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Key Benefits of Spanish Exploration of the Americas and Why Those Benefits Outweigh the Costs of Exploration
At the end of the 15th century, the Spanish King and Queen sent explorer Christopher Columbus on an expedition to find a route to Asia. This directive, instead, led to the discovery of a new continent, which launched a process of colonization of the newly discovered area as well as Spanish management of the area’s resources.
The effects of this development yielded both positive and negative effects, but the benefits of these expeditions, evident through primary sources, outweigh the costs. Some of these key benefits to Spain are increased convenience for farming and trade, the opportunity to spread Christianity, and access to resources
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that boosted the Spanish economy. These benefits are what set Spain apart from all other European countries at the time and had a lasting effect on the Americas.
The vast amount of undeveloped land in the Americas was something unheard of in the small countries of Europe. In a letter to the King and Queen of Spain in 1492, Columbus (Letter 1: 3) writes of the New World: “...there are great and beautiful mountains, vast fields, groves, fertile plains, very suitable for planting and cultivating….” From this statement, it is clear that the Americas could provide a vital source of farmland to grow crops in much greater quantities to be used in Spain and traded throughout Europe. The wide variety of crops that could be grown were also an important aspect. In the same letter, Columbus (Letter 1: 3) believes the multiple varieties of palm trees native to the area to “far excel ours [Spain’s] in … beauty, just as all the other trees, herbs, and fruits do.” The …show more content…
American crops were new and seemingly better than the standard agriculture found in Europe. These unique crops could have a tremendous effect on the trading market and first access to these exotic foods gave Spain a huge advantage. One of the biggest requirements for farms is people to run them. This issue was quickly resolved when, due to their noted, gentle demeanors, the Native Americans were enslaved by the Spaniards as a labor source for the farms. “Protector of the Indians” Bartolome de Las Casas (4) wrote that “...those lands are so rich and felicitous, the native peoples so meek and patient, so easy to subject….” The natives provided the main labor source for the farms operated by the Spanish. These people made the opportunities for new farming and trade possible. These farms were incredibly beneficial to Spain both in terms of adding new foods to the culture and in increasing trading opportunities. The natives were involved in more than one benefit of exploration. One of the famous 3 G’s and most important goals of the Spanish was to spread the Christian faith to the natives of the New World. According to Bartolome de Las Casas (2), the natives were “by nature the most humble, patient, and peaceable,” so it wouldn’t seem to be difficult to get them to see the way of life of the Europeans. Columbus (Letter 1: 3) confirms this in his letter to the King and Queen of Spain: “...their conversion to the holy religion of Christ, to which is in truth, as far as I can perceive, they are very ready and favorably inclined…” The Spaniards exposed the natives to Christianity and in turn spread their faith to an entirely new continent. This led to the formation of churches in the Americas when Europeans began to move there. Columbus discusses the formation of a church in a new colony in Juana, present day Cuba, in a letter to the Spanish royals. He writes, “That there shall be a church, and parish priests or friars to administer the sacraments...” (Columbus Letter 2: 2). The conversion of the natives spread the religion of Christianity to a new part of the world and led to churches being established in that area. This was a great benefit to the Spanish since it represented one of their top goals. The greatest incentive for expeditions of the Americas was the economic benefit.
The colonies provided a huge surge in income for the Spanish. One part of the income came from gold mining. The Americas, specifically South and Central America, had a large supply of gold. As gold was of incredible value in Europe, this peaked the interest of the Spanish King and Queen. Columbus (Letter 2: 3) discusses the process of sending gold to Spain in his letter to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella: “That in the said island there shall be a treasurer, with a clerk to assist him, who shall receive all the gold belonging to your Highnesses…” This shows the core of the push for exploration into the New World - gold. Gold was the main motivator. And the want for gold went stronger than just expeditions. It led to permanent Spanish settlements to mine the gold. In the same letter, Columbus (Letter 2: 3) addresses this when he writes, “As, in the eagerness to get gold, everyone will wish, naturally, to engage in its search…” The value for gold and subsequent motivation to get it, was enough to encourage a country to send people to live in a new land so they could mine
it. Though the costs of exploration do have merit, the multiple, crucial benefits of Spanish exploration of the Americas outweigh those costs. Benefits like more convenience in farming and trading, due to the large amounts of undeveloped land and unique crops of the New World. Another would be the expansion of the Christian belief, through converting the natives and starting churches in new colonies. On top of that, the most prominent benefit to Spain is the economic advantages to utilizing the resources of the New World. These benefits gave Spain a distinct edge over the other European countries, and this edge determines that the benefits of exploration outweigh the costs.
One question posed by the authors is “How did Columbus’s relationship with the Spanish crown change over time, and why?” In simple terms, Columbus’s relationship with the
Spain’s initial goals were to discover gold or other mineral wealth, explore the new world, spread Catholicism, and overall, continue Christopher Columbus’s goal of finding passage to the east.
This text was created to bring to light the hardship Natives went through during the Age of Exploration. The populous, who only hear rumors and short stories from all territories west of the Atlantic Ocean, cannot grasp the tough and difficult task that is at hand in the Americas. From these short blurbs of what is said about the west, they make inferences of what it is like, and how it is possible for another land mass to be unknown to many for so long. But for those who do know what is past the Atlantic, know that this Agenda of the King and Queen must be fulfilled and to do so would be to claim land for Spain for it to be settled upon. On top of that is to further collect the riches of the Americas to benefit Spain in the conquest of the Americas.
On October 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus landed on unknown territory, however, in his perspective of Earth he thought he made a new route to Asia. He travels throughout the lands, soon, he discovers new forms of inhabitant plants, as well as, indigenous people that were native to those lands. Years later he soon unravels that it was all unaccustomed terrain. The monarchy of Spain also discovers Columbus’s new discoveries, then, they send more explorers to conquer the lands. In 1520, Hernan Cortes goes with the order from Spanish royalty to go to the newly discovered lands to conquer them, also, help expand the Spanish empire. Overall, Columbus and Cortes both reported the new lands they recently discovered back to Spain, however, their descriptions
Lots of different foods were brought to America such as bananas, watermelon, and wheat. There was also livestock such as cattle, pigs, and horses. These resources helped native Americans survive and learn new things about the world. Even though Columbus brought a lot of good things to America he also brought diseases such s typhus and smallpox that the native Americans had no cure too. This was problematic because people had to use more resources to find cures, and the population started to decrease which caused some cultures and traditions to die out. Even though some ways of living ceased to exist, Columbus brought new traditions to teach the natives in America. Since the main religion in Spain was Christianity, Columbus wanted to convert all of the natives and change their traditions to make them more European. All of these changes would affect the outcome of what America would be like in the future. Christopher Columbus made a big impact on America and started getting Europe interested in exploring there. Therefore many other people started traveling to America as
In 1492, Christopher Columbus was a self-made man who worked his way up to being the Captain of a merchant vessel. He gained the support of the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, for an expedition to the Indies. With the support of the Spanish monarchy, he set off to find a new and faster trade route to the Indies. Upon the arrival of his first voyage, Columbus wrote a letter to Luis de Santangel, a “royal official and an early supporter of his venture,” in February 1493 (35). The epistle, letter, entitled “Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage” was copied and then distributed in Spain before being translated and spread throughout Europe. The Letter is held in such regard with the people as it is considered the first printed description of the new world. Through his description of the nature of the islands, Columbus decided the future fate of the islands. His description of the vast beauty of the nature around him, declares both the economic and nationalistic motivations for colonizing the new world.
If you look at Cortes's actions from a Eurocentric view, there were many positive impacts. One of the main impacts were that he brought civilization to Mexico. Cortes and a few other conquistadors also helped to modernize Mexico. By taking out the Aztecs, Cortes put an end to
Columbus' original plan was to prove that early geographers were wrong and that the world was larger than computed (William Howarth). He had sponsorship from the King and Queen of Spain who were finally convinced by Columbus by his belief that he was a divine missionary, ordained by God to spread Christianity (P. J. Riga). When he got to the New World he had found that there was the possibility that there might be an abundance of gold, and gold was the commodity Columbus pursued with obsessive zeal (William Howarth). It would seem to be an item that he had a lust for more than anything. An elder on Tortuga described "within a hundred or more ...
“As European adventurers traversed the world in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries they initiated the “Columbian Exchange” of plants, animals, and diseases.”(P. 26). The Columbian Exchange refers to a period of exchanges between the New and Old Worlds. The exchange of plants, animals, diseases and more modernized technology, beginning after Columbus landing in the Americas in 1492. It lasted through the fifteenth and sixteenth century. Domesticated animals such as cattle, horses, sheep and pigs were introduced to the Americas. The Americas introduced to Europe many new crops such as potatoes, beans, squash, and maize. In time Native people learned to raise European livestock and European and Africans planted American crops. This was the positive effect of the encounter and it was largely responsible for the doubling of the world’s population in the next three hundred years. There were also many negative effects to the “Columbian Exchange” A major consequence was the spread of disease in the New World. Diseases carried by Europeans and Africans devastated the population of the Americas. As Europeans traveled through the Americas epidemics came with them. Typhus, diphtheria, malaria, influenza, cholera, and smallpox killed many of the native people. One example was
Many positive outcomes came from exploring. After exploration there was a lot more knowledge of the world, Europeans started producing better more accurate maps of the world which made it easier for sailors to get to the new world and back without getting lost. The discovery of the new world led to more trade and new foods, the new foods were able to feed more people which led to a bigger population for not only Europeans. After exploration Europeans were able to spread ideas and technology much quicker than before. For the Natives, they were able to hunt buffalo much easier with European
Published in 1493, Luis Santangel received the embellished journal of Christopher Columbus as validation for the much-promised riches in the Indies. Centered around an era of power and conquest, Columbus tapered his writings and findings to pacify his Royal sponsors for the voyage. Santangel was also one such wealthy sponsor. Although the tone of the letter was vastly hyperbolic, Christopher Columbus still managed to document the labeling of the numerous islands and its topography. Yet even the size and measurement is a bit exaggerated as well referring to one island being twice as large as that of Great Britain and Scotland. Columbus did his best to acknowledge various “thousands upon thousands” in this letter with that of spiceries and gold mines with mountains in a “thousand shapes...full of trees of a thousand kinds” as well as deeming the exotic islands incomparable to any other islands that “there could be no believing without seeing” firsthand. Colu...
In the early 17th century, British colonizers began arriving in the New World in hopes of expanding their territorial domain. By the 18th century, Spanish colonizers had established trading posts and missions in the New World, covering a vast expanse of land that extended beyond even England’s colonial holdings. When the British arrived, they spurred on Indian depopulation and African and European immigration. The arrival of the Spanish resulted in near Indian extinction and a burgeoning international trade. Though Spain had an advantage of a century over Britain, both nations used the New World’s resources to further their mercantile goals, in the process, ravaging the native populations; however, Spain’s missionary efforts were more successful and the location of their respective colonies resulted in a monopoly of different economic commodities.
The most posing problems with the set routes to Asia, which went around the Cape of Good Hope and along the coast of Africa, were that it was very dangerous due to enemy colonies along the route and was also very long. These problems made some people, including Christopher Columbus, decide to turn to the west to find safer and faster routes to the riches of Asia. What they found was the Americas. Believing that he would reach Asia, Columbus accidentally found a new continent, full of new riches and unclaimed lands. All of this occurred near the end of the Renaissance, beginning with the founding of America in 1492, near the end of the 15th century.
Several countries, the Americas included, fell victim to the conquistador’s voyages, and Latin America and Caribbean countries were no exception. Typically sponsored by the noble family, explores were set on finding their prize, which was motivated
In conclusion, the motivations of Vasco da Gama's and Christopher Columbus's voyages were in many ways similar but also different. While they both sought an efficient maritime route to East Asia and elements of religious duty factored into both their voyages, Gama set out to find Christians rather than convert as Columbus intended. Though this distinction doesn't alter the reality of the Spanish overseas empire's repurposing itself as an exploitative mining and agricultural operation when it became clear that there were neither spices nor a Grand Khan to be found, it is still a difference worth noting when considering what stimulated the establishment of these world-changing intercontinental empires.