European Exploration of America

English and Spanish colonization in the Americas shared motivations of economic gain and religious expansion, but differed in strategies and relationships with indigenous peoples. Both sought wealth...

The motivations behind the Spanish conquest and colonization of the Americas included the pursuit of wealth, particularly gold and silver, the spread of Christianity, and the expansion of Spanish...

In 1492, Indigenous American cultures were diverse, with complex societies, spiritual beliefs tied to nature, and economies based on agriculture and trade. European cultures, however, were more...

European settlement had overwhelmingly negative consequences for Native Americans. Though Native American tribes did occasionally form positive relationships with European settlers, permanent...

Christopher Columbus's voyages significantly impacted both Spain and the Americas. For Spain, they led to immense wealth through the acquisition of precious metals and new territories, establishing...

Interactions between European arrivals and Native Americans had profound impacts on both groups. Europeans gained new resources and knowledge of the land, while Native Americans faced significant...

Vasco da Gama's exploration was motivated by a desire to find a sea route to India to engage in the profitable spice trade and bypass Muslim and Italian middlemen. Additionally, there was a religious...

Christopher Columbus did not know that he was in the New World and not Asia. He had miscalculated the distance from Europe to Asia and did not believe there was room for another continent between...

I think that the second post means to use the word "imperial," not "empirical."  Those are very different things. The formula that is often used to describe the Europeans' motives is "God,...

From the point of view of native or indigenous peoples in the United States, and for that matter, the western hemisphere, 1491 was the final year in which their cultures and civilizations were...

Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is best known for his military campaigns in Central America and Mexico in the early sixteenth century. He ultimately defeated the Aztec Empire and claimed Mexico...

Christopher Columbus's discovery changed history in many ways, such as by triggering the Age of Exploration, bringing about rapid colonization of the New World by Europe, leading to developments in...

Great question! There are many myths regarding Christopher Columbus and his voyage. For example, there is the the myth that sailors in the late 1400s still believed the world to be flat and if you...

The work of Johannes Gutenberg in 1440 was instrumental in the ability of Europeans to explore distant lands by sea. Gutenberg developed a printing press which could be used to mass-produce...

Many of the regional differences in colonial America were based on the differing geographies of those regions. In the British American colonies, there were three main regions: New England,...

The reason that the Spanish were able to conquer and colonize so much of the New World was that it conquered preexisting empires within the Americas, made use of more advanced technology, and drew on...

There is some debate as to the actual location of his landing, although he named the place "San Salvador," meaning "blessed Savior." Best evidence is that he landed on present day Waitling Island...

The first thing to remember when thinking about this counterfactual is that Christopher Columbus did not discover America, nor was he the first explorer to discover one of the American continents....

The "real" interaction is finally being taught and put out there for the public to read about, and it was not this perfect picture of discovery and building relationships.  Christopher...

I assume that you are asking about the European explorers who began exploring in the 1400s.  In other words, I assume that you are not referring to people like the Viking explorers who made it...

The factors that led to the European exploration of America include the desire for new trade routes to Asia, the search for wealth and resources, the spread of Christianity, and advancements in...

There were a lot of factors that went into calculating the length of a 15th and 16th century sea voyage. Weather, wind, and the quality of the ship are among the most important. However, let us...

The European countries had several reasons for wanting to explore the New World. One of them was for trade. The Europeans wanted to find a shorter trade route to Asia. There were people who...

I have never thought about finding all of the places named for Christopher Columbus, but there are certainly many such places. In the United States alone there are more than 30 states that have a...

During 1609, Hudson heard about an inland sea route, more than likely the Great Lakes, and tried to go that way as the Northwest Passage.  Although the Dutch had already gone up the St....

Columbus did not discover America. When Columbus arrived in Hispaniola in 1492, he found the Taino people already there. If he would have gone to a neighboring island, he would have found the...

Presumably, all of the newly-found lands first discovered by Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) were claimed for Spain (or, more accurately, the Crown of Castile, of which Ferdinand and Isabella...

Although Christopher Columbus never accomplished his goal of finding a trade route to Asia, his four voyages to the New World changed the course of world history and sparked the birth of the modern...

The impact Columbus had on the "New World" depends on the perspective you are using. From the perspective of later European migrants who would settle there, it is arguable that Columbus's impact...

The "Age of Exploration" is a traditional term that describes the period from the late 1400s through the end of the 1600s in which European nations were exploring, mapping, and claiming territory...

Yeah, I would say that he was.  The reason for this is that he very much wanted to take more territory for Spain.  He was willing to subjugate the people that lived on the islands he...

The impact that the European Age of Exploration had on the lands discovered was transformative.  Social and cultural change were new realities that resulted from Europeans having contact with...

Different groups had different impressions of the Native Americans.  It depended a lot on which country in Europe they were from, what their religion was, and what their goals were in the new...

The world view of the First Nations peoples can best be summarized by the First Nations themselves: "First Nations worldview representes a unique perspective of the world and the interconnectedness...

Christopher Columbus is often mistakenly credited with discovering America, though indigenous peoples had lived there for centuries and other explorers had reached its shores. Additionally, Columbus...

Colonization in Africa devastated the continent; from the earliest days of international slave trade in the 17th century to the Belgian presence in the Congo during the 20th century, European...

Christopher Columbus has vital historical importance as the person who initiated the European colonization of North and South America. After receiving rejections of financing from Portugal, Genoa,...

There was no one way for Native Americans to live, as they were diverse according to their tribes and where they lived. Native Americans had vast trade networks, so it was not uncommon for goods...

A crucial point should be made before answering: There was a broad diversity in worldviews among both Native Americans, who included people from the Arctic to Patagonia; and Europeans, who came...

Among the most important Dutch explorers were: Willem Barentsz (1550-1597). Searched for the northeast passage above Siberia. Discovered Bear Island (1594). Henry Hudson (1565-1611). Explored...

In 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson set sail from Amsterdam on his ship the Halve Maene, having been commissioned by the Dutch East India Company to locate an eastern route through the Arctic...

This is a fascinating question, and one can imagine any number of fantastic scenarios.  Larger and more modernist Native American societies in North America, the Aztecs or Incas with more...

Two major events that created England's desire to settle the New World was the formation of the Church of England in 1534 and the destruction of the Spanish Armada by Sir Francis Drake in 1588.

This question depends on your vantage point. European arrival to the New World was catastrophic for the Native Americans. Native Americans had no disease resistance to smallpox, typhus, and...

The answer that you are most likely supposed to give for this question is that Christopher Columbus represented Spain on the voyage in which he “discovered” the New World.  Historians might...

There's really no end to the ways we could articulate the impact these regions had on each other in the post-Columbian period, but we can focus on a few. Agriculture was massively changed with the...

There are two kinds of causes of European exploration.  First, exploration was caused by technological changes that made it more possible.  These were largely changes in ship technology...

After the Ottomans took control of the Mediterranean and overland passages to Asia, the cost of traveling these traditional routes became prohibitively high for the Europeans, both from tolls and...

The British Empire owed its success to many factors. One key to its success was its efficient taxation system. While this angered colonists, British taxes funded the realm, and the empire did not...

We tend to overestimate the importance of Christopher Columbus as an individual.  Columbus himself had very little impact on any of the things you mention in your question.  He was merely...