4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events 1450-1750  

Roles of States

• Voyages (e.g. Columbus) were expensive and w/o state sponsorship would not have been possible.
• States wanted:   * New wealth brought by taxes and trading opportunities   * New material wealth (esp. silver)   * To expand before their other European rivals did   * Spread Christianity (i.e. considered their duty as Christians to convert others)     * Religion is tightly woven into gov’t of European states.

Mercantilism

• The wealth and power of a country was measured in the amount of gold and silver they had.   * Set up policies to sell as many goods as possible, to maximize gold and silver coming into the country.   * Buy as little as possible from other countries.
• This requires heavy gov’t involvement
• Goes hand in hand with colonization

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