Aspects of European and Portuguese Exploration and Colonization - Article Example

Aspects of European and Portuguese Exploration and Colonisation al Affiliation Aspects of European and Portuguese Exploration and Colonisation The history of colonization is one of the richest histories in the world. This follows that several places or regions around the world were colonized. It is of crucial significance to note that more then forty percent of the current world sovereign states were colonized by some superior powers of sovereign nations (Zwartjes, 2011). It is important to note that the Europeans were the greatest explorers and colonizers of all time. The colonization moves were successful due to several reasons. First, the countries that were colonized were weaker than the countries that colonized them. The weakness was evident in the form of economic strength, political strength as well as military strength among others. Therefore, as a result such weaknesses, the stronger sovereign states had the opportunity to conquer such nations. In addition, some of the nations colonised other nations because of other reasons. For instance, some nations would colonise the weaker ones in order to benefit from the natural resources that were present in such countries. For instance, other countries would colonise in order to get gold, oil as well as diamond and other minerals (Zwartjes, 2011). These minerals were then taken back to their countries in order to benefit them. This was in bid for individual richness. It is of crucial significance to note that explorations significantly contributed to the issues of colonization. This follows that exploration is a form of research. Therefore, the results emanating from such explorations would offer the best opportunities for the countries to decide on the direction to take either to colonise or not colonise the nations. It is in the historical records that the Europeans were the first colonizers. Their quest to colonise other nations was boosted by several factors. The first factor that ensured the success of the Europeans in colonizing other nations was the fact that they had strong economic base. The stronger economy enabled for more research to be conducted in several regions. This enabled the Europeans to gain a lot of knowledge on the outside world. The economic power also aided in developing sophisticated software necessary for the exploration activities (Boahen, 2011). Such sophisticated and complex software were very critical in aiding the explorers to sail, as well as know the directions. This was very helpful since they could therefore explore further without the fear of getting lost. Other than the economic strength, the Europeans also had strong military. This was supplied with sophisticated machinery that could help when any form of war or violence arose following their quest to conquer a place (Zwartjes, 2011). This really aided the success of exploration and colonization. It is of critical significance to note that it is recorded in historical records that the Portuguese were the first colonizers from the European continent (Boahen, 2011). The colonisation by the Portuguese was informed by several factors. Some explorers wanted to be famous so that their names to be recognised for a very long time in history. The other reasons that informed the explorations included the desire to have new trade routes. The explorations were also championed by the fact that there was growing power as well as wealth amongst the European nations. Moreover, the quest for exploration could be precipitated by the fact that there was growing competitions for trade emanating from the expanding wealth of the European nations (John, 2013). Religious missions could also inform the rapid quest for exploration and colonisation. However, the two major reasons for Portuguese colonisation were political interests as well as the economic interests (Zwartjes, 2011). The Portuguese were able to colonise lands way back before other European countries. In approximate estimations, it is significant to acknowledge the fact that the Portuguese stared colonizing lands beyond their borders 100 years before other European countries could also start the explorations and colonisation of other lands. There are several factors that made it possible for the Portuguese to succeed in colonizing other countries earlier than other European countries. The Portuguese were the greatest explorers in history. In addition, the Portuguese were very knowledgeable in several sectors and fields of education (Zwartjes, 2011). This aided them in coming up with several innovations that could make their exploration activities succeed. The success of the Portuguese on the issue of colonisation could also emanate from the weaknesses that were evident in the political systems as well as the economic status of the countries that were colonised. In addition, the success of the Portuguese on colonisation could also be precipitated by the weaknesses of their colonies on the basis of religious aspects, social aspects as well as military weaknesses. This paper is going to explore the reasons why the Portuguese were able to start colonizing the lands beyond their country borders 100 years before the other European countries could colonise such lands. In addition, this paper is going to explore the problems that explorers would face if they did not have or use what the Portuguese invented. Furthermore, this research paper is going to explore some of the factors that drove the European as well as the Portuguese to begin exploring and colonizing the regions outside their country borders. The reasons why the Portuguese were Able to Start Colonizing Lands Beyond their Country Borders 100 Years before other European Countries It is of crucial significance to note that the history of colonisation started a long time ago. The Europeans were the first explorers and colonizers in the world history. The Europeans colonised many nations. This ranged from the sovereign states in the African Continents as well as the nations found in the American continent. It is prudent to acknowledge the fact that amongst the Europeans, the Portuguese were the first people to colonise lands beyond their borders (Boahen, 2011). This took place in an estimated 100 years before other European powers could colonise the other nations in the world. The success of the Portuguese in ensuring effective colonisation of the other countries was influenced by several factors. The success of the Portuguese relied on the strength of the Portuguese on a number of fields. In connection to the above, it is also very important to note that the successful colonisation of other nations by the Portuguese was also influenced by the weaknesses of the other nations on a number of fields. On the side of the European colonizers, the success of the Portuguese in colonizing other nations beyond their country borders way before the other European nations was fuelled by several factors. Some of these factors that enabled the Portuguese to start colonizing the lands beyond their borders before other European countries are discussed below. The first reason that enabled the Portuguese to be the first explorers was the fact that it was not engaged in any war (Boahen, 2011). The Portuguese were the only existing strong nation in the European region that never experienced any form of war. This was very important for the fact it created peace amongst the Portuguese. The absence of war means creation of a very strong nation. This follows that without war, there is increased production activities in a nation (Sim, 2011). If a nation is very strong and hardworking, absence of war leads to creation of a very robust and strong economy. This is very critical in ensuring the success of several undertakings of that nation. The Portuguese never experienced any form of war for a very long time. This was very important in realization of a growing economic strength in the nation. It is of crucial significance to note that wars always lead to destruction of several properties as well as demise of very many personalities. Some of these personalities may be critical in several developmental sectors in the nation. For instance, the technological sector can really suffer a major blow if key skilled and experienced researchers and innovators are lost through wars. This can really lead to deterioration of the innovation activities in such a country (John, 2013). As a result, the country may lag behind in terms of technology. It is of critical significance to highlight that several European countries faced severe wars during the time when Portuguese were colonizing other regions. These wars had several severe impacts on such nations. One of the European nations that was engaged in wars includes Spain (Boahen, 2011). The wars led to death of some key personalities in Spain. This dealt a major blow to the technological sector, thereby impairing several innovation technologies. The effects of wars resulted to severe impacts on the other European nations thereby making them to lag behind relevant to colonisation issues. For instance, the increasing cases of wars led to destabilization of such countries’ economy. The deteriorating economies led to paralysation of several sectors in such nations. In addition to deteriorating economy, the effects of wars in such European countries also destabilized the political systems in such countries (Sim, 2011). This could precipitate the reasons as to why such nations could not start colonisation as early as the Portuguese did start. The absence of war in any sovereign state leads to creation of peace in such nations. With peace, a country can succeed in doing several things. These include promoting development as well as boosting innovations. The peace enjoyed by the Portuguese in the periods of colonisation precipitated the quest for exploration. Due to the absence of wars and its severe effects, the Portuguese were able to focus much of their efforts in the sector of inventions (Boahen, 2011). The success of Portuguese inventions was also promoted by the expanding and strong economic growth experienced in the region. This was necessary in financing the research activities directed towards the development of technological devices that could aide in exploration. As a result, the Portuguese managed to invent several things necessary for exploration. Some of the devices that were invented by the Portuguese to aide them in exploration included the sailing ships. This was necessary in facilitating the movements of the Portuguese from one point to the other (Sim, 2011). As a result of such movements, the Portuguese were able to explore several regions, and gathering the necessary knowledge that would later be used in colonisation of such regions. The other device was the compass direction. This device enabled the Portuguese to maintain the direction, thereby eliminate any possibility of getting lost. As a result, they could trace the directions very easily. Other than the absence of wars, the Portuguese were also able to start colonizing the lands beyond their borders before the other European countries due to the fact that they had a genius leader (Sim, 2011). The leader of the Portuguese during the time was called Prince Henry. It is in records that Prince Henry was very wise. He was a blessed extraordinary strategist. Prince Henry could dream of long term plans, champion for the activation of such dreams so that they become to reality. Prince Henry of Portugal planned in advance and his plans ran for several decades. Due to this reason, he planned for the colonisation of several states by the Portuguese way ahead of the other European leaders (John, 2013). He put in place several strategies that could make it possible to benefit from the trade between the foreign nations, alongside deriving other benefits and amassing wealth whenever such nations were weaker. Due to this reason, Prince Henry saw it necessary for the Portuguese to engage in in-depth exploration of the world in order to get the opportunities for expanding their trades, explorations, as well as colonisation of such nations thereby expanding their territory (Boahen, 2011). The plan also championed the discovery of the Sea Route to India through promoting exploration. This facilitated the robust trade relations and activities between these nations. The fact that Prince Henry was a visionary leader and an extraordinary strategist made him to plan and execute his plans way before the other European leaders could engage themselves. This was one reason that made the Portuguese able to start colonizing lands beyond their territories way before the other European nations could start. Besides the extraordinary leader, Portugal also had well defined borders since the year 1143 (Sim, 2011). This was very important in ensuring that it is not affected by the challenges experienced by those countries without border. For instance, incidences of wars on territorial boundaries were minimized due to the fact that Portugal had well defined boundaries, thereby repelling any form of relevant political unrest. This enabled the Portuguese to conduct their businesses peacefully as they enjoyed a stable political regime. This precipitated the strength of their economy that would later influence the success of exploration activities and colonisation. The Problems that Explorers Faced if they did not have what the Portuguese Invented The inventions of the Portuguese were very critical in ensuring the success of the exploration activities. Therefore, it was very necessary for any entity that had the plans of engaging in exploration activities to acquire some of the devices that were invented by the Portuguese for the success of their explorations. Some of the inventions made by the Portuguese on the field of explorations were very diverse (Sim, 2011). These devices also performed several key and important purposes in the field of exploration. Some of these inventions included the compass directions, sailing ships, caravels as well as astrolabes. The magnetic compasses as well as compass rose were very important in exploration activities since they aided in showing the directions. It is important to note that the magnetic compass and compass rose showed four to eight directions. This was necessary in helping the explorers in knowing the direction they headed (Sim, 2011). Without these devices, the explorers would lose their direction. This is one of the problems that the explorers would face if they did not have the compass directions invented by the Portuguese. The sailing ships were very necessary for aiding in movement of the explorers. Some of these ships included the caravels as well as Galleons. The caravels and galleons were used for cargo, fishing, patrolling as well as warships (Boahen, 2011). Without these forms of ships, movement of the explorers could be impaired. Thus, it was very necessary for the explorers to use some of these devices in order to evade such problems. It is of crucial significance to note that the astrolabes were used for measuring the altitude of several places during exploration activities. This device was also necessary for the explorers since it enabled for gathering more information concerning the exploration. In addition to the above devices, other important devices for explorations included Ka-Mal, cross staff as well as traverse board (Sim, 2011). These were also important in measuring latitude as well as determining the directions. Thus, it is important to conclude that the explorers would easily lose direction if they did not have the devices invented by the Portuguese among other problems. Factors that drove European, as well as the Portuguese, to begin exploring and colonizing regions outside their country’s border There were several reasons that drove the European as well as the Portuguese to begin exploring and colonizing regions beyond their country’s borders. The first reason was the desire for economic growth. The Europeans wanted to expand their trading bases (Boahen, 2011). This precipitated the need for exploration for foreign markets. In connection to the above, both European and Portuguese wanted to gain wealth from their colonies in terms of the natural resources including gold from such regions. Religion was also a factor that precipitated the move for explorations. Many explorers engaged in such activities with a mission and vision of spreading Christianity to such regions (John, 2013). There was a burning desire for several missionaries to convert masses to Christianity during those periods. Improvements of trade relations as well as competition for trade were some aspects for consideration by many European nations. This involved the desire to have more and new trade routes to ensure the success of conducting businesses with the foreign nations. Moreover, the exploration activities were precipitated by curiosity, fame as well as national pride (John, 2013). Some explores were very curious in knowing what could have been existing in the other parts of the world, thus leading to exploration activities. In addition, some nations explored other nations to conquer new territories for their native countries. In this manner, they were considered national heroes by their countries, thereby making them famous and proud. Several European countries as well as Portuguese also wanted to bring back several new products to their native home countries (John, 2013). These are some of the reasons that drove the European, as well as the Portuguese to begin exploring and colonizing regions outside their countries’ borders. References Boahen, A. A. (2011). African perspectives on European colonialism. New York: Diasporic African Press. John, H. (2013). European colonies, in various parts of the world, viewed in their social.. S.l.: Hardpress Ltd. Sim, T. (2011). Portuguese enterprise in the East: Survival in the years 1707-1757. Leiden: Brill. Zwartjes, O. (2011). Portuguese missionary grammars in Asia, Africa and Brazil, 1550-1800. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Pub. Co. Read More