Many reasons were behind European Colonization of the New World, which, in countless ways, shaped the lifestyle we know today. However, three of those reasons stand out most in assessing what made the colonization of the Americas possible. New trade routes, religious freedom, and ambitions of wealth all played major roles in colonizing the Americas.
When Columbus set out west, he was seeking a new, faster route to Asia. He did discover an important route to somewhere. While the route to the Americas was not a quicker way to Asia, as Columbus had presumed, its now established course would undoubtedly change the world forever. The unexpected discovery of a course to the Americas opened trade unimaginable to Columbus’ contemporary Europe. Many new spices, foods, and animals were introduced to Europe as a result of what Columbus and previous Vikings discovered by sailing west. This is one of the reasons colonies were established in the Americas. As royal families were introduced to these new experiences, like potatoes and sugar, they funded explorers, such as Columbus, to make new discoveries and claim land as unrightfully theirs.
A new experience was not the only thing that caused the establishment of new colonies. Another was people who sought after religious freedom, such as the Quakers. In England, the Religious Society of Friends faced persecution because they desired to practice their own denomination of Christian faith. Because of their local government’s oppression towards their society, they fled west, where they dreamed of practicing their own religion without opposition. When they arrived, what they aspired eventually became reality. Roger Williams, who founded Rhode Island, and William Penn, who founded Pennsylvania, both created colonies that allowed religious freedom.
The Essay on Christopher Columbus Americas Time Asia
On October 12, 1492, two worlds unknown to each other met for the first time on a small island in the Caribbean Sea. While on a voyage for Spain in search of a direct sea route from Europe to Asia, Christopher Columbus accidentally discovered the Americas. However, in four separate voyages to the Caribbean from 1492 to 1504, he remained convinced that he had found the lands that Marco Polo reached ...
Ambitions of wealth and greed were other reasons for colonial establishment in the Americas. Countries not only wished to claim land, but also desired gold and silver. Spanish conquests of the Aztecs, Incas, and other Native American peoples inspired England to settle in America, hoping for the same rich results. The Virginia Company funded the first English colony at Jamestown. Their efforts in succeeding to find gold were not successful, and it took a very high death rate within the colony to allow John Smith to convince the colonists that searching for riches did not fulfill their immediate needs for food and shelter. Although they didn’t find the gold they sought after, tobacco quickly emerged as a cash crop and helped them sustain stability.
European Colonization helped shape the way we live our lives today. New trade routes, religious freedom, and ambitions of wealth were all crucial parts of this ever important period of time.
