15th Century The Spanish And Portuguese example essay topic

The expansion of Western Europe started with the Iberian phase. Spain and Portugal, the two countries of the Iberian Peninsula, had a short-lived yet important role in European expansion. European expansion then turned to Western Europe. Western Europe consists of the Dutch, French, and British. While Western Europe was exploring new worlds overseas, the Russians were expanding westward across all of Eurasia. Religion played a major role in expansion for both the Portuguese and the Spanish due to their extensive anti-Muslim crusade.

Due to the over zealous religious fervor of the Christian Iberians, Christianity and thus the Iberians expanded into parts of western Europe during the crusades as Christians tried to convert the Muslims who were occupying this area. The Iberians did not stop with the European mainland; they were also expanding overseas. They were interested in the fertile land of the Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores and Cape Verde. These islands would also prove to be strategic acquisitions for the Iberians, as they would eventually provide the Iberians with bases and ports to be used for commerce. Throughout the 15th century the Spanish and Portuguese had been exploring lands throughout the Atlantic which drove Queen Isabella of Spain to commission Christopher Columbus in 1492 to "Discover and acquire islands and mainland in the ocean sea" (p. 340) which eventually led to the discovery of North America. In the mid 1400's Spain and Portugal began to take separate routes of discovery.

Prince Henry of Portugal, in reaction to the shortage of bullion in Western Europe, was interested in sending his captains to the African coast in search of gold. As a result, many Portuguese ports were established along the African coast and "The Portuguese were able to exploit at least a part of the African caravan trade they had sought". (p. 340) While Portugal was focused on expansion along the African coast; the Spanish were the first to discover the "new world" despite the lack of geographical knowledge the Spaniards and Columbus in particular possessed. This "new world" wasn't quite what Columbus had though it was, however; as Columbus maintained to his death that he had reached Asia. He hadn't, "He had landed at one of the Bahaman Islands, San Salvador". (p. 342) Columbus' distorted reality proved to be monumental in that it encouraged further exploration of the Americas.

The Spanish monarchs funded Columbus' three additional expeditions but none proved to be extremely profitable. India, the new world that Columbus had set out to conquer, was finally reached in 1487 when Bartholomeau Dias landed at Mossel Bay on the Indian Ocean. The cape route to India was secured in 1498 when Vasco da Gama and his four ships landed in Calicut harbor. In 1499 da Gama returned to the Portuguese mainland with a cargo that "Proved to be worth sixty times the cost of the entire expedition" (p. 345) proving that the trip was well worth the effort and that the Indian "new world" did indeed exist. The fever for expansion continued into the 16th century as the Europeans continued to battle for ports and trade routes in the new world. The Portuguese holdings in Asia was relatively small, yet the territories in the possession were so strategically located that they gave the Portuguese control "Trade routes spanning half the globe". (p. 347) Despite their efforts, the Egyptians (with the help of the Venetians) as well as the Turks we unsuccessful at trying to drive the Portuguese out of the Indian Ocean.

Once the Spanish realized that they were losing the battle for the Spice Islands, they commissioned Ferdinand Magellan to sail to Asia in search of them. Magellan circumnavigated the globe and eventually reached the modern day Philippines in search of valuable cargo. Despite many obstacles, Magellan made it back to Seville in 1522 with enough valuable cargo to finance his voyage. Despite valiant efforts by the Spanish, the Portuguese maintained their stronghold in the Spice Islands until 1605 when the Portuguese lost them to the Dutch. (p. 349) The age of the conquistadors began with Cortes' expedition to the Yucatan. After months of vicious fighting, Cortes toppled the Aztec empire and gained control of Mexico. Another Spanish conquistador, Pizza ro defeated the Inca Empire and gained control of modern day Peru.

Their conquests lead to the further exploration of both North and South America. "In the period between 1600 and 1763, Spain and Portugal were overtaken and surpassed by the powers of Northwestern Europe- Holland, France and Britain". (p. 357) Due the lack of Iberian activity in the north Atlantic the northwestern Europeans, led by imperialism, set out to tap the resources of North America. Through the effort of Sir John Hawkins and Francis Drake, England was able to "Break boldly and openly into the Iberian imperial preserves-into the Portuguese east as well as into Spanish America". (p. 359) Toward the end of the 16th century the Dutch had set their sites on Portugal's empire in the east. By 1602, through their acquisition of their various private trading companies, the Dutch had formed the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch also strengthened their economic power through the harvesting of coffee and taking over the whaling industry. Through various wars with Britain and France during the late 17th century the Dutch stronghold was weakened.

In the 18th century "Holland gave way to Britain and France". (p. 363) Britain and France battled for colonial supremacy throughout most of the 18th century. "The dual between the 2 empires between the 17th and 18th centuries ended in an overwhelming British triumph". (p. 364). Britain now had complete control of the New England colonies of North America. While the western Europeans were busy expanding all over the globe the Russian focused on expansion into Asia. "The gathering of the Russian lands" (p 373) occurred during the reign of Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century. All of Russia was now united under Moscow.

The Russians eventually crossed the Ural Mountains and gained control of all of Siberia. The Russians then moved southward into the Amur valley where they "More than met their match" (p. 375) the Chinese empire. The age of Russian expansion ended with the signing of the Nerchinsk treaty, which remained in effect for over 170 years. Due to the explorations of the Iberians, Dutch, English, French and Russians, lands were discovered that encompass a large portion of the world as we know it today. Due to many advances in maritime technology, geography and military powers, these groups were able to conquer much of the world in a relatively short amount of time.