Respond to two classmates.  Responses be minimum of 100 words for each response.

Classmate1:

Global trading was a major contributor, if not the largest, to the beginning of the Age of Exploration. Europeans, during part of the Renaissance era, began expanding their knowledge of the arts and sciences leading to new ideas and technologies. This “new knowledge and technologies made possible the construction of stronger, larger sailing ships…capable of oceanic voyages” (Shi, pg. 18).

With the ability to sail these large ships on voyages throughout the ocean, the Europeans were able to expand trade throughout the Middle East, Asia and Africa, which lead to the Age of Exploration. “By the end of the fifteenth century, trade between western European nations and the Middle East and Asia became more important than ever” (Shi, pg. 18). This larger scale trading that that was stimulated by the use of large ships and new navigational instruments led to the campaign to discover faster routes to Japan and China, which ultimately lead to the European discovery of the Americas.

Another factor that prompted the exploration and settlement of the New World was greed and the rights to claim the Americas. With the gold and silver resources that were discovered in the Americas, the Spanish motives were to get rich. During the sixteenth century the Spanish began to conquer and colonize the Americans. “Their motives, as one solider explained, were “to serve God and the king, and also to get rich””(Shi, pg. 27). Spain’s successful conquests prompted other Countries including France, England, Portugal and the Netherlands to begin their own exploration to colonize and claim their rights to the New World.

Classmate 2:

Discussion Chapter 1

The desire to want more, do more, or be more is driven by the morals or ethics in which a child is raised in. Some children are provided a positive surrounding, know how to treat others, and achieve goals set by society or their parents. The same is displayed for a child in an abusive environment they will fight for survival, repeat the behavior learned, or slim number raise above to change their surroundings. This is proven during the beginning of the age of exploration at the end of the fifteenth when a “new middle class of profit-hungry bankers, merchants, and investors emerged, men who were committed to more dynamic commercial economy driven by innovations in banking, currency, accounting and insurance.” (Shi, 17) This was result of poorly treated servants wanting to change their abusive environment under noble family’s control. This improved exploration, because this middle class created bigger boats and navigation tools, which eventually let global trading “around African, India, Southeast Asia, China, and Japan, rich with spices, silk cloth, and other exotic trade goods. (Shi, 19).

Religion motives the action of many people in the world. For example, Wayland Baptist University requires all student to take at least two religion courses in order to graduate. Catholic churches require parents to attend courses before they will baptism infant or child be in second grade and attend a year of classes before taking their first communion. Which of these beliefs are wrong or correct? What would you do to motive a person to have the same beliefs as you? Through out history this was a motivating factor for some explorers. Christopher Columbus “By the 1480 he was eager to spread Christianity across the globe”. (Shi, 19) Spanish “enslaved the indigenous peoples, planted Christianity in the Western Hemisphere and gained the resources to rule the world.” (Shi, 27). Both Columbus and Spanish explorers listed a religious belief as a reason to explore the world. Not the moral sin of greed and lust that were also used in the converting the religion Indians. Also collecting resources, they discover to fund future explorations.

References

Shi, D. E. (2019). America The Essential Learning Edition. New York: W.W Norton & Company, Inc.