Discovery of the New World, Essay Example

The European discovery of the New World occurred during the period of 1492 as a consequence of the events that ushered in the Age of Exploration. Before this time period, European nations traded with the East by creating trade routes by land. Since Asia was one of Europe’s closest trading partners and was able to offer them a variety of goods that were not attainable in Europe, trade with Asia bolstered European economy and promoted a more lavish lifestyle among its wealthier inhabitants. However, in 1453, Constantinoplewas invaded by the Ottoman Empire, which was hostile to Europeans. As a consequence, land trade routes to Asia were no longer an option, and the Europeans were forced to consider approaching the Asian continent by sea (Runciman, 1965).

Even before the trade route between Europe and Asia was destroyed, many Europeans took to the idea of both sea exploration and traveling abroad to spread their ideas. The concept of international trade first developed as a consequence of the Crusades, which were waged primarily so that the Christians could recapture Palestine from the Muslims (Asbridge, 2005). Throughout their travels, they interacted with many different cultures and learned of the goods that were enjoyed by inhabitants of the East. They brought many of these spices and jewels home with them upon their return to Europe, where they found that many people wanted these goods for their own. To ensure that the supply of the goods would be able to meet the demand, many nations opened up a trade route with Asia. This signaled a shift in the European way of life, because along with trading goods, the Europeans had access to new ideas. Furthermore, towns located near the sea became cities that acted as trading centers, which changed the lifestyle of many.

Many historians consider the advent of international trade to mark the transition of the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Not only did Europeans have an increased ability to communicate with inhabitants of a different continent, they had more of a chance to communicate with one another, which led to an even greater spread of ideas. One of the main identifying features of the Renaissance was the quest for knowledge. As a consequence, many European monarchs funded sea explorations to find new ways to travel to the other continents and to promote trade. A major concern during this time period was over which country controlled what trade routes. Italy had power over a majority of these passages due to its unique geography and access to water. This encouraged competition from countries such as Spain, Portugal, France, England, and Holland, who wished to benefit from sea trade as well.

Late in the 15^th century, Spain united to form a country from the city-states that existed during theMiddle Ages. Because this was a relatively new government, its monarchy wanted to be able to compete economically with the other European countries. During this time period, a sea route to Asia had still not been developed and trade with Asia significantly decreased due to the land barrier created by the Ottoman Empire. To compensate for this problem, many European countries instead resorted to trade with Africa because travel was made easier with the creation of Bartholomew Dias’ map of its coast. As a consequence, when Christopher Columbus appealed to the Portuguese government with a plan to discover a sea route to Asia, he was denied because the Portuguese government was satisfied with African trade. When Columbus approached King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile about the potential journey, the two didn’t believe that it would be successful, but decide to invest in the journey anyway as a chance to expand the Catholic religion and Spanish influence (Russell, 1991).

While the Portuguese government in addition to the king and queen of Spain didn’t expect Christopher Columbus to return from his journey, the knowledge he had as an explorer was extremely beneficial to his survival and discovery of the New World. The Age of Exploration allowed for many sea routes to be travelled and maps of the continents made. As a consequence, Columbus was assured that the world was not flat, and if he travelled West far enough, he would be able to stumble upon the East coast of the Asian continent. Columbus’ logic was sound, although he didn’t consider the possibility that there could be a landmass between him and Asia. In addition, he didn’t fully understand the circumference of the world, and it is unlikely that he could have truly traveled West to reach Asia due to the distance it would require him to travel. Ultimately however, he reached the Americas, which he labeled as the “West Indies” due to his belief that he reached India. Christopher Columbus had succeeded a journey of discovery, but didn’t fully realize the significance of his finding.

While many political and educational movements led to Columbus’ ability to reach the Americas, it is also important to consider that luck played a role in this discovery as well. The Portuguese and Spanish governments believed that Columbus wouldn’t be able to survive the distance required to approach Asia by travelling the West. Even without knowing the true distance that would need to be travelled, they knew that it would be a long and treacherous journey. On the voyage, many of Columbus’ men died, and he was lucky that he made it back to Europe safely. It is however, fortunate that this discovery was made, because it allowed the Europeans to understand that their view and understanding of the world was only a small amount of what exists. This encouraged others to continue these long sea journeys which gave us the modern understanding of our planet that we have today.

References

Asbridge, Thomas. (2005). The First Crusade: A New History: The Roots of Conflict between Christianity and Islam. Oxford University Press. pp. 18-34.

Russell, Jeffrey Burton. (1991). Inventing the Flat Earth. Columbus and modern historians. New York: Praeger. pp. 1-10.

Runciman, Steven. (1965). The Conquest of Constantinople, 1453. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 133-144.