Period 1 Native American Timeline
The motivations for European exploration can be summated into
- Gold - desire for economic opportunities
- God - desire to spread religion
- Glory - desire to compete with other European powers
European Exploration
Europeans wanted luxury goods from Asia, but the Silk road and other land-based routes were controlled by Muslims. The Europeans wanted a water-based trade route to Asia for cheaper trades without the middleman.
Portugal
Prince Henry the Navigator established a trade route to Asia that went around Africa. With this, Portugal was able to establish a trading post empire all around Africa extending east into the Indian ocean. They made use new innovations such as caravels, updated Maritime charts, and astronomical tables, as well as astrolabes and sternpost rudders.
Spain
Seeing the economic success of Portugal, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel wanted to hop on the bandwagon. Except this time, they wanted to spread religion (Catholicism) as well.
Christopher Columbus
Then, in 1492, Christopher Columbus, an Italian sailor, proposed the idea of reaching Asia by traveling west. After hearing that Portugal rejected Columbus' idea, Ferdinand and Isabel decided sponsor Columbus' journey.
Then, later that year, Columbus reached "The Indies", or America. Columbus then brought back to Spain several "Indians" as well as their gold jewelry. This created a massive wave of exploration towards the west.