Welcome to our blog. This term we will reply to prompt questions that I (the prof) post that relate to each week's topic of discussion. We have been delayed a bit because of technical issues. But all should be up and ready to go by now.
This weeks prompt is this:
Why the "New World?" Why do European empires set out to "discover," explore, and colonize an area that until very recently in their history, they had never known existed? Are there different reasons?
The reasons the European empires set out to find the new world are very diversified the. Each country had different reasons of going to the new world and each country had a different effect on the new world now the Spain conquests were strictly for gold and silver. All that Spain wanted were the gold and silver they didn't care about anything else so you can expect that they didn't exactly treat the native Americans with care. They would completely destroy areas if it meant that in the end they would get a profit. They would find a place they beleived had told and they would completely over take the natives and take what they wanted. They weren't very interested in colonizing the new world
ReplyDeleteThe French explorers went to the new world for trade of goods. They would bring shipments over and set up docks so that they could trade with the native Americans. The French never wanted to hurt the native Americans do to the fact that they were their customers and we're making a profit off the. So you would think they had a pretty good relationship with the native Americans. They treated them well and didn't try to destroy them or make them slaves unlike the other countries.
The English wanted land from the natives Americans. The native Americans didn't really understand what "haveing" land ment they mostly thought take what yo need and we all share but once the English named t theirs the English started taking natives as slaves. I'm not going to get to big int that but Basically the English wanted land and opportunity for the new world. I think that the way each country came over definitely had a huge affect on out history like how we live and the wars that happened might not be the same. I was definitely surprised hearing that not every country that came over was on bad terms with the native Americans. But yeah that's what we learned.
The reason behind Europe’s colonization is much duller than the topic of “exploration” or “adventure.” Basically, if you don't snag up the new land before someone else does, then you will be left weaker than other nations. It is a matter of international competition. In the past, nations were disconnected and separated from each other. While trade and communication did exist, power, and the domination of land and resources were much greater matters to the nations. By possessing more power than other countries, it was seen as a success. Countries that capitalized on exploration and colonization of the “new world” expected to become rich, and they wanted to expand their empires to be the greatest nation. Not only did countries come to the “new world” and claim every bit of land they went over, but they engaged sometimes in trade with Native American tribes. To Native Americans, the people that explored the land were never seen before. They carried many valuables that were desired, and in return the explorers were able to receive items of value as well.
ReplyDeleteAside from their respective nations. Many individuals came to the “new world” for different causes. One of the largest reasons for colonizing the “new world” was for freedom of religion. In some countries, the separation of church and state did not exist, so people colonized the “new world” so that they were free to practice their own religion. They were able to escape the influence that religion and the church had on the government and the decisions carried out by the nation. The colonists that came to the “new world” started their own independent nations, and finally approached the separation of church and state that we mostly see today.
Europe was always looking for more land to settle, more earth to mine, and more peoples to exploit. That being said, there were different reasons for each country to settle.
ReplyDeleteMany English settlers settled to escape the Anglican Church's tyrannical rule. French settlers set up trading posts and the Spanish settlers joined the English in wiping out all of the Native Americans.
The new world was most famously discovered by Christopher Colombus who was looking for a passage to Asia (this being the reason native Americans are known as Indians). He ended up in the West Indies which would come to be used for growing sugar cane. At this discovery, Europe was awakened to the possibilities of these new lands.
Imperialism was used to great effect at these times as the more technologically advanced Europeans killed off the indigenous tribes and enslaved them. Native American slaves didn't end up working well in the end though. That is why the Europeans started bringing in the African slaves. They essentially turned all of the new world they settled into a factory for the motherland.
Whether or not the land was unknown did not matter to them. They did not care who owned what and where. They were merely hungry for new land.
The whole ordeal was also equally a big screw you to the other mainland European countries as conflicts developed in the new world that caused much friction in the political climate between England, France, Spain, et cetera.
Well, I believe, up until they traveled to the new world, they did not have any reason to explore new land. Even before that, many people believed that the earth was flat. Many people were horrified that they would fall off of the end of the earth. Going back to the reasons for exploring, they never really needed more land. There was enough land to fight over in Europe, but once the west was more well known, many people wanted their share of land and rights. The English, the Spanish, and the French all wanted to explore the new world for a plethora of reasons. The English had the most diverse reasons for settling. They wanted religious freedom. They wanted a right to own property. They wanted to become wealthy as well. The Spanish wanted land, and they wanted their fair share of wealth and profits. The French set up trading posts for their gain in wealth and profits as well. In a more vague sense, I believe that it is just human nature. We want to explore every undiscovered bit of land and learn everything we can. That is just what we are. I think that this fact, that so many people wanted to travel to the new world, is a very important factor that contributes to our extremely diverse culture. The western world has many different ways of living, ideals, beliefs, and cultures. I believe that all of these things are because of the race to claim land between all of the most powerful European countries.
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