Political — power and control

  1. Papal Bulls

    In the past, monarchs were interested in exploring the world by sea. Although these rulers had enough power to launch voyages on their own, they looked for the Pope’s approval, to give their voyages a moral foundation. The Papal Bulls granted the monarchs the authority to undertake their exploration.

    Pope Nicholas V approved Portugal's sea voyages, while Pope Alexander VI permitted Spain's. These approvals laid the groundwork for subsequent sea voyages and discoveries, which contributed to the expansion of global exploration and colonization.

  2. King’s ambitions

    1. Prince Henry of Portugal was the first monarch to be passionate about exploring the world by sea. He planned to expand Portugal's territory and wealth, spread Christianity, and satisfy his curiosity. His efforts started Europe's age of exploration and also began the process of European colonization, capitalism, and the transatlantic slave trade.

      Prince Henry earned his title ‘the Navigator’ by assembling a group of experts to design new ships, maps, and navigational instruments. He funded expeditions to explore the West African coast, building up a lot of marine knowledge with each expedition. He gained the Portuguese a global empire.

    2. Wilhelm II of Germany was those monarchs who aimed to colonize lands by force. During the Age of Imperialism, the aims of sea voyages had changed from curiosity to colonization.

      Under Wilhelm II’s rule, Germany aimed at ‘weltpolitik’ and ‘a place in the sun’. This meant that it would stand up against others’ claims of monopoly over colonial activities, as a place in the sun should be accessible by everyone.

Economic

  1. With the growth of mercantilism, Europeans believed that trade and commerce could make a great country. As voyages were a way to fulfill that aim, Dias and Da Gama went out to the seas with the purpose.

  2. Spices were valuable to Europeans, as they could not be found in Europe, and dishonest merchants also used them to cover the bad smell of rotten meat for huge profits. The search for spices was a strong motivation

  3. Britain gained access to resources such as coal, iron, steel, and human resources through the slave trade by expanding using those new routes and establishing overseas connections.

  4. Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, France, and England took the leadership of the voyages and built their seaborne empires.

    1. Portugal was the first European colonial power to control the new sea route from Europe to Asia. As it had poor military power, it was unable to control the sea routes and new territories. Hence, it lost its competitiveness to other European countries. In 1580, Portugal was occupied by Spain, which led to its fall.
    2. Spain's strong navy and army allowed it to hold the largest overseas territories among European countries. However, due to the large expense of wars, Spain failed to compete with the Netherlands and England. In 1588, England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada led to the failure of Spain's naval supremacy.
    3. The Netherlands, which formerly belonged to Spain, became independent. Later, it had the world's largest merchant fleet and controlled world trade, and became a colonial power. However, during the 17th century, it lost in the Anglo-Dutch Wars, leading to a fall in its colonial influence.
    4. In the 16th and 17th centuries, England defeated Spain and the Netherlands. In the 18th century, Britain charged many colonies from France, becoming another 'empire on which the sun never sets' after Spain. Throughout the later colonial expansion, Britain kept its position.

  5. Italy, as a long-standing trading center, supported the voyages of discovery. The trading centers in Italy, such as Florence, Milan, Genoa, and Venice, were models of other new trading centers, including Goa and Calicut, and Macao.

  6. The rise of Germany after its unification in 1870, made it a competitor in terms of trade to trading countries like Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Britain.

    The German Unification cleared all former trade obstacles among German states. With its wealth of natural resources and knowledge in fields*,*** Germany became a trading partner and competitor to other countries.

    Kaiser William II created 'weltpolitik' and 'a place in the sun', and established the Imperial Navy to challenge countries that were obstacles to Germany’s world domination. Hence, sea voyages for imperialism and colonialism were kept active due to countries like Germany.

Religious

In a world of Christianity, the main mission was to save as many souls by converting people to Christianity.

Christian countries like Portugal and Spain, were concerned about the expanding Muslim presence which blocked land routes to China in the East. These coastal countries set sail on sea voyages to find other Christians to associate with and control the Muslims. As there were rumors that Prester John lived in Africa, explorers voyaged along the western coast of Africa.

In the 16th century, Protestantism rose and challenged the Catholic Church. As the Pope did not allow Henry VIII to divorce and re-marry another as his wife could not give him a son, England broke away from the Church and formed the Church of England. In the 17th century, British Puritans also took voyages to North America following Columbus and Vespucci, seeking religious purity in the new world.

Catholic missionaries also preached in the East, including India, China, and Japan, on commercial vessels from Portugal and Spain. Matteo Ricci, an Italian priest, was one of the most famous missionaries in the East. He traveled to Macau and Beijing and was interested in China's culture and philosophical ideas. However, in 1721, Emperor Kangxi expelled foreigners from China, suspecting their involvement in Chinese politics.

Circumnavigation

The Voyages of Discovery was to settle the argument about whether the Earth was flat. This myth persisted for centuries due to a lack of exploration. People argued that if they could see the mast of a ship in the distance before seeing the whole ship, the Earth's surface was not flat. Navigators like Columbus and Magellan aimed to rest this argument. While Columbus only reached the West Indies, Magellan and his crew completed a "round trip" of the Earth, providing evidence that the Earth was indeed round.

Cultural

Culture refers to the ways how people live and how their ways of life influence others. One of the main reasons for the Voyages of Discovery was a strong desire to explore other cultures, building the habit of exploration.

  1. The Renaissance restored the ancient Greco-Roman civilizations and prepared Europeans to explore.