Download european-exploration-and-colonization

TITLE: HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDINGS OF EUROPE
TOPIC: EUROPEAN EXPLORATION AND COLONIZATION
THE AGE OF EXPLORATION
During the fifteenth century, Europe entered an age of exploration. Many European nations
wanted to find ocean routes to reach places in Africa and Asia. Places like India and China had valuable
natural resources. Europeans wanted to trade with them. Eventually, Europeans discovered the
Americas too.
PRINCE HENRY THE NAVIGATOR
Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal began the age of European exploration. He hired
scientists and inventors. Their discoveries helped make long voyages possible. He paid sailors who
explored the coast of Africa and opened the way for future journeys.
Henry encouraged sailors to travel farther than they ever dared before. Thanks to Henry,
Portugal built Europe’s first great navy. Portugal prospered more than any other country during the
early years of exploration. Henry’s efforts inspired other European nations to follow in Portugal’s
footsteps.
REASONS FOR EXPLORATION
Europeans explored for economic reasons. Europeans wanted the natural resources that
foreign lands offered. They also wanted new markets for their goods. They wanted to sell European
products in foreign lands.
Many nations established colonies. A colony is territory in a foreign land over which a nation
claims authority. European countries established colonies in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and eventually
Australia. Europeans who settled in these colonies were called colonists. Colonists sent natural
resources back to Europe. Manufacturers in Europe used these resources to make goods that they then
sold back to the colonies.
Europeans also sought glory. Many explorers wanted glory for themselves. They also sought
glory for the nations they represented. They believed that claiming new territories would make their
countries more powerful.
Many Europeans explored and colonized new regions for religious reasons. They wanted to
spread Christianity. Some nations, like Spain and Portugal, were Catholic. They wanted to spread
Catholicism. Other countries, like Great Britain, were Protestant. They hoped to spread the Protestant
faith. European explorers and settlers often saw themselves as doing the will of God as well as serving
their king or queen.
EUROPEAN EMPIRES
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
Spain and Portugal claimed territories in the New World before any other European powers.
Since both nations were Catholic, the pope (leader of the Catholic Church) drew a line on the map
showing which territories would belong to Portugal and which ones belonged to Spain. The Portuguese
Empire included the area known today as Brazil. It also included much of the west coast of Africa. The
Spanish Empire controlled parts of Europe and the Americas.
THE NETHERLANDS
In the seventeenth century, the Netherlands built an empire. The Dutch East Indies Company
began trading in the Spice Islands in the early 1600s. The Dutch established trading posts in North
America, the Caribbean, and southern Africa.
Dutch merchants sold their goods to the French, English, and Spanish colonists. The Dutch
became very wealthy. Eventually, the British seized control of many of the Netherlands’ eastern
markets.
BRITAIN
By the eighteenth century the British Empire was the most powerful in Europe. England had
colonies in North America and the Caribbean. It also controlled the coast of India. Even after losing the
American colonies, the British Empire kept growing. It spread into Africa and the Middle East.
In 1788, Britain sent once thousand people to settle in Australia. Most of these settlers were
prisoners. As England’s population grew, crime increased. Great Britain decided to use foreign colonies
as places to send some its prisoners. Australia became a prison colony. Prisoners performed hard labor
until they finished their sentences. They raised crops, built roads, and constructed buildings.
Eventually, more than 150,000 British prisoners lived in Australia. Many of them remained in Australia
after their release. Some built farms. Others settled in the various towns growing up along the
Australian coast.
FRANCE
The French Empire included colonies in North America, Asia, and the West Indies. After France
lost many of its territories to Britain, it still controlled parts of Southeast Asia. It eventually controlled
parts of western Africa as well.
EUROPEAN COLONIZATION AND NATIVE PEOPLES
European nations cared very little for the native peoples where they colonized. They used
military force to conquer foreign peoples. Often, they enslaved those they conquered or forced them to
work as cheap labor. They took native peoples’ land and shipped many of their resources back to
Europe.