The Age of Exploration - Assignment Example

Question Several factors drove exploration in the new world. One of these appears to be a real sense of adventure that seems to be a part of the so-called “Age of Exploration”. The journal entries of many explorers such as Columbus and John Smith indicate that they were intrigued by the idea of traveling to far-off lands from a very early age. Indeed, one of the captains that traveled with Columbus repeatedly broke ranks so that he could be the first to see land. These writings and anecdotes indicate that personal fascination with the unknown was a factor driving the personalities that came to discover new lands. A second consideration for exploration was economic gain. This was of primary importance to the French and Dutch explorers. The establishment of trade routes was of primary importance to them. For the French especially, the development of the fur trade caused them to settle along inland waterways much earlier than the other explorers and colonizers. This led to close relationships with native peoples that were often mutually beneficial. The English in establishing their earliest trading colonies were less successful. The Englishmen of Roanoke did not want to labor with their own hands for their sustenance. As a result, the colony failed. These colonies exploited the natural resources of the new world; sending back plundered or mined gold and silver. Timber and native plants were shipped back to Europe as well. Trappers, shaping for some time the fashions in Europe, exploited native animals such as muskrats and beaver. In addition to trade, Spain added religious fervor to the mix of reasons explorers traveled to the new world. Ferdinand and Isabella both expressed interest in taking Christianity to the native peoples of the new land. This resulted in the establishment of missions in the new world. These missions ensured that most of the native peoples living in areas explored by the Spanish had most of their contact not with traders, merchants or soldiers, but with missionaries from the Catholic Church. The results of this can still be seen in South and Central America today. Catholicism is by far the leading religion in this region today. Question 2 There were some fundamental differences between Jamestown and the Massachusetts Bay colonies. The first one is the reason for their founding. Jamestown was established as a trading/economic colony. Their hope was to exploit the resources of the new world in a manner that would allow them to establish a lucrative trade with England. The hope was for gold, but that was obviously not a possibility after the first disastrous year of the colony’s existence. Massachusetts Bay colony, on the other hand, was established by Christians that wanted to practice a reformed sort of Christianity that did not approve of the current practices in the Church of England. These people were referred to some as Puritans, because they wanted to worship God in the most “pure” manner. A second fundamental difference between the Jamestown and Massachusetts Bay colonies was their relationship with the native inhabitants. The Puritans in Massachusetts Bay established a fairly equitable relationship with the natives, exchanging technology and manufactured goods for food and agricultural expertise. The celebration at the end of the first harvest is memorialized each year during the Thanksgiving holiday. In stark contrast to this was the horrible relationship the inhabitants of Jamestown had with the natives there. Natives attacked them only three days after arriving. The colonists expected the natives to act as though they were servants. Hostilities continued even after the devastating first winter. 80% of the colonists died, yet they still found strength to raid native settlements, burning their corn and destroying their food supplies. Another difference between these two colonies was the difference between the quality of leadership. The governor of Jamestown was shortsighted and failed to unify the colonists when times grew difficult. He was reactive and harsh in his punishments. On the other hand, the Puritans were unified by their religion. This shared faith provided a structure for colonial government. While oppressive by modern standards, the government did provide a unified approach to dealing with natives, organizing labor and keeping the peace. The Massachusetts Bay colonists because of their purpose in establishing the colony, their shared religion and willingness to respect governmental authority avoided many of the problems faced by Jamestown. Question 3 Spanish, English and French colonies each hade their own distinctive features. These differences are largely based upon the different reasons for the colonies being established and differences in how the native population and the colonists interacted. French colonies and settlements were primarily interested in trade. Explorers focused on finding primarily water passages that would open the interior of the new continent to easy trade back to France. Much of this trade centered on the trapping and exploitation of furbearing animals. Trappers pushed up waterways, establishing trading posts along the way. These trading posts became centers of cultural interaction between natives and Europeans. This constant need to push into the interior to find new areas of furbearers to exploit lead to a settlement pattern by the French that was dispersed all over the continent, especially towards the interior. Waterways were the highways of the French explorers. This dispersed nature of colonies and settlements meant that the French were never able to establish as many urban centers as the English or even the Spanish. But what it did provide was ready access to the native population. The French established much better relations with the natives than did either the Spanish or the English. Spanish colonies were unique in that the conquistadors decimated entire populations of natives through enslavement, disease and warfare. Entire areas were depopulated; leaving the Spanish to rule over lands had considerable infrastructure and few people. In some ways, the Spanish build their colonial cities directly upon the backs of ruined native cities. But the Spanish were not interested in establishing pleasant urban areas for the most part. Three desires established the character of Spanish colonies. First was the desire for plunder. The Spanish were notorious for wanting to capitalize on the wealth of native civilizations. This causes them to constantly move on from one place to the next looking for the next treasure trove. The second desire was the desire to spread Christianity. The system of missions established to teach the natives about Christianity gave the location of Spanish colonies a unique look. They were not always located on the best ports or near the best agricultural land. They were often where Spanish missionaries felt a mission should be established. Finally, English colonies were most like the colonies of past civilizations such as the ancient Greeks and Phoenicians, in that they were established for the primary purpose of getting economic advantage over competitors. The colonies were to relieve England of excess population while they were to provide raw good or manufactured foods for England cheaply. Religious freedom and tolerance were important themes in the founding of the English colonies in America, but the fact remains that they were primarily intended to serve the economic needs of the English back in England. Because of this function, English colonies were located on the Atlantic seaboard so trade with England could most easily be facilitated. They tended to grow into built-up urban areas more so than the Spanish or French settlements because the functions of the colonial economy depended on the easy exchange of services, not on plundering native gold or trapping furbearers. Question 4 Most of the colonists in the 17th century in the Chesapeake region were single men. Their main activity was the procurement of wealth. Many expressed an interest I getting rich as quickly as possible so they could return to England and set themselves up comfortably. Their motivation was quick wealth and nothing but. They were loyal to no one but themselves and had a difficult time cooperating with anyone. This is evident by the way they abandoned one another when famine and disease struck. They were not interested in building any sort of functioning government. In short, they were loyal to no other greater ideal than that of getting rich. They did not have family to care for so that made them willing to take greater risks. The fact that many of them were from comfortable backgrounds in England made working in the Chesapeake even more difficult. They were not used to hard physical labor. They felt that they were gentlemen and that gentlemen did not labor with their hands. These feelings about family, class and government made the success of the Chesapeake colonies suspect. The opposite is true for the New England colonies. Most of the settlers were families and labor within the family was expected. The work ethic was entirely different. Hard work was a virtue not to be shunned. Add to this the fact that may of the new England colonies were established to guarantee or encourage some sort of religious freedom, and what you have is a recipe for success. Hard work and community could not overcome all of the obstacles the colonists faced, but it did help overcome many. Had not the colonists in the Chesapeake been introduced to the cultivation of cotton, tobacco and indigo, they may have failed completely. Question 5 Slavery was very different in different regions of the colonies because of the different work that needed to be done. In New England, large-scale slavery was uncommon. This is because most New England farms were small, family run businesses. The need for any slaves, much less multiple slaves were unnecessary. Slaves did toil as household servants and farm labor, but on a very small scale. In the Chesapeake, larger numbers of slaves were required for the production of tobacco and indigo. Farms here were larger and the manual labor of planting and harvesting these crops was more substantial than in New England. The largest slave holding and plantations were the cotton growing operations of Georgia and South Carolina. These low country plantations were huge. Entire teams of slaves were required to bring in the harvest. Slaves kept their humanity several ways during the colonial era. One way they did this was by running away. During the early colonial period, abolition had not been a serious proposition, so slaves had few places to go. Another way they kept their humanity and resisted the oppressor was by the singing of spiritual songs. Many converted to Christianity. They took great solace in stories such as Moses and the Israelites held in bondage in Egypt. They made songs and sang them during the working day. They were a sort of code. The master heard mention of the familiar names in the Bible, but what they were really singing about was the need to experience their own freedom. Sources Kupperman, K.O. (2000). Major Problems in American Colonial History: Documents and Essays (2nd ed). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 0395936764 Nash, G. (2006). Red, White, and Black: the Peoples of Early North America (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. ISBN: 013193550X Norton, M.B. (1990). A People and a Nation (3rd ed.). Princeton, New Jersey: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 0395433088 Reich, J.R. (2001). Colonial America (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0130895652 Ritchie, D. (1997). American History: The Early Years to 1877. New York, New York: Glencoe-McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 0028223128 Read More