Europe exploration and conquest of the 15th & 16th
century was motivated by religion and prestige but the
primary impetus was wealth.
 Portugal
Evidence
 England
 Prince Henry the
Navigator
 Bartholomew Diaz
 Vasco de Gama
 Cabral
 Spain

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Columbus
Magellan
Balboa
Cortes
Pizarro
 Cabot
 Drake
 France
 Verrazano
 Cartier
 Champlain
Gold: Primary motive

 The chief reason for the voyages were a search fro new trading routes
to the east
 Columbus was promised 10% of all material wealth he took for Spain
 Columbus changed route from going north to the court of Genghis
Khan to a southern route where gold was promised.
 The chief reasons for the voyages were a search fro new trading routes
after the cutoff of trade with the East, including the slave trade after the
Ottoman conquest of Constantinople.
 Native populations were treated with disdain and brutality in efforts to
obtain riches.
 The encomienda system was established to turn the Amerindians into
forced laborers.
 African slave trade began soon after the first contact with the new
World and provided huge profits for European trades, as did the sugar
plantations where the slaves worked.
God

Columbus was a deeply religious man, believed
God promoted his voyages, and delighted in the
possible conversion of natives.
Missionaries were among the earliest settlers.
Most of the native population converted to
Christianity.
The Muslim dominance of world trade was a
major reason for the search for new trading
routes.
Glory

The motive of glory reflects the Renaissance
values of individualism and fame seeking.
Renaissance humanism and interest in technology
and geography, combined with individual egoism,
encouraged men to become explorers, conquerors,
and settlers.
After the Age of Exploration began, a desire for
national glory, prestige, and power fueled further
explorations and expansion of empires.