Download Why did Europeans Explore the World

The Age of Exploration
Who were the major European powers in the 1400s?
Why did Europeans Explore the World? (or reasons why
Europeans decided they had to mess with Native Americans)
To find a sea route to the spices of Asia
- salt and pepper only found in Asia
- Turkish Empire cut off land route, European countries look for
sea route
To find gold, silver, and precious stones
- European countries needed to find new
sources of wealth to pay for wars- Believed
Asia was loaded with them
To control a larger empire
-European Kings, especially Spain and Portugal, wanted to claim as
much land as possible
-Needed land for natural resources, people as slaves
To expand their knowledge of the world
- Europeans only knew of Europe, Africa and Asia in 1400s
- Some explorers wanted to debunk the myth the world was flat
& prove it was round
To expand Christianity
-European rulers wanted to expand Christianity throughout
world.
To find animal furs
-Beaver fur hats were a fashion rage in Franceneeded to find a source of beaver and other furs.
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