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Age of European Exploration and Conquest

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The four major European nations that engaged in exploration and colonization during the 15th
and 16th centuries were Portugal, Spain, France, and England. During the 15th and 16th
centuries, European nations engaged in exploration of the world. This is era is now known as the
Age of Discovery. The progress in the technology of navigation played a big role in this
movement. In past ages, Europeans thought that the earth was flat. The theories showing that the
Earth was round and improved navigation techniques such as the introduction of the compass
and astrolabe, allowed for more freedom of movement. The most significant motivation for
European exploration was economic: they wanted to find a sea route to India to lower the prices
for shipments of spices and find a more reliable way to import spices after the fall of
Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks. Another important role was due to Religious reasons.

The European countries of Spain and Portugal were the first to begin voyages of exploration. The
Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator was involved in the first voyages of explorations. Henry
sent several expeditions trying to find an alternative road to India along the West African coast.
Meanwhile, Christopher Columbus of Spain with the support of the Spanish Queen Isabelle tried
to reach India by sailing westwards. He set sail from the port of Palos in Spain August 3 1492.
He reached the Bahamas Islands on October 12, falsely believing that he had reached the East
Indies. Amerigo Vespucci took part in several expeditions on the eastern coast of South America
from 1499 to 1502. During these voyages he realized that Columbus had in fact discovered an
entire continent. Vasco da Gama was the first European to reach India through sea. This
discovery was very impactful and paved the way for the Portuguese to establish a long lasting
colonial empire in Asia.

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Under Spain, the Aztecs and the Incas were conquered by conquistadors like Hernando Cortez
and the Pizarro brothers. The Divisions within Indian empires and the devastation of native
populations by European diseases aided the Spanish in these conquests. Juan Ponce de Len was
a Spanish explorer and conquistador, who conquered Puerto Rico. The 15th and 16th century
voyages of discovery brought Europe, Africa, and the Americas into direct contact, producing an
exchange of foods, animals, and diseases that is known as the Columbian Exchange.

John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of Newfoundland
under the commission of Henry VII of England is commonly thought to have been the
first European encounter with the mainland of North America since the Vikings visits to
Vinland in the 11th century.

Other European powers decided to initiate their own voyages of exploration, after hearing of the
steady flow of money and treasures that began to enrich Spain and Portugal. England, France and
the Netherlands sent expeditions and began to establish colonies in America, Asia and Africa.
Competition between these powers to impose their supremacy on colonies and trade routes
resulted in long and repetitive wars between these powers. By the end of the 16th century France,
England and the Netherlands were competing with Spain and Portugal for supremacy. The death
of King Sebastian I of Portugal in 1578, led to the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580 which
allowed Philip II of Spain to unite the two kingdoms under the rule of the Spanish kings. He
neglected the Portuguese colonies and declared war to England.
This conflict resulted in the disastrous destruction of a large part of the Spanish fleet in 1588
which marked the end of the Spanish colonial supremacy. In 1602, the Dutch East India

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Company was established; it gave the Netherlands control over most of the Portuguese colonies,
and was able to establish a colonial empire based on trade with Southern Asia. In 1621, the
Netherlands established some colonies in Brazil and North America.

The English and the French began establishing colonies in different parts of the world at the
beginning of the 17th century. Elizabeth I, apprehensive that Spain posed threats to English
economic and military security decided to challenge Spain more aggressively. English merchants
in search of new markets and new land lent increasing support to colonization as well.
England tried to establish trading posts in India and along the Persian Gulf as well as establishing
colonies in North America. England and the Netherlands engaged in a series of wars that
weakened the Netherlands and England emerged as the predominant naval power in Europe. In
1601 France establishing a number of trading posts on the eastern and western coasts of India.
The French turning their attention toward the New World founded many colonies in Canada and
Atlantic coast. France and England were allies against the Netherlands in The Third AngloDutch.

The three distinct forms of European colonization in the New World were empires of conquest,
commerce, and settlement. While, Spain regarded the Indians as a usable labor force, France
treated the Indians primarily as trading partners. The English adopted a policy known as
plantation settlement: which was the removal of the indigenous population and its replacement
with native English and Scots.

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Frances New World Empire was based largely on the fur trade along the St. Lawrence River and
the interior, where the French constructed forts, missions, and trading posts. The French
relationships with Indians were less violent than the Spanish or English. Religious persecution
also motivated English colonization. Some 30,000 English Puritans immigrated to New England,
Maryland became a refuge for Roman Catholics and Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and
Rhode Island, were haven for Quakers.

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References
(2014, September 17). Colonial conflicts and competition between European countries
Retrieved from:
http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=Colonial_conflicts_and_competition_between_
European_countries#European_voyages_of_exploration

(2014, September 20). Overview of the Colonial Era: Digital History ID 2909
Retrieved from: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraid=2

James West Davidson, Brian DeLay, Christine Leigh Heyrman and Mark Lytle, (2011) US: A
Narrative History Volume 1 to 1865, McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 6
edition