Have you ever thought about what actually happened during the age of exploration? This time period was a hard and deadly time for most of the world. As their many viewpoints on the age of exploration, there is one that stands out the most to me. I strongly believe that the age of exploration shouldn’t be celebrated in modern times since this was a horrible and devastating time. On the other hand, people might say that this time period should be celebrated because of its incredible outcome and its vast cultural diffusion that spread through many cultures. However, I stand towards my opinion and say that European explorers, conquistadors, and settlers from the Age of Exploration shouldn't be glorified in modern times because of their cruelty, deadly spreading of diseases and major population decrease. …show more content…
There is no doubt that the age of exploration was a tough and cruel time.
Many explorers were desperately greedy for what they wanted, and they got it using any method they possibly could. Most of them involved killing, enslavement and putting people under extreme circumstances. For example, according to Doc 10, it shows how cruel Spaniards were to the peaceful and innocent Indians. It shows how they terrorized them, killing them for their own fun and entertainment, as well as stealing all their resources such as gold. Furthermore, according to Doc 8 Spanish created a new system called Encomienda, where they had the right to collect payments from Indians, as well as force them to work in mines in fields which resulted in death to most, from overwork and harsh treatment. All this shows how cruel the age of exploration to some of the cultures and why it definitely should not be
celebrated. Furthermore, spreading of diseases is another major reason why the age of exploration should not be celebrated. During this time many devastating plagues and disease spread through cultures killing thousands of people. For instance, According to Doc 7, a deadly plague hit the Tenochtitlan settlement, it killed a vast number of people and lasted for approximately 70 days. During this time, people were useless and sick to the point the only thing they could do is lie in their bed awaiting death. Also, according to Doc 6, it explains how vulnerable some cultures were to European diseases, for instance, the native Americans were majorly impacted by these diseases since they were biologically isolated for their whole life, and were completely vulnerable when the Europeans invaded. All these reasons show how plagues and diseases affected many cultures throughout the age of exploration and yet this is another reason why it shouldn't be celebrated. Lastly, the decrease in population was incredibly large during the age of exploration. With everything that happened during this time period such as diseases, cruelty and murders etc. The population of many cultures significantly decreased. According to the graph in doc 6 it shows how the population of the Aztec and Incas went down really low after Columbus arrived. It's been proven to happen because the Aztecs and Incas were very vulnerable to foreign diseases. I think this is one of the most important reason because it shows in general how deadly and horrible the age of exploration was. In Conclusion, there are several reasons why we shouldn't celebrate the age of exploration. I have shown you the ones I believe are the most impactful. The outcome of the age of exploration was crucial and that without it, we would be way behind in every way. Even so, this was a very extreme and harsh time period and definitely shouldn't be celebrated because of its cruelty and greediness of cultures, its deadly plagues and diseases that extinguished thousands, and lastly the huge decrease of population during this time period. So the next time you think about the great outcome of the age of exploration remembers that it came with a heavy price.
The article “Navigating the Age of Exploration” by Ted Widmer explains how people view American history with only the assumptions pertaining to the present boundaries of the United States instead of seeing the world as explorers did during the Age of Exploration and expanding our boundaries to understand America’s history more fully. Widmer points out that many teachers of American history don’t teach a full continental perspective extending beyond American borders, which doesn’t give credit to the various cultures that contributed to the foundation of the United States. Today, people know little about the contributions of explorers during the Age of Exploration, and their impacts on America. During the Age of Exploration, the Europeans created
Exploration has been an important action to take part of since the beginning of time. We have to explore to find out what’s out there right? We could potentially obtain so much knowledge, and so many resources. You can only obtain the maximum potential of something if your motives and ideology are correct. A great example of someone who had the potential to do so much good, and obtain so much greatness was a Chinese admiral by the name of Zheng He. Zheng He watched his father die at the hand of the Ming Dynasty, along with being castrated himself. Zheng He was forced to join thousands of eunuchs, and then rose quickly through the ranks of the military. The emperor basically assigned Zheng He the task of leading a fleet of exploration ships. They sailed this huge fleet of ships to unknown areas in hopes to make friends with other countries, and the local leaders usually offered tribute and emissaries to avoid conflict. This whole process preceded the colonialism practiced by the Europeans in years to come. The question begging to be answered here is, are Zheng He’s voyages deserving of celebration? I will be discussing my opinion on the subject and supporting with the documents provided. However; there are a few particular words I have used in this paragraph that we need to define to make sure we know what we are talking about. The Ming Dynasty was the imperial dynasty of China from the years 1368 to 1644. A eunuch is man who has been castrated. A tribute is an act, statement, or gift that is intended to show gratitude, respect, or admiration. An emissaries is a person sent on a special mission, usually as a diplomatic representative. Colonialism is the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another ...
Despite being one of the most renowned explorers in history, Christopher Columbus’ legacy remains controversial. The debate on whether Columbus should be celebrated has captured news headlines for decades. While many view him simply as a gifted Italian navigator who laid the seeds for the colonization of the New World, history paints a much more complicated picture. His journal entries and eye-witness testimony reveal Columbus to be a man of intolerance and indifference towards those deemed inferior to himself. Christopher Columbus’ treatment of Indigenous’ people, in addition to his ethnocentric worldview, allows for the conclusion that he should not be idolized as a hero in the modern age.
The Age of Exploration brought many unforeseen changes to the people of Africa. On a path seeking gold, glory, and God, many explorers reached new parts of Africa. Explorers were seeking a more direct route to Asia and believed they must travel through Africa to reach these Asian lands. Namely, Portugal was interested in this under the direction of Prince Henry. There, he believed they could capture the riches of Muslim trade and convert the natives to Christianity. King Henry died before the route to Asia could be accomplished but he laid the groundwork for later exploration and encounters with Africa. During the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, Europeans desire to find Asia greatly impacted the lives of native Africans through the slave
Human history is filled with the names of bold explorers who ventured into the great unknown, only to come out basked in glory as some of the great heroes of their day. Among the grandest are Marco Polo, who provided little known information about the Far East to Europeans, and Hernan Cortes, the great Spanish conquistador who is given credit for the defeat of the Mexican Empire. These two famous explorers are also ideal case studies to analyze the influence of expectations, interests, and of reality on the accounts of the places and people that these men encountered during their voyages. Exploration is an activity that is held in high esteem because of the mental challenge that comes with willingly surrendering the safety of certainty to venture into unknown land. This act is seen as reflecting the utmost courage.
For generations upon generations, students have been taught about the “hero” Christopher Columbus who had discovered our new world. However, to say he was a hero would not exactly be the truth; Columbus was an eccentric man who cared much more about his profits than the well being and even lives of the natives. It is documented in journals that he and his crew had slaughtered entire villages at a time, and that he had even killed people just for the point of testing how sharp his sword was. Not only did Columbus and his crew have a thing for violence, on multiple accounts crew members wrote down every single successful rape of women; and used the voyage to help begin a slave export for the royalty of Spain.
It led Columbus to take Arawak Indians as prisoners on his expedition to search for gold. He sailed across islands capturing Indians along the way. He captured 1,500 Arawak men, women, and children sadly but gratefully for them they died on route so some didn’t have to endure the horrible condition that Columbus put them through. However, those that survived were fully naked and treated as animals because that is how whites saw them. Those that survived had to find gold, which was almost impossible wistfully those that didn’t find anything had their hands cut off and bled to death. Due to this inhumane treatment some tried escaping but were unsuccessful and they were hunted like dogs and killed. In addition, the prisoners were forced into war against the Spaniards who were well armed so they had no chance at being victorious. It leads me to believe that the savages were Columbus and his crew. The Arawak’s could take no more heartless and inhumane treatment that they committed mass suicides. To them they’d rather be dead by their own hands then be treated as animals. Columbus atrocious actions “in two years through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians…were dead” (Zinn 1980:107). What is even more barbaric is them thinking they can do it all over again. When Most of the Arawak Indians were killed they ran low slaves so needed
The age exploration in Europe began in the 1400s. The rise of strong kingdoms, the desire for trade, improved navigation technology from Ptolemy and Al Idrisi like the astrolabe, compass, and better maps with longitude and latitude, and better ships like the caravel and naus led to a new era of exploration. After the Renaissance people knew the world was flat so they started to use the water more for sailing. The first country to send ships out was Portugal; in 1420, because they were at peace and had enough money they were the first to set out. They began mapping Africa’s coastline and trading with African Kingdoms. Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal taught Sailors when he got too old and could no longer sail. Spain soon followed after
As the new world was emerging into existence there grew a deep need for wealth in the ever growing European powers and they needed work force to support the building of their empire. When Columbus decided to go on his transoceanic voyage his main intention of the voyage was to bring about with a healthy transoceanic slave trade which would indeed help the European motives of expanding their kingdom. On Columbus’s first voyage he set up a base which he called ‘Hispaniola’ which today is the Haiti or also called as the Dominican Republic. In the initial stage of Columbus transoceanic slave trade he captured 10 to 20 Indians, having them shipped back but having only left over with six or seven alive and the rest dead by the time they made it back to the shores of Spain. Being subjected to this kind of ...
Age of Explorations was a time of discovery of the new world during the 15th through 17th century. Many Explorers were in search for new passage ways, new trading ports, new land, new spices, and riches. The three explorers discussed in this paper is Henry Hudson, Jacques Cartier, and Francisco Pizarro. Henry Hudson was an explorer whose main purpose was to find a route to Asia from Europe, he had a series of three voyages trying to achieve this. Jacques Cartier was sent to find riches and a route to Asia as well. Francisco Pizarro served on an expedition, which he discovered the Pacific Ocean.
The fifteenth century was a period of mass exploration for many areas of the world. Countries such as Spain, France, and England were beginning to send explorers to the newly discovered western hemisphere for their nations to gain both wealth and territory. Many of the explorers thought it was necessary to subordinate Indian civilizations in order to benefit both themselves and their country. Decisions that the explorers made on the other side of the world proved to introduce great controversy in Europe. Some theologians and historians, such as Ginés Sepúlveda, saw invasions of the New World as a way to introduce civilization and Christianity to “barbarians” that are “incapable of government” (Las Casas 3). However, many religious leaders,
The Europeans entered the native people's world in search of a trade route to the Indies. They felt it their "duty" to save these poor creatures in the name of the King of Spain. "It wasn't so much that Europe discovered Americas as that it incorporated it and made it a part of its own special, long-held and recently ratified, view of nature. "(Sale p. 75)
Epidemic disease undeniably contributed to the carnage, but in many volumes of testimony the European explorers detail their murderous intentions and actions. The slave drivers of the day calculated that it was cheaper to work people to death by the tens of thousands and then replace them than it was to maintain and feed a permanent captive
First about direct aspect, Europeans wanted the Natives work as slaves for them to discover gold, but they never treat them as human beings. Europeans enslaved Natives brutally, “They ordered all persons fourteen years or older to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. When they brought it, they were given copper tokens to hang around their necks. Indians found without a copper token had their hand cut off and bled to death.” (Howard Zinn, 4). Indirect factor related to the first encounter and led to devastating result. The most noticeable indirect factor is the “Epidemics”, which is caused by First Encounter, because “during the mid-sixteenth century, Spanish invaders introduced epidemics into American southwest” (Alan Taylor, American Colonies,1). Th “Epidemics” do result in a huge disaster for Natives: “In any given local, the first wave of epidemics afflicted almost every Indian. Within a decade of contact, about half the natives died from the new diseases. After about fifty years of contact, successive epidemics reduced a native group to about a tenth of its precontract numbers. Some especially ravaged peoples lost their autonomous identity, as the few survivors joined a neighboring group” (Alan Taylor, American Colonies, 2). These two direct and indirect factors clearly show the devastating result
The Age of Exploration was a time period when Europeans made discoveries that transformed the world. The Age of Exploration was due to scientific developments and the desire for wealth. The Age of Exploration is a period that started in the 15th century with the first Portuguese explorations. During The Age of Exploration, Europeans used many tools and technology to make discoveries that transformed the world. During The Age of Exploration many explorers wanted to explore for many different reasons. Since they wanted to explore, they did explore and they made discoveries and explorations, and as a result, many effects many effects were made on the world.