Why did Europeans explorers believe they could simply claim lands for their home countries, even though these lands were already populated? The Europeans explorers believed they could simply claim lands for their home countries because of the following reasons. First, the European explorers met the Native Americans on the new lands who could trust people so easily that they shared their foods, goods, and lands to them. They also traded their goods just like gold to the Europeans. Second, the military of European was more powerful than the Native American’s.
Europe was the dominant and America was the subordinate. Europe exploits American lands for plantations of food crops such as maize and squash and American peoples for working in these plantations. Europe also exploits the American resources such as gold. In addition to these, there was also a new phenomenon which is the indentured servants. It means that some Europeans, because of their situations, could not go to the New World; so they decided to put themselves at the service of somebody else for a definite period in order to reach the Americas and start a new life.
The 19th and 20th centuries were characterized by the more developed countries of Europe acquiring the land and controlling resources of undeveloped countries. This idea, called imperialism, can be defined as the policy of extending a nation’s authority by territorial acquisition or by establishing economic and political authority over other nations. The European powers saw imperialism as their right and duty to exert their superiority, while the indigenous people of the inferior areas resented the Europeans greed and unrightfully taking control. Western European countries and developed a variety of attitudes toward imperialism. Economic factors were a chief motivation for colonization to European countries.
Although the motivation of the Europeans conquest was about gold, God, and glory neither outweighed the other. In my opinion, the driving force originally was about gold. This conquest was justified by the Europeans desire to obtain a trade root. When Columbus landed in the new world the original meeting was genuine however, greed would soon change the relationship with the Europeans and the Indies. It is apparent that when Columbus landed in the Bahamas he believed he was somewhere near the East Indies.
Imperialism began in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s affecting many countries, for example, China, India, Africa, and South America were all affected by imperialism. Although the New Imperialism resulted from industrialized nations seeking control of foreign territories, the conditions that motivated and fueled the great expansion for industrialized nations were mostly based on economic motives. As Europe gained significant power strongly centered nation states emerged. Several factors contributed to the Europeans conquest of Africa. One staggering advantage was Europeans technological superiority.
Coronado’s expedition of 1512 through the Southwest constituted Spain’s first contact with the Indians. Once again, expansionism and religious intolerance lead to the oppression of the indigenous people. Until the 1600’s, North America was a useless wasteland with nothing to offer to the Spanish, but South and Central America was fully subjected under European rule. So expansionism drove the Spanish northwards to conquer even more land. The Spanish began to crush the Southwest Indians military, enslave and Christianize them.
From the 1500s to the 1900s, many countries were switching to an imperialistic way of thinking and operating. The switch to imperialism was a process that took place in numerous countries for a wide variety of reasons that were all supposed to better and strengthen the country, economically, agriculturally, and militarily. While imperialism did cause much good for many countries it also was the reason for much of the problems, such as war and other forms of conflict within a single nation and between multiple nations. Imperialism is a very influential reason for much of how the world today is set up and divided among nations. What exactly is imperialism?
European nations began by establishing colonies in foreign areas to gain access to new resources that could not be easily accessed in Europe. These colonies were established in places such as India, and Africa which were fertile growing areas for spices and other raw materials that are not able to grow in the northern colder climates of Europe. With the establishment of these colonies, the rulers of the European nations such as England, France, and Germany saw a great way to make some extra money in the form of taxation. I believe that this led ultimately to the idea of Imperialism in which these nations were heavily taxing these colonies. This in turn led to things such as the American Revolution and the commonly known phrase “taxation without representation”.
Importance of the Crusades As military campaigns, the Crusades were a failure, but indirectly, and to some extent directly, they affected much of the European history that followed. Numerous important social, cultural, and economic changes took place during and immediately after these famous expeditions. While few of these developments can be flatly labeled as results of the Crusades, almost all were stimulated by the increased interchange between East and West that the Crusades brought about. Trade and Commerce: During and after the Crusades trade between Italy and the ports at the eastern end of the Mediterranean were tremendously increased, and wealth was circulating as never before. By the time European nobility had begun to look upon such imports as Oriental rugs and perfumes as essentials, the growing middle class of merchants and craftsmen was demanding the new foodstuffs, such as cane sugar, rice, garlic, and lemons, and textiles, such as muslin, silk, and satin, from the East, which naturally became less expensive as the shipments increased in size.
All the cultures were technologically stuck in the Stone Age,and ,combined with their lack of immunity to European diseases meant that these civilizations were overrun and conquered by Europeans. Columbus proved to the Europeans that the world was likely round and not flat. He didn't really prove that it was round, but his voyages increased the perceived likelihood that it was, and inspired other explorers who really did demonstrate that you could head west and end up east. That increased global trade significantly. It also increased global awareness of the other cultures that share this planet.