European Exploration

Most European exploration took place during the 1400's to the 1500's. There was a lot to be found and much land to be conquered. Great things were achieved during European exploration, but there were some down sides. There were many positive and negative effects of European exploration. Three effects were disease, resources, and spread of religion.

Disease was a major part of European exploration. European diseases killed many people in the lands they were trying to conquer. A positive of European disease was that their disease killed many of the people they were trying to conquer. An Aztec illustration shows a doctor trying to cure five patients from an unknown illness.[Doc 5] Olaudah Equiano, a former slave states "The shrieks of women, the groans of dying, rendered the whole scene of horror almost inconceivable."[Doc 4] This document is reliable because this is a first hand account of a slave witnessing the event happen. There were many positive and negative effects of European diseases.

Resources were the main reason for European exploration. The positive was that the Europeans got a lot of resources to take home with them. The negative was that the European were taking resources from the natives. Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer states "The land is safer and better for farming and trading."[Doc 1] This document is very reliable because he is talking about a first hand account written to the King and Queen of Spain. H.G Koenigsberger, a writer, states "When the Portuguese began to import Asian spices by the sea route around Africa, this trade was easily absorbed into the existing European pattern."[Doc 2] John H. Mundy, a writer, states that "Kairouan surpasses all others in its commerce, its riches, and its beauty.[Doc 7] Resources were the main reason for European exploration and there were many ups and downs to it.

Spread of Religion was a huge reason for European exploration. Spain wanted to spread Christianity to the rest of the world. Other countries wanted to do the same thing for their religion. A positive of this was that the Europeans were spreading their religion. A negative was that the natives would either change their religion or get killed. An Aztec states "On the second day they began to sing and they were all put to death."[Doc 3] This document is very reliable because it is a first hand account of the conquest of Mexico. Christopher Columbus states "I found that I could not hold a conversation with the inhabitants because they immediately fled."[Doc 6] Spread of Religion was a huge reason for European exploration.

In conclusion, there were many positive and negative effects of European exploration. The effects were disease, resources, and spread of religion. European exploration stopped around the 1700's. European exploration was essential to the modern world because with out the exploration