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
