The discovery and exploration of the Americas led to an initially slow but exponentially increasing westward migration by European countries. Among all the countries were England and Spain who colonized the majority of what is now the United States Eastern Coast. Both intrigued by the rumors and stories of gold and riches that beset the new lands they each did their part in western colonization; and not without reciprocal influence. Initial English colonies were established not only with cliché intentions of religious freedom but also with hopes of new economic expansion through agriculture as well as tactical, advantageous military purposes in the ever-present conflict with Spain. Mainly all original westward exploration was due to desires for gold and riches and in the case of the English this was no exception.
Spain’s conquest of the New World was strictly by force. Spain’s chief opponents in their conquest of America were natives with much less advanced technology who had never seen a modern army. Because of this, Spain could easily trounce the Aztecs and Incas with small expeditions. This was very different from Russia’s expansion because Russia had to defeat nations with modern, well equipped armies. Also, Russia expanded directly from its center to the area surrounding it, allowing its conquering armies to be well supplied and manned, because they were close to home Contrary, Spain was forced to send all its supplies and men in ships on long journeys across the Atlantic, significantly reducing the amount of soldiers Spain had in the New World.
They farmed, fished and traded. Their main source of income was tobacco which they exported along with rice, timber and fish. They wanted immigrants to join them in America to increase their population. This increase gave them great dominance in America and later helped them in getting independence. A great number of immigrants came as indentured servants.
They were able to produce most of these items due to their large range of labor, from slave farmers to wealthy merchants. But also, some of their products were influenced from other cultures inside the empire, such as olives and wine from the Greeks. Romans also had the advantage of obtaining products such as milk and cheese from their domesticated animals, such as cows and goats. The saying, “all roads did lead to Rome,” is correct in the sense that Rome is located centrally in terms of trade. Having all of these brilliant items in their arsenal was crucial to Roman trade; however, it would mean nothing if they could not get them to their destinations.
There were many factors that helped the growth of The British Empire such as early settlers and trading companies, however the Navigation Acts rapidly accelerated the success of the trading companies therefore expanding The British Empire. The Navigation Acts were a set of laws that kept trade in the hands of the British; this gave them ultimate power over most trade and gained them a lot of wealth and thus success. Government and war played a significant role in the growth of the British Empire which gave them more power such as the EIC winning a number of sea battles against the Dutch which granted another firmum which gave the company more effective trading. Trading companies helped the growth of the British Empire, as without these, there would have been no income, meaning Britain couldn’t gain more land and secure more footholds. The trading companies played a significant role in triggering the Navigation Acts, but it was the acts themselves that put trade in the hands of the British.
Other Spanish explorers came to the Americas and conquered large amounts of land in the name of Spain. Between 1531 and 1536, Francisco Pizzaro entered and seized the wealthy and prominent Incan Empire in South America. At its peak, Spain conquered four viceroyalties in the New World; all of which existed and had laborers solely for the benefit of the monarchy. Wealth from the New World flowed into Spain’s port of Seville because Spanish expansion was based on finding and transporting precious metals, such
Although agriculture was important, so was trade: An extensive road network, along with massive amounts of coinage, were issued to facilitate trade. In order to make trade and travel easier, many maps were drawn, specifying distances before cities [4].Road networks were built to coordinate with trade at sea. and All of these innovations sparked a massive increase in the production of agricultural, mined, and manufactured goods[5]. Evidence of this prosperity was shown in an account of the Han official Gan Ying who stated about the Roman Empire: This country produces plenty of gold, silver, and precious jewels, luminous jade, bright moon pearls, fighting cocks, rhinoceroses, coral, yellow amber, opaque glass, whitish chalcedony, 8 red cinnabar, green gemstones, drawn gold-threaded and multi-coloured embroideries, woven gold-threaded net,delicate polychrome silks painted with gold, and asbestos cloth. They also have a fie cloth which some people say is made from the down of ‘water sheep,’ but which is made, in fact, from the cocoons of wild silkworms.
There was also the emergence of new governments that were more united and powerful than the feeble ones of the past. The main motivation was financial gain, there were stories of vast amounts of gold and other riches and settlements were needed in order to establish trade routes to the Far East. What made these settlements possible was advancements in ship building that made it possible to travel over the worlds vast oceans and also advances in navigation. According to Guns, Germs and Steel chapter 3 page 78 “Pizarro came to Cajamarca by means of European
Some examples of plants will be peanuts, tomato, tobacco, chili peppers, and cassava. With this new trade route, Europe was able to connect the two areas, which circulated a wide variety of new crops and livestock, which supported increases in population in both hemispheres. Christopher Columbus didn't stop there, he helped advance Europe into a new age. With the Columbian exchange discovered, it applied a big impact on Europe. It supported Europe immensely advancing itself, it was a complete accident, but none the less, it helped Europe.
The development of an industrial society began with the vast amounts of natural resources that were discovered across America. Natural resources such as coals, metals, water and petroleum were the basis of running the industrial society. The economic markets expanded to fulfill the growing public needs and were praised internationally. The American government even supported the growing economic changes at all levels along with investors from Europe who provided a source of revenue to continue the industrial expansion. Even a number of inventions were created as the years went on, coping with society.