Global Exploration and Global Empires 1500-1700 Essay

Global Exploration and Global Empires 1500-1700 - Essay Example During this time, the Portuguese and the Spanish begun to explore the European oversees (Annenberg Media, 2007). This exploration aimed at the Atlantic Ocean and Western Mediterranean instead of the East as it was common in the past exploration. The reasons presented in this essay motivated the exploration by the Portuguese and the Spanish during this time (Abernethy, 2007). Economic factors The first motive was that the financial system in Europe- towards the end of the 15th century- was growing and carrying out well. It is recorded that in case the financial system of a nation is flourishing, it aims at importing and exporting its goods. They needed new markets to market their commodities. Italian traders had dominated the market with the East, therefore Europeans, particularly the Portuguese started to abandon the Mediterranean and attempted to enter the Atlantic (McDowell, 1992). There was a shortage of silver in Europe and they had no possibility for a new supply. They discovere d that large quantities of gold were in Africa, though they were not amused with the current system whereby they purchased gold from Northern Africa (Abernethy, 2007). The gold went through numerous distributors before getting to the Arabs (Abernethy, 2007). ... trading positions in Africa and finally sailed from place to place in Africa and started trading positions in Southern Arabia and India (Abernethy, 2007). Geographical factors The first moved during the exploration involved their tactical geographic setting, which offered an effortless entrance to the south towards Africa or the west towards the Americans. Another, possibly important, influence for these explorers leading opinion in their exploration was the eras purchase and use of old Arabic information and knowledge in math’s, geography and astronomy (Abernethy, 2007). This period of exploration introduced the communities of Europe to the presence of new philosophies across the globe (Abernethy, 2007). Before this era, the Europeans had enough details of the individuals and locations beyond the limitations of Europe, mainly Asia and Africa. Before the innovation and invention of the Americas, the Europeans were not aware of other existence. Europeans assumed that the world was small than it was in reality (Abernethy, 2007). This motivated the initial pioneers like Magellan and Columbus to believe that discovering new paths to the East was going to be easier than the way they discovered it (Overy, 2004). Philosophical misconceptions around natural features and the beliefs of local populaces would transform gradually through the initial centuries of these exploration (Abernethy, 2007). By the 16th century, European plans started to increase their representations and accounts to incorporate new physical discoveries (Abernethy, 2007). However, because of the powerful political conflicts taking place during the time, European nations protected their geographic findings and data from one another (Abernethy, 2007). Therefore, we can say that, though the need to