7 Jul 2022

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Voyages of Exploration the Early Modern Era

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Academic level: College

Paper type: Research Paper

Words: 947

Pages: 3

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Introduction 

One of the ways through which countries and territories as significant as Europe used to spread their territories was through voyages of exploration. Popular figures that were involved in this craft are Cristopher Columbus and Vasco Da Gama who reached lands and used routes that were previously tough to navigate. With these explorations, they brought civilizations such as farming and trade although with them came death, brutality and inhumanity that has never been seen before. Indeed, these voyages of exploration were to eventually be beneficial to the society of the early modern era although they were at a great cost.

Voyages of Exploration and their Impact on the Early Modern Era 

Although these early voyage explorations eventually lead to progress in the world’s society, it was implemented in a inhumane manner and better could have been done. Indeed, the European people were civilized in such a manner that they had their own enlightened way of doing things (Casas, 1542) . Other civilizations were able to present different realities when compared to the Europeans. They were civilized in that they operated in a systematic and organized manner. They were also innovative and were able to come up with innovations that made it easy for others to indulge in some activities.

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To start with, these individuals used Christianity which, together with money, provided motivation for people to live their lives in particular manners. The money came through the commercial revolution which had pushed Europe from the poverty it had been in prior. These are systems that are still in use today and they help create an environment of order (Smil, 2013) . Christianity, which is the largest most-practiced religion in the world, has made it tough for people to live a life of crime.

With the voyage into the Indies, the world also opened up a little bit more for trade. Prior to that, the Indies were inaccessible territory. Thus, the spices that the Westerners loved for improving the palatability of their food were virtually inaccessible (Smil, 2013) . The Europeans knew so little about the place that to them it was almost mythical. Apart from being inaccessible at the time, it cost significant weights in gold. Today, these are easily found and are not very expensive for one to acquire.

Thanks to the voyages, countries such as Portugal went on to improve others that had potential. These include the Madieras islands which were full of forest and trees. Upon being burnt down, the soil became good and went on to produce good wine at the time (Smil, 2013) . Portugal also inspired the building and use of ships and navigation systems which made it possible to navigate places in the ocean that had never been navigated before. For instance, Vasco Da Gama was able to get to India via the East and South Coasts of Africa in a feat that had taken over 30 years to manage (Smil, 2013) . That means that later on it was possible to navigate these waters for the purpose of trade.

These voyages were also important because they influenced globalization. Although they came with brutal stance, they made it possible for people of different, nationalities and backgrounds to come across and influence each other in some way (Casas, 1542) . The Spaniards who were greedy and arrogant went on to see that indeed, there are different ways through which people can decide to live. The Indians did everything differently which was very strange to these colonizers (Casas, 1542) . Some of these qualities include the lack of desire for worldly possessions and the contentment with simple life amongst others. This made it possible for people from different places to influence diverse cultures with an aspect of their own.

Nevertheless, it is important to know that despite the good that came out of the situation, that was not the intention. The reason for these voyages were diverse one of them being world-supremacy (Casas, 1542) . When they brought about Christianity, the idea was to establish it as the most divinely established religion in the world which is superior to others. As such, the Asians and were heathens that needed to be converted.

Secondly, the idea of exploring the different continents was to become rich from them. Europeans were master farmers and they needed more land to farm which meant them invading them (Casas, 1542) . The Indies in particular had spices that seemed mythical including cinnamon and pepper which they used to make their food more palatable than it was prior. The roads were restricted then and Marco Polo was the only Westerner that could use the Silk Road and get into Asia and the Indies (Smil, 2013) . The third reason for these voyages of exploration was pride. By being the most dominant culture in existence, it meant that the personal and national pride of the Europeans would be a existing truth. Monarchs were also always bent towards glory and in this case it would mean more revenue and territory for him to manage.

The voyagers also cost these people their humility and dignity. According to Bartoleme De Las Casas, the Indian people from the Indies were not bad people. They had a rich history and were generally poor (Smil, 2013) . They walked around naked and did not desire any worldly possessions. As such, they were not embittered, arrogant and greedy in any manner. They were also intelligent people that were clean and well kept. however, they were unlucky enough to experience Spaniards who descend on them like they are ravaging beasts (Casas, 1542) . They have wicked intent and come to murder and loot what is rightfully the Indians. Over 2100 islands in the country were depopulated entirely by the Spaniards.

Conclusion 

These voyages were positive to the world because they have impacted it positively for long. For instance, they helped spread the use of money and Christianity which have helped the people be orderly and more civilized when relating to each other. They also helped start globalization which has since led to the integration learning of different cultures and benefiting from them. Although these were positive impacts, it is important to remember that the intentions of the voyagers were negative and even resulted in a negative outcome; the degradation of humanity and its values.

References

Casas, B. d. (1542). Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies. 

Smil, V. (2013). Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization. John Wiley & Sons. 

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 16). Voyages of Exploration the Early Modern Era.
https://studybounty.com/voyages-of-exploration-the-early-modern-era-research-paper

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