The Economic Causes Of The Age Of Exploration

Beginning in the fifteenth century, European interest in exploring lands outside of Europe exploded. People set out to find settle new lands for three main reasons, being that they wanted to spread Christianity, make names for themselves, and become rich. When they made it to the new world, though, the native population there greatly decreased. The age of exploration really was a turning point history.

The Age of Exploration made a huge impact on history as we know it. The Age of Exploration started in the 14th century and ended around the late 17th century; when European countries were looking for the three G's : God,gold and glory.The three G’s were reasons for Europeans to explore and discover the world, used in the Age of Discovery. The first G :God- Europeans felt that they had this responsibility to convert non-Christians to Christianity. The second G: Glory for the national honor and pride for discoveries .This helped promote individualism the quality of being individual; served as a motivating factor for explorers to seek fame and glory by conquering far away lands. The last G: Gold drove which helped drive the wealth of European nations which helped with the Commerce Revolution, new trade routes for countries and their direct access to the market.

In the early 1400’s ,the Europeans began to have control over the world by setting colonies in the Americas, along the coast of Africa, and parts of southeast Asia. This is referred to as the Age of Exploration . This Age was  caused by advances in technology and it was motivated by the desire for glory, religion , and economic factors. The accomplishments of the European Age of Exploration were that ideas and goods were being exchanged, wealth allowed them better ships and navigation tools, and they had the chance to claim land and territories. These factors contributed in bringing a European Golden Age.

The European Exploration was a time where Europeans explored new places, bringing new ideas to Europe. These explorations were a major factor in taking Europe from a “Dark Age” to a Renaissance. There are many causes that led to these great accomplishments, and the Renaissance.

There where three causes of The Age of Exploration, which are the three reasons the Europeans purposes for exploration: God, Glory, and Gold. The first reason was God, the Europeans set out with a desire to save souls. There is a known myth of a man named Prester John who

The “age of exploration” was caused by the growth of external foreign empires that took control over important trade routes and threatened the European faith. European Christians were under constant attack from the growing power of the Turks. They lost a lot of territories to the muslim faith. The Turks conquered the Byzantine Empire and blocked the European Christians from trading with Asia. This was a big problem for European Christians because their economy relied heavily on taxes from trading.

The Age of Exploration took place in the 15th century all the way to the 16th century. During this time period European explorers travelled all over the world searching for new trade routes and land. All these explorers had different motivations to go on voyages, and although religion was one of the motives of exploration, it wasn’t the main one. Economics and technology also played vital roles in European exploration.

The Age of Exploration spread many ideas and knowledge through cultural diffusion to new lands. With the discovery of the Americas, new lands were conquered and religions like Christianity found new followers. While there are many positive aspects of the Age of Exploration, it was a bad thing for others. In the sixteenth century the Europeans had a positive or negative effect on Europe, Africa and the Americas The Europeans affected European culture in an unsurprisingly good way. As depicted in Doc 8, while they did lose half of their ships they came back with a huge profit in spices.

Then this sparked the Age of Discovery that eventually lead to the Age of Exploration. In the “Modern World History” book, McDougal Littell states, “The desire for new sources of wealth was the main reason for European exploration. Through overseas exploration, merchants and traders hoped ultimately to benefit from what had become a profitable business in Europe” (History Book). Beyond the possibility of discovery, there was also a phenomenal advancement in technology which helped many explorers. After Columbus and his discoveries, many other Europeans voyaged out to discover new possibilities, which eventually could change beliefs to

Multiple events in Europe affected colonization of the New World around 1492. Colonization is when a mother country creates settlements in other areas. European states were looking to colonize in order to inherit profit for self-sustainability. Resources and ideas have sparked the interest of many European voyagers. It encouraged them to explore in order to meet the needs and wants of rulers and the people. Also, explorers were searching for innovations that could be made in their country. The Crusades, the growth of commerce, the growth of population, the rise of nations, the Renaissance, and the improvement in sailing technology are events and trends that motivated European exploration.

In the early modern period, explorers crossed immense oceans to even find a hint of other civilizations and new resources. With superior material and technological strength, especially firearms, Europeans were able to achieve land and power. The motives for European expansion varied from desiring glory from their lands, gold for their future, to serve in the name of God, and the strategic needs that their country may require.

European nations had to be established and strong before they could partake in exploration and expansion. The Portuguese first to explore and expand did it because they were an established and strong power opposed to other divided countries such as France and Spain. For example Italian city states contributed lots of

There were many reasons that prompted European exploration. These reasons include the spreading of Christianity, gain wealth/land, and an advance in technology. The Christian population beloved that the main goal in life should be to spread Christianity in every way possible, and finding new land and new people could increase the amount of Christians. As they spread their religion they also wanted to become rich. Lastly, as technology was advancing they were able to accomplish more. These three things were known as "God, glory, and gold".

During this late time period around the 1400s there were many things that occurred that caused the age of exploration. The Age of Exploration was a birth that began with the discovery of new technologies and new trade routes. This sparked the beginning of new wars between European countries.

The European economic motivation was the main cause of European exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries. New trade, and the search for gold and spices were the three main motives behind Europe’s thirst for exploration and discovery. Trade with Asia and Africa was shrinking, Europe’s gold supply was drained, and spices were growing in demand, forcing Europe to send explorers in search of new resources and trade.