by Lincoln Hay

Created on: August 24, 2010

God, glory and gold.  These three words were the reasons for the start of the Age of Exploration and of globalization.  Starting in the 1400s, the Age of Exploration opened a world of possibilities for Europe, such as the gathering of silk and spices from China and India by sea instead of land.  For example, between 1441 and 1471, the Portuguese set sail towards Africa in hopes of obtaining an alternate trade route.  What they found was gold, ivory and the idea of the slave trade on the western coast of Africa.  These discoveries intrigued European monarchs of whom stably held power and wealth.  These factors enabled Vasco de Gama in 1498 to travel to India by sailing around the southern tip of Africa and establish a spice trade competitive with that of the Ottoman Empire.  However, these events only paved the way for the Spanish who turned an accidental discovery into a new way of seeing the world.

The catalyst, meaning a person who hastens the occurrence of an event, to the Age of Exploration and the start of globalization was a man who sailed for Spain under Queen Isabella.  His first voyage in 1492 was meant to bring spices back from Asia, but he found something much larger.  Christopher Columbus surprised the Europeans with tales of “Indians” who were naked and lived simple lives.  This spread of ideas was one of the first examples of globalization.  As a result, people became aware of other cultures, and with these ideas, Columbus sparked curiosity among Europeans and increased their want for God, glory and gold.   For instance, there were many souls to be saved and evil habits to be corrected by conversion to Christianity, there were vast deposits of gold and silver to be mined and brought back to the mother country, which in turn would lead to the colonization of the New World and increase Spain’s territory.  Columbus saw the potential of these indigenous peoples to be used as slaves for mining as the Portuguese did with the Africans.  In fact, he also brought slaves from Africa to mine as well.  Columbus was a catalyst by the way his accidental discovery sped up European exploration efforts and by the spread of ideas between the natives and the Europeans.  One cannot deny the huge impact this had on the start of globalization; the study of the spread of ideas throughout the world.

Columbus’ encounter with the natives of the New World has been debated for centuries as to whether is was positive or negative.  On one hand, he taught the natives of how to live a more modern way of life similar to the Europeans.  However, he also tried to abolish their religion and started a genocide toward the natives.  He brought them new technology, but he also brought disease the natives were not immune to.  This can be seen later on when Hernan Cortez conquered the mighty and immensely large Aztec empire with the help of a smallpox epidemic and the advancement in gunpowder and weaponry which killed off many of the Aztecs.  Columbus influenced many other explorers, such as Ferdinand Magellan who’s crew circumnavigated the Earth and proved it was round after centuries of disbelief.  If Columbus had not spread European ideas, who knows how primitive society today would be?  Columbus’ discoveries encouraged the Age of Exploration and globalization to continue and shape our world as it is today.

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