The Embargo Act of 1807 is perhaps the most contradictory decision Jefferson has made in his presidency. Due to impressments of America sailors into the British Army, as well as Great Britain and France both trying to hinder American trade with the other side, Jefferson passed the act which prohibited all foreign trade, to and from the United States. This obliterated any views he was believed to have of a weak central government. The
This new design would allow boats to sail farther and faster with fewer resources. Another of his contributions to expansion was his school for sailors set up in Portugal’s conquered city in North Africa. The school started in 1418 compiled maps and charts for interpretation and examination with the goal of charting as much ocean as possible. With Italy controlling trade with the Islamic states and growing into an empire of its own other European countries couldn’t compete with trade in the Mediterranean.
Many believed it was 26,000 miles across and that columbus would starve in the massive sea. Columbus proposed his voyage to Portugal, England, France, and finally Spain In the 15th century Spain did not devote much attention to exploration and colonization. Instead they used resources to conquer nearby kingdoms. Once complete in their conquest Spain had men and recourses to spare for Christopher Columbus's voyage. Queen Isabella put him in charge of a fleet of three ships.
Due to smallpox and the invasion of Cortes and his army, the Aztecs were wiped out, so they weren’t given a chance to resist the Spanish empire and regain independence as a separate empire. In order for Cortes to justify his invasive actions, he reasoned that by the end of his conquest he’d acquire lots of riches which would ensure some position of power for himself in the future. Additionally, the Spanish empire would most likely thrive with the ability to trade much of their earned riches for trade that the advanced civilizations, especially China, had to offer. Because he conquered Mexico, today most/all of Mexico follows Christianity and speaks Spanish and embraces a vast majority of Spanish
Columbus's second voyage, which began on September 25, 1493, was a much larger fleet. They first headed to the La Navidad to check on the Spanish colony, but when they had gotten there, "To their horror, they discovered that the entire settlement of La Navidad had been massacred and the site burned to the ground"(Tirado). They built the colony of Isabella a little bit away from La Navidad. They went searching for gold nearby but "When gold failed to show up on large quantities, Columbus decided on a policy of forced labor. Enslavement of the natives had not been one of the stated goals of this expedition and it was offensive to the Queen; yet Columbus justified Indian enslavement on the grounds that it would be profitable" (Tirado).
Christopher Columbus Traveling to India around the southern tip of Africa was dangerous and difficult. An Italian sailor by the name of Christopher Columbus proposed finding a new route by sailing west. Columbus thought that if they sailed west, they would eventually circle the globe, and arrive in Eastern Asia. For seven years Christopher Columbus traveled around Europe looking for someone who would finance his journey. The monarchs of Europe made fun of him, saying that it was too risky and dangerous to attempt such a voyage around the globe.
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.
The first voyage consisted of discovering Cuba and sailing on the coast while making short excursions inland. Columbus saw trade and profit could be made off the Indians while also converting them to Catholics. Six months after Columbus’s first voyage, he sets off again on a second voyage which seventeen vessels, twelve hundred men, and six priest. They set up the first European settlement on the Atlantic side, but Columbus wasn’t satisfied with this, he still wanted to push west to reach the shores of Asia. Running out of supplies and the crew about to go on mutiny, Columbus turns the ships around and only if he went about fifty more miles, he would have discovered that Cuba was an island.
Exploration, discovery, and hardships can simply summarize expansion from Europe to the “New World.” Explorers from both Spain and England came over to the new land, and they established homes and encountered several new and difficult situations. The Spanish settled lower into South America, whilst the British opted for the East Coast of North America. Both European countries differed in cultures and beliefs, yet both desired more land. What is even more, they were both culturally and economically affected by the Indians of the Americas because of their different approaches to the Indians. The Spanish aspired to conquer the Indians and their land and they forced their religion onto the Indians.
BREAKING THE SPANISH MONOPOLY IN THE CARIBBEAN SPAIN’S CLAIM TO CONTROL THE CARIBBEAN At the beginning of the 16th Century, Spain and Portugal led Europe in exploration. With regard to the Caribbean, after the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, Spain adopted a policy of mare clausum (sea closed to others). All foreign ships were banned from the entire Caribbean and from trade with the Spanish colonies. The Spanish had not settled in nearly all the Lesser Antilles, the Bahamas and the Guianas, and in these areas the Spanish monopoly began to be challenged. NATIONALISM AND RELIGION IN EUROPE Before 1517, all of Europe acknowledged the authority of the Pope, and allowed the Papacy to act as an international court.