Europe and the New World: New Encounters (Chapter 14) Historical Overview: The Western world expanded

greatly during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The motives for expansion were God, glory, and gold. This expansion occurred during this time because of the ability to finance these voyages, better maps and ships, and the astrolabe. Portugal and Spain began this movement toward expansion. The Portuguese began in Africa where they traded and brought back gold and black slaves. In 1488, Southern Africa was rounded. Spain began to establish large colonies because they had the population and the means, unlike Portugal who focused on trade. In 1492, Christopher Columbus reached the Caribbean West Indies and believed it was part of Asia. European diseases, use of gunpowder and horses, and the help of other nation states helped the Europeans to conquer the Aztecs. Slaves became a major trade object and more than ten million slaves were transported to America by the nineteenth century. Warfare was a result of the need for slaves and slavery wasnt criticized or frowned upon in Europe until the late sixteenth century. By the 1600s, the Dutch had banned the Portuguese from the Spice Islands. In the mid1700s, the British East Company had taken control of the Mughal Empire. China limited their trade with other countries and Japan gave trading rights to only the Dutch (those were limited). Colonies were established in the New World by the Dutch, the British, and the French. Joint-stock trading companies, banking and stock exchange space, and integrated markets were signs of a commercial revolution in Europe. Mercantilist theory established the idea that nations must balance their gold and silver and their trade- countries must export more than they import to be successful. Native cultures were massively affected in the Americas. The native cultures were less disturbed in British America. These cultures were even less destroyed in Asia, mainly Japan and China. Catholic missionaries found the most success in The New World and Europe.