The Age of Discovery or The Age of Exploitation?
Due Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Many historians feel that the years from 1492 to 1700 traditionally called the Age of Exploration and Discovery should be renamed the Age of Exploitation and Imperialism. In this blog, you will join the argument that scholars have been debating over the past three or more decades and present your opinion on this issue.
Some historians maintain that it was the “desire” to venture forth across the Atlantic Ocean and ascertain what laid beyond the horizon that brought about the Age of European dominance. Meanwhile, other historians maintain that is was the blatant manipulation and extension of European control in the new lands that allowed Europeans to gain world-wide dominance.
In your initial post, you are required to present evidence which demonstrates whether the era should be called the Age of Exploration & Discovery or Exploitation & Imperialism. No you can not claim it is both! You must make a choice on one or the other!
Do not repeat or use an event or person that has already been used by another student unless you are making a contrary argument!
Columbus Letter to the King and Queen of Spain 1494
Lecture 2: The Age of DiscoveryThe Age of Exploration: 1492-1650
First European Exploration and Exploitation
Columbus, The Indians and Human Progress
Two Documents from the Reign of Philip II
A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies (1542)
Please feel free to use other sources but remember that Wiki’s are never an acceptable source!
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ReplyDeleteWhile Columbus’s voyage to the Indies did kick of an age that would forever connect the Old World with the “New” World, and lead to the Colombian Exchange, I believe the era should be more aptly referred to as the Age of Exploitation and Imperialism. When considering that the ideals of Gold, Glory and God were what drove Columbus and others to search for an easier route to Asia it is almost given that these aims were to be achieved by any means necessary. This would lead to the subjugation of both native populations and Africans slaves to further European imperialism. In a letter written to the King and Queen of Spain, Columbus makes his interests clear, exclusively focusing on the gold available on Hispaniola and the means of which it should be gathered. Columbus also makes suggestions on how to attract colonists to the islands, “…that for the better and more speedy colonization of the said island, no one shall have liberty to collect gold in it except those who have taken out colonists' papers…” (“Columbus Letter”). The colonization of the island plays into the idea of extending Spanish power so that any wealth found on the island could be monopolized by the country.
ReplyDeleteThis search for wealth continued as the conquistadors moved further into the Americas and began began to cultivate the land. The native populations were thus exploited as a labor force to keep up with the Spanish and Portuguese demand for cocoa, indigo and precious metals. However, due to the spread of European diseases a large part of these native populations were virtually exterminated and the Spanish were forced to import African slaves (“First European Exploration and Exploitation”). The importation of African slaves shows that European exploitation was not limited to the natives in the land which they were conquering but the other peoples i.e Africans that were encountered during these trade/exploration voyages.
Isabelle I think you did a good job explaining why this era should be the age of exploitation and imperialism instead of exploration and discovery. But I think instead of getting into more towards the triangle trade you should have put in more religious things like the mission. But overall good job
DeleteIsabelle, fantastic, though I wish I had chosen different examples for my post, because it reads very similar to yours and I posted after, so I apologize for the close write. Anyway, I think we both had the right idea but I'd take Sam's advice and add in a religious aspect to bolster the "Gold, Glory, and God" theme. Two Documents and Columbus, The Indians and Human Progress are two references I'd use for the religious aspect. Very, well done though, I liked your post a lot.
DeleteIsabelle, I think you tying in how the enslavement of the Native populations set precedent for the emergence of African slaves is a very beneficial point in your argument. It shows that the exploitation during the era of exploitation and discovery did not end once settlements had been established. It also shows the lasting impact that reliance on slave labor had on the settlements of the new world.
DeleteToday, famously known as Christopher Columbus Day, marks the anniversary of Columbus’s most renown voyage to the Indies when he instead discovered the Americas. Columbus’s hope was to reach India but instead he found a series of island off the coast of the newly discovered continents and several tribes of indigenous people. Though Christopher did start an age that would lead to the Colombian Exchange, his motivations, Gold, Glory and God lead to the massacre and enslavement of thousands of the local population in the Americas. Instead of being known as the Age of Exploration it should be known as the Age of Exploitation and Imperialism. Upon first sight of the natives Columbus wrote in his log “They would make fine servants…With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”
ReplyDelete(Columbus, The Indians and Human Progress). He wrote about over powering them because of their lack of of iron and strong weapons, deeming them inferior and wanting to use them as slaves. When more Spaniards arrived they brought with them disease which killed and weakened the native people, which lead to the enslavement of the African people when the Spanish realized that they could not enslave the sick and dying and there were far to few natives left to enslave ( First European Exploration and Exploitation). The Colombian Exchange was the trading of goods, diseases, plants and animals, from the New World to the Old World and vice versa. The triangle trade which was later derived from the Colombian exchange, connected Africa, Europe and the Americas with a trade route that exchanged slaves. The slaves would be traded for in Africa then they would be shipped to the Americas where they would harvest sugar and tobacco. Then the sugar and tobacco would be shipped to Europe and then the finished goods would be shipped to Africa to be traded for slaves (icps.org). The exploitation of slaves shows that this age was not limited to exploring the new world but was more focused on the trading of slaves and the goods they harvested for profit.
Savannah I think you did a good job but you should have added the god,glory,and gold into your work. Also you should have put in the missionaries or something instead of the triangle trade
DeleteSavannah, while I agree with your argument I believe you could bolster your claim of the significance of Gold, Glory and God by connecting it how these ideals facilitated the slave trade. It was observed that when it became necessary to mine for gold as no more was available on the Earth’s surface, that the “…Spaniards [were] not willing to do the work themselves, and the natives [could not] be forced to do so, because the Emperor has freed them from all obligation of service as soon as they accept the Christian religion. Wherefore it [became] necessary to acquire negro slaves…” (“Two Documents”). This quote is significant because it not only showcases the preoccupation with wealth, but how converting the native populations made it even more necessary to import African slaves.
DeleteSavannah, although I agree entirely with your argument, I feel as though it would be contribute to your argument further if you mentioned more specific areas where the indigenous people were massacred and enslaved. Mentioning specifically how the islands of “Cuba…Puerto Rico and Jamaica, [were] similarly devastated” strengthens your argument by showing that this mass devastation of populations was occurring in numerous places (A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies).
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ReplyDeleteThe famous voyage to India, was the starting point for the era of Exploration and Discovery, but in my opinion it should actually be the era of Exploitation and Imperialism. Columbus’s journey led to an event called the Colombian Exchange. The Colombian Exchange was the exchanging of goods, culture, people and technology between the new and old world. Spain and Portugal went to the americas to insert their dominance by using imperialism and exploitation. To settle their disputes for land, both empires signed the Treaty of Tordesillas (brewminate), this treaty split the land into two, one side was for Spain and the other was for Portugal.
ReplyDeleteThe Spanish sent conquistadors, missionaries, and disease over to the americas. The conquistadors came over to cultivate land for goods and precious metals, and the conquistadors had the perfect work force in their eyes, the indigenous people. The missionaries built missions to forcefully convert people to Christianity(let.rug.nl), they didn't just force them to Christianity they also desecrated their sacred statues and temples. To meet the quota for the Spanish monarchs the conquistadors brutalized, exploited, and nearly exterminated the native people to get their goods. The conquistadors weren't the only ones that killed the natives, disease also killed the natives, since the natives didn't have any resistance to the diseases they died fairly quickly. These are just a few of the reasons why this era should be called the era of Exploitation and Imperialism.
Sam, to avoid confusion I would recommend acknowledging that while Columbus was endeavoring to travel to India/the Asia continent as a whole, he landed in the Indies instead. As for your claim of the significance of European diseases that were carried over, I think your argument would benefit from an example of the devastation European diseases wreaked on the native populations. For example, in the case of Hispaniola “when the Spanish first journeyed there, the indigenous population…stood at some three million; today only two hundred survive” (“A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies”). This would underline the magnitude of the deaths caused by the Europeans.
DeleteSam, very well done, but I'll give the same advice to you as you gave to me. You have great examples for God, Glory, and Gold, but it wold empower you to mention them directly. The Two Documents resource, specifically the first paragraph, The Gold of the Indies, provides sufficient information bout the profits and the religious gain that the Spanish gained. Overall, good job.
DeleteSam, I think if you were to incorporate the importance of “God, Gold, and Glory” into your argument, it would strengthen it quite a bit. Diving deeper into the “religious desire to save souls” and the “simple desire for gold and sliver” along with the recognition for discovering new lands would provide your readers with more background knowledge on the matter (Lecture 2: Age of Discovery).
DeleteTo many historians, the era of Columbus’s voyage has been deemed fit to be labeled as a period of exploration and discovery. Columbus’s maiden voyage in 1492 served as a catalyst for not only exploration, but chiefly exploitation. The European’s quest for wealth in the world became the death knell for many indigenous people during the so called age of exploration.
ReplyDeleteUpon Columbus’s second voyage, his “aim was clear: slaves and gold” (Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress). Columbus and his crew proceeded to use the compliance of the natives against them and enslave them. Natives were set with the task of acquiring a certain amount of gold, or else the faced dismemberment and death. Due to the lack of gold in this area, brutal killings were a common occurrence (Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress). Prior to Columbus’s arrival, the population of Hispaniola had been 250,000 people. Over the course of 40 years, the population had been reduced to a measly 500.
Columbus was among many Europeans to cause mass devastation of populations of indigenous people of the New World. Conquistador Hernando Cortes and his army conquered the Aztecs in Mexico, resulting in “the Aztec population had be[ing] reduced from 25 million to 2 million people” over the course of 30 years. Francesco Pizarro’s conquest of the Incan Empire resulted in “thousands of Incas [being] slaughtered” (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pizarro-executes-last-inca-emperor). Although there were beneficial outcomes during this time period, such as the Columbian Exchange and the overall discovery of the New World, the amount of lives of Natives lost to disease and brutality are what make this era a time of exploitation and imperialism.
ReAnna, well done, though I would also add something about the Spanish converting the natives to Christianity to further prove the God, Glory, and Gold motivations.
DeleteReAnna, I believe you could strengthen your argument if you mentioned the lasting effects the conquering on the Aztecs had on Spanish occupation in the Americas. After the mass wealth was found with the Aztecs the Spanish became even more aggressive in their pursuits of gold as proof there was abundance was made clear. I feel this would connect back to your argument of Gold, Glory and God and how these ideals lead to exploitation of the native populations.
ReplyDelete