Download Europe Reasons for Exploration

Reasons for
Exploration
What motivated the
explorers to explore?
Spices
In the 1400s, there was no refrigeration.
Spices were used to prevent meat from
spoiling, people drowned their meat in salt to
preserve and dry it (like beef jerky). They also
used a lot of spices like pepper to cover up the
taste of the salted or spoiled meat. Most
people were not able to bathe on a regular
basis so they used the spices to make perfume
to cover their body odor.
Spices
Unfortunately for Europeans, these spices did not
grow anywhere in Europe. They were only found in
Asia, which was very difficult to get to from Europe
over land, so spices became very expensive.
(Remember the middle man)
Spices
Several European rulers finally
decided to try and find a new route…a
direct sea route. If a country could
find a way to get these valuable spices
directly to Europe, the rulers would
become very rich.
What you need to know about Spices
Europeans
needed a direct
sea route to get
spices at a
cheaper price.
Gold- Natural Resources
Gold was one of the main things
explorers were looking for, but
remember that is really anything
that would bring them wealth,
(spices, land, crops, gems, silver,
animals, etc.) not just literal gold
that explorers were after.
What you need to know about gold
Gold and other
valuables would
bring wealth and
power to
whichever
country found it.
Glory – Large Empires
Some European rulers wanted to take all
of the natural resources from the new
land and also have a market where they
could sell their goods.
What you need to know about larger empires
Countries would do almost
anything to expand their
empires to new places.
.
Larger empire = More power (glory)
God - Spread Christianity
In the late 1400s, there was only one
religion in Europe, Christianity. The
European rulers were very religious.
They wanted to convert all the
indigenous people to Christianity.
(Catholicism).
Indigenous –
the original
people in a
place.
What you need to know about the spread of
Christianity
Europeans wanted to
spread Christianity
to the new places
they explored.
The 3 Gs
Gold
God
Glory
Spread
Christianity
Prince Henry “The Navigator”
• Son of the King of Portugal
• Started a school for sailors
• Believed that a sea route around Africa would
be the way to have a direct route to Asia’s
spices and silk.
• Developed new ships that were faster and
better for long distances
• Had maps made showing the coast of Africa.
Christopher Columbus
• Italian merchant who sailed for Spain
• Looking for a westerly, direct sea route to
Asia’s spices and silk
• Discovered a new world (North and South
America)
• The Columbian Exchange started because of
Columbus. This was the exchange of goods,
plants, animals, diseases, and ideas between
the Old and New World.
Effects of European Colonization
on the Indigenous (Native) People
•
•
•
•
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Many died in battle.
Much of their land was taken from them.
Many were made to be slaves.
Many died from European diseases.
They were made to change to the language
and religion of the European country that
colonized them.