The Exploration of the World’s Oceans

Motives for Exploration

1. 
   Intro
   
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     A complex combination of motives prompted Europeans to explore the world’s oceans
     
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       Most important of the motives were
       
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         the search for basic resources and lands suitable for the cultivation of cash crops
         
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         the desire to establish new trade routes to Asian markets
         
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         aspiration to expand the influence of Christianity
         
2. 
   Portuguese Exploration
   
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     Mariners from the relatively poor and hardscrabble kingdom of Portugal were most prominent in the search for fresh resources to exploit and lands to cultivate
     
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       Beginning in the 13^th century, Portuguese seamen ventured away from the coasts and into the open Atlantic Ocean
       
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         Originally sought fish, seals, whales, timber, and lands where they could grow wheat to supplement the meager resources of Portugal
         
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         By the early 14^th century, they had discovered the uninhabited Azores and Madeiras islands
         
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         Could grow wheat to supplement the meager resources of Portugal
         
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         Called at the Canary islands, which had been visited by Italian and Iberian merchants
         
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       Because European demand for sugar was strong and increasing, the prospect of sugar plantations on the Atlantic islands was tempting
       
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         Italian entrepreneurs had organized sugar plantations in Palestine and the Med islands since the 12^th century
         
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         In the 15^th century Italian investors worked with Portuguese mariners to establish plantations in the Atlantic islands
         
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       Continuing Portuguese voyages led to the establishment of voyages on the Cape Verde Islands, Sao Tome, Principe, Fernando Po
       
3. 
   The Lure of Trade
   
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     Even more alluring than the exploitation of fresh lands and resources was the goal of establishing maritime trade routes to the markets of Asia
     
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       During the era of the Mongol empires, European merchants often traveled overland as far as China to trade in silk, spices, porcelain, and other Asian goods
       
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       In the 14^th century, with the collapse of the Mongol empires and the spread of bubonic plague, travel on the Silk Roads became much less safe than before
       
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       Muslim mariners continued to bring Asian goods through the Indian Ocean and Red Sea to Cairo, where Italian merchants purchased them for distribution in western Europe
       
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         Prices at Cairo were high, and Europeans sought ever-larger quantities of Asian goods, particularly spices
         
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     By the 14^th century, the wealthy classes of Europe regarded Indian pepper and Chinese ginger as expensive necessities, and they especially prized cloves and nutmeg from the spice islands of Maluku
     
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       Merchants and monarchs alike realized that by offering diret access to Asian markets (eliminating Muslims intermediaries), new maritime trade routes would increase the quantities of Asian goods available in Europe
       
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         Would also yield large profits
         
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     African trade also beckoned to Europeans and called them to the sea
     
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       Since the 12^th century, Europeans had purchased west African gold, ivory, and slaves delivered by the trans-Saharan camel caravans
       
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       Gold was an especially important commodity because the precious metal from west Africa was Europeans’ principal form of payment for Asian luxury goods
       
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         Maritime routes that eliminated Muslims intermediaries and offered more direct access to African markets would benefit European merchants, as the same in Asian markets
         
4. 
   Missionary Efforts
   
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     Alongside material incentives, the goal of expanding the boundaries of Christianity also drove Europeans into the larger world
     
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       Like Buddhism and Islam, Christianity is a missionary religion
       
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       The New Testament specifically urged Christians to spread their faith throughout the world
       
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       During the era of the Mongol empires, Franciscan and Dominican missionaries had traveled as far as India, central Asia, and China in search of converts
       
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     The expansion of Christianity was not a peaceful affair
     
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       Beginning in the 11^th century, western Europeans had launched a series of crusades and holy wars against Muslims in Palestine, the Med islands, and Iberia
       
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       Crusading zeal remained especially strong in Iberia, where the Reconquista came to an end in 1492
       
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         The Muslim kingdom of Granada fell to Spanish forces weeks before Christopher Columbus set sail on his first voyage to the western hemisphere
         
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       Whether through persuasion or violence, overseas voyages offered fresh opportunities for western Europeans to spread their faith
       
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     In practice, the various motives for exploration combined and reinforced each other
     
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       Prince Henry the Navigator, promoted voyages of exploration in west Africa to
       
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         enter the gold trade
         
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         discovery profitable trade routes
         
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         gain intelligence about the extent of Muslim power
         
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         win converts to Christianity
         
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         make alliances against the Muslims with any Christian rulers he might find
         
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       The goal of spreading Christianity became a powerful justification and reinforcement for the more material motives for the voyages of exploration