4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750

Motives for Exploration

There were several reasons why Europeans were motivated to explore in the 15th and 16th centuries, including:

💰 The desire for wealth

European powers were seeking new sources of gold, silver, and other valuable resources. They were especially motivated after Marco Polo's tales of riches in Asia spread through Europe! They wanted to establish trade routes and connections with other countries to increase their own wealth and the wealth of their sponsoring states. Fun fact: The Spanish were so obsessed with finding gold that they named many places after it - like Costa Rica (Rich Coast) and Puerto Rico (Rich Port), even though they didn't actually find much gold there!

💪🏽 The pursuit of power

European powers saw exploration as a way to expand their empires and increase their global influence. By establishing colonies and trade routes, they could gain more control over distant regions and gain a strategic advantage over their rivals. Think of it like a giant game of Risk - each country wanted to claim as much territory as possible! Portugal and Spain even had to get the Pope to draw a line (Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494) to divide the "New World" between them because they couldn't stop arguing about who owned what.

🧠 The quest for knowledge

Many explorers were driven by a desire to learn about the world and to discover new lands, peoples, and cultures. They wanted to explore the unknown and bring back information and artifacts that could help to expand human knowledge. For example, during his voyages, Captain James Cook had artists and scientists on board to document new species and create detailed maps. They discovered and documented kangaroos, which Europeans had never seen before!

✝️ The spread of Christianity

Some explorers were motivated by religious beliefs and a desire to spread Christianity to new areas. They often brought missionaries with them on their voyages. The Spanish even had a document called the Requerimiento that they would read (in Spanish!) to native peoples, demanding they convert to Christianity - even though most couldn't understand a word of it.

🗺 The desire for adventure

Many explorers were drawn to the excitement and challenge of exploration, and they were willing to take risks in order to make important discoveries. Some cool examples: Magellan's crew had to eat leather from their rigging to survive their journey, and Henry Hudson's crew was so tired of his endless quest for the Northwest Passage that they mutinied and left him adrift in Hudson Bay!

At this time, European powers were competing with each other for colonies, trade routes, and resources, and they saw mercantilism as a way to gain an advantage over their rivals. Think of mercantilism as a zero-sum game: countries believed there was a fixed amount of wealth in the world, so the only way to get richer was to take wealth from others. These policies encouraged and further incentivized exploration around the world, as they were designed to increase the wealth and power of the state.

Some examples of mercantilist policies:

1. Restricting or banning the import of certain goods: This was meant to protect domestic industries from foreign competition and encourage people to buy locally-produced goods. For example, England's Navigation Acts (1651) required that all goods coming to England had to be carried on English ships or ships from the country of origin - no middlemen allowed!

2. Subsidizing exports: Governments would provide financial support to domestic industries that exported their goods, in order to make them more competitive in foreign markets. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was basically a government-backed monopoly that dominated the spice trade.

3. Establishing colonies: European powers often established colonies in other parts of the world in order to exploit the natural resources and labor of those regions. Remember this formula: Raw materials flowed from colonies to Europe, manufactured goods flowed from Europe back to colonies. For example, England took cotton from India, made it into textiles in Manchester, then sold the finished clothes back to India!

4. Regulating trade: Governments would often impose tariffs and other restrictions on trade in order to control the flow of goods into and out of the country. Spain required all colonial trade to go through the port of Seville - imagine the traffic jam of ships!

5. Encouraging the accumulation of gold and silver: Mercantilist thinkers believed that a country's wealth was measured by the number of precious metals it possessed, so they encouraged people to mine and trade gold and silver. Spain hit the jackpot with the silver mines of Potosí in modern-day Bolivia - they extracted so much silver that it actually caused inflation across Europe!

This infographic shows some must-know European explorers who populated the new world as well as their empires of origin.

Achievements in Exploration

🇵🇹 Portugal

• The discovery of the sea route to India: In 1497, Vasco da Gama led the first European voyage to sail directly from Europe to India. Here's a cool detail: he hired an Arab navigator in East Africa who knew the monsoon wind patterns - this local knowledge was crucial for crossing the Indian Ocean! He completed the journey in 1498, reaching the port of Calicut on the southwest coast of India. This voyage opened up a new trade route between Europe and India and helped to establish Portugal as a major maritime power. The profits were incredible - the voyage's costs were paid back 60 times over!

• The exploration of the African coast: The Portuguese were the first Europeans to systematically explore the coast of Africa. Prince Henry the Navigator (who ironically never navigated himself!) set up a school for navigation and sponsored many voyages. They established trading posts and colonies along the coast called feitorias, and they were able to gain control over the trade in gold, ivory, and slaves. This gave them a significant economic and political advantage over their rivals. Fun fact: they planted stone pillars called padrões along the coast to mark their claims - some are still standing today!

• Mapping the world: Portuguese explorers contributed significantly to the mapping of the world, including the exploration of the coast of South America and the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Bartolomeu Dias first rounded the Cape in 1488, but his crew was so scared they made him turn back. He named it the "Cape of Storms" - it was later renamed to something more optimistic!

🇪🇸 Spanish

• The conquest of the Americas: The Spanish were the first Europeans to explore and conquer the Americas, beginning with the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Here's a wild fact: Columbus went to his grave believing he had reached Asia! They established colonies in Central and South America, and they were able to gain significant wealth and power through the exploitation of the natural resources and labor of these regions. The Spanish conquistadors like Cortés and Pizarro conquered the Aztec and Inca empires with surprisingly small forces - helped by diseases like smallpox that devastated native populations.
• The circumnavigation of the globe: In 1519, the Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan set out on a voyage to circumnavigate the globe. Here's a detail to remember: of the five ships and 270 men that started the journey, only one ship (the Victoria) and 18 men made it back! He was the first person to lead an expedition that successfully completed a circumnavigation, although he didn't survive the journey (he was killed in a battle in the Philippines). The voyage was completed by the Spanish explorer Juan Sebastian Elcano in 1522. This achievement demonstrated the power and reach of the Spanish empire, and it opened up new opportunities for trade and exploration.

🇬🇧 British

• The exploration of North America: John Cabot (who was actually Italian, real name Giovanni Caboto!) led an expedition to North America, and he was the first European to explore the east coast of Canada. He claimed the region for the British crown, and he established the first British settlement in North America, at Newfoundland. In 1607, the British established the first permanent English settlement in North America, at Jamestown, Virginia - though they nearly starved to death in the early years! In 1609, the British explorer Henry Hudson led an expedition to North America in search of a northwest passage to Asia. His obsession with finding this passage led to his crew's mutiny - they set him adrift in Hudson Bay, and he was never seen again.
• The exploration of the Pacific: In the late 18th century, the British explorer James Cook led three expeditions to the Pacific, and he made many important discoveries about the geography, climate, and peoples of this region. He was the first European to reach Hawaii (which he called the Sandwich Islands after his patron), though this would ultimately lead to his death when he returned there. He explored the east coast of Australia, the islands of the Pacific, and the northwest coast of North America, and he was the first European to make contact with many of the indigenous peoples of these regions. Cook was also a pioneer in preventing scurvy among his crew by making them eat sauerkraut and citrus fruits!

🇫🇷 French

• The exploration of North America: The French were among the first Europeans to explore the regions of North America, including present-day Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. Samuel de Champlain, known as the "Father of New France," founded Quebec City in 1608 and explored the Great Lakes region. Unlike other European powers, the French developed closer relationships with Native Americans, creating extensive trading networks and military alliances. They established colonies and trading posts in these regions, and they were able to gain significant wealth and influence through the trade in furs (especially beaver pelts for fashionable hats!), timber, and other natural resources.

• The exploration of the Arctic: The French were among the first Europeans to explore the Arctic regions. In 1534, the French explorer Jacques Cartier led an expedition to the Arctic, thinking he had found a passage to Asia when he sailed up the St. Lawrence River. The French were also instrumental in the development of new technologies that improved Arctic exploration, including the use of sledges and iceboats to travel over ice, and the use of heating stoves to keep ships and crews warm in the freezing Arctic climate. They learned many survival techniques from the Inuit peoples.

• Exploring and claiming territory in Africa: French explorers, such as René-Robert Cavelier (who actually explored more in North America than Africa) and later explorers like René Caillié (who was the first European to return alive from Timbuktu!) led expeditions to explore and claim territory in Africa. They were particularly active in West Africa, establishing trading posts that would later become colonial cities like Dakar and Abidjan.

🇳🇱 Dutch

• The exploration of the East Indies: The Dutch were among the first Europeans to explore and trade with the East Indies, and they established colonies and trading posts in present-day Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) became the world's first multinational corporation and the first company to issue stocks! They were able to gain significant wealth and influence through the trade in spices (especially nutmeg, which they controlled through their monopoly of the Banda Islands), gold, and other valuable resources. At one point, they even traded the island of Manhattan to the British in exchange for Run, a tiny nutmeg-producing island in Indonesia - talk about a spicy deal!
• The exploration of the Arctic: In 1594, the Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz led an expedition to the Arctic in search of a northeast passage to Asia. His crew became the first Europeans to survive an Arctic winter when their ship got trapped in ice - they built a house from driftwood and ship timber and lived there for ten months! In the 17th century, the Dutch began to establish whaling stations in the Arctic, particularly around Spitsbergen, where they hunted for whales and processed their oil for use as fuel and lamp oil. The remains of these stations can still be seen today.