bandits. Caravans that could take very little goods and experienced a long journey also traversed the route. The Portuguese thus sought to achieve a sea route to the East to trade with India and China for these spices. The Portuguese sought to gain access to the spice trade by sailing eastwards through the Indian Ocean. Later, the Spanish, in an aim to decrease Portugal’s trade in the East, sought to find an alternative trade route to the East. This demonstrated the national rivalry between the various European countries.
DESIRE TO SPREAD CHRISTIANITY
Lastly, European exploration of the Americas was also influenced by religious factors. The explorers, primarily the Spanish and Portuguese, were strong Catholics and the faith was an important part of their life. With the expulsion of Muslim Moors out of Europe in 1492, there was an increased desire to spread Catholicism. The zeal to spread Catholicism was high among conquistadors who wanted to spread their religious faith to ‘pagan’ peoples on behalf on their nation.