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Was the Age of Exploration a time of discovery or invasion? Respond below. 

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Was the Age of Exploration a time of discovery or invasion? Respond below. 

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The Age of Exploration was a time of discovery that brought along invasion. It was both a time of discovery and invasion. The Age of Exploration brought discoveries of civilizations that were lost to Europeans. The age of exploration connected two separate parts of the world. It also allowed better mapping and navigation of the seas. Multiple new trade routes were discovered which allowed for civilizations to trade goods such as spices. The age of exploration helped improve the European's understanding of the geography of the world. However, these discoveries also led to invasion. A famous example is when Hernan Cortez and the Spanish invaded the Aztecs and pillaged the entire city of Tenochtitlan. They did this so that they could obtain valuable resources such as gold and jewels. These discoveries eventually led to greed and greed led to conquest by Europeans. Many natives had their territory taken from them forcefully and died from the diseases that were brought by the Europeans. Many natives were enslaved by the European in order to obtain more gold. The Age of explorations is one of the reasons for imperialism. Many powerful European countries had control of lands that were previously inhabited by the native people. The Age of exploration also led to slave trade in the Americas. In all, the age of exploration was a time of discoveries but these discoveries led to invasion.

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Source one shows us the English arriving in North America in the 1580s. It shows the English with weapons and being treated very well by the Natives with gifts such as gold and other treasures. This is similar to the Spanish conquest as Hernan Cortes was treated very well by the Aztecs before turning on them.

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In 1519, Hernan Cortes and his 500 men disobeyed Spain's orders and left Cuba in hopes of getting gold/glory. When they made it to the Yucatan Peninsula, they began their completing their goals. They fought against a group of natives which they defeated and killed many of. Then using the information the Natives gave them, they discovered the Aztec empire. Hernan Cortez then burned his ships so that none of his men could retreat.

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Territory and land was a motive for the age of exploration. Several European nations would use the age of exploration to conquer territory. This was very one sided and only usually benefitted the conquers being the Europeans. The natives that were conquered had less land, were usually treated poorer, sometimes killed, and also died from diseases that were brought by the conquerors.

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Source 2 tells us that the queen supported taking the lands from the Natives forcefully as they were not ruled by a Christian prince or were Christian. This is a similar theme in the Age of exploration and the Spanish conquest as many Native civilizations were first attempted to be converted to Christianity and then next have their lands taken. For example, Hernan Cortez attempted to convert the Aztecs to Christianity but was unsuccessful.

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Hernan Cortez saw the city of Tenochtitlan and was surprised at the extravagance of the city. Based off of his writings, the city was situated on a lake and is massive. It had temples, houses, and various other structures. The city also had technology such as canals and artificial waterways. There was multiple temples but one of the temples was distinct and was special. This temple housed priests, was astonishingly large,  and was extravagant.

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A motive of the Age of exploration was to spread Christianity. This was good in the eyes of the Europeans as they practiced the religion. However, this could be good or bad for the natives depending on how they view Christianity. Some natives that did not want to practice Christianity suffered from explorers trying to convert them. Others that did want to convert to Christianity could maintain a healthy relationship or could have been taken advantage of by the explorers.

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Source 3 tells us about how French explorer Jacques Cartier and his crewmen were suffering from a illness. It then tells us that the natives helped them by giving them a cure and it also tell us that French explorer Jacques Cartier was truly grateful for the help they gave. This shows us that the not all of the explorers in the Age of Explorations had bad relationships with the Natives that they met.

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Cortez was led along by the Aztecs to the center of the city where he met the king of the Aztecs whose name was Montezuma. The king treated the Spanish very well but he news of the the massacre Cortez committed was starting to spread. Based of an Aztec scribe, Cortez was treated like a god but he was scared that they might find out he is not a god and remove him. Cortez then decided to kidnap the king and ransom him for a large amount of gold and jewels. He also tried to convert the Aztecs to Christianity. The city fell into chaos because of Cortez and Cortez was eventually removed from the city in March, 1520.

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A motive of the Age of Exploration was to find a valuable resource which is called gold. This motive would have helped European countries and their inhabitants to become richer and have a higher quality of life. However, this was a negative for natives as it caused the native's countries to be looted, pillaged, attacked, and sometimes massacred for this precious resource. An example of greed hurting natives was the Aztecs who were attacked by the Spanish conquistadors. Some Natives were forced to mine gold as slaves.

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Source 4 tells us the account of John Smith's encounter with natives. In this account, he referred to the natives as "savages." It tells us that Captain Smith hunted the natives down that intruded on him and imprisoned them, beat them, and whipped them. It relates to the Age of exploration and the Spanish conquest as many explorers treated the natives harshly by imprisoning them, beating them, and even killing some of them.

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An arrest party was sent to capture Cortez by the governor of Cuba. However, Cortez battled the arrest party and defeated them. He then decided to invade and pillage Tenochtitlan which caused the King to flee the city. They killed people and stole many things from each home they ravaged. The Spanish also brought diseases such as smallpox with them which ravaged the city. After 80 days of fighting, the Aztec royalty surrendered to Cortez and his men. He then claimed the lands for Spain.

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Glory was another motive for the Age of Exploration. Glory was a positive for the explorers as it gives more interest in these explorers. Glory caused exploration to be popular amongst people. Glory could however lead to other consequences such as explorers finding glory in killing, taking advantage of, and pillaging natives and their civilizations. Glory was one of the reasons that Hernan Cortez decided to continue with his expedition and eventually

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Source 5 shows the French explorer Jacques Cartier plant the Christian cross in front of Native Americans. This relates to the Age of Exploration as spreading Christianity was one of the motives of exploration and this source shows us that the French explorers attempted to spread Christianity.

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Did Cortes embody the human spirit of exploration and acquisition of knowledge?
Cortes does not embody the human spirit of exploration and acquisition of knowledge. It is clear that he does not as his pure motivation was money and fame. We know that he decided to kidnap the king and ransomed him for valuable resources. He also looted the city for valuable resources such as gold and jewels. He destroyed the city and massacred the natives and even people from his country. It is clear that he did all of this for wealth and glory. Therefore, Cortez does not embody the human spirit of exploration and acquisition of knowledge and instead embodies the greed for wealth and fame.

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Spices was a motive for exploration as spices were extremely valuable. Getting spices was good for European countries as they could be extremely rich or could get to enjoy these spices. However, the want for spices could lead to native civilizations getting taken advantage of and could also lead to native civilizations being conquered and turned into colonies.

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Source 6 tells us the encounter of Native Americans and Englishmen after Pocahontas was married to John Rolfe. 2 sons of the Powhatan tribe came to check on Pocahontas where they found her being fine and in a good state which was opposite to what the two son's father said. The two kids then had fun with the Englishmen. This shows that some explorers had good relations with the Native people they encountered. However, it does relate to the common theme in explorers where the fear of the natives and vice versa was common.

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Trade routes to trade for spices was the motive for many expeditions. Trade routes helped bring the world closer and allowed for nations to have items that can only be found in certain areas of the world such as spices or certain materials such as silk.

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This source shows an Englishman trading furs with a Native American. This relates to the Age of Exploration as many explorers traded goods with natives in exchange for goods such as spices. Many explorers wanted to find trade routes to Asia for the purpose of obtaining spices which are sometimes more valuable then gold.

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Henry the Navigator was a famed explorer and helped make maps and undertake expeditions. He also helped discover trade routes. He made many discoveries and helped other explorers. He was very beneficial to the age of exploration. However, his discoveries could have helped cause natives to be hurt indirectly.

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Were the English and French any different from the Spanish when they reached the New World?
The English and French were different from the Spanish when they reached the New World. Although these countries attempted to spread Christianity and try to increase their land size/wealth, they treated the natives they met differently. For example, the French explorer Jacques Cartier has good relations with the Native people he met. He was even grateful for them helping him. The French traded with the Native Americans for furs. The French and Native Americans had a mutualistic relationship where each would benefit from the other. England was much harsher to the Native Americans as some of the English explorers would hurt the natives. There were of course times when Englishmen and Natives had good relations. A notable case was when Pocahontas married an Englishman. In all, the English and the French treated the Natives they met with more respect and did less harm than the Spanish. They had better relations with the Native people they met.

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Christopher Columbus was a monumental in helping Spain "discover" America. He helped bring the two separate lands closer together and brought knowledge to the continent of Europe. This helped the European countries get richer. But, he did harm the natives he met and enslaved many of them. His discoveries caused many native populations to be damaged and also caused the spread of diseases such as smallpox which was detrimental to the natives.

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Were these motives and causes for exploration harmless?
These motives and causes for exploration were far from being harmless. The need for territory caused natives to lose their homes and to be massacred in many instances. The explorers also brought diseases with them that caused some native populations to be decimated and to fall. Natives were also in many cases enslaved by these explorers. The motives and causes for exploration also led to imperialism which is argued by many to harmful to the native people. This eventually lead to preventable bloodshed and violence. Thus, the motive and causes for exploration were far from being harmless and was detrimental to many people and civilizations.