Wht r the two major discoveries of 15th century which led to expansion of white colonies outside Europe
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It was the opinion of Lord Acton, a great English historian, that the discovery of the New World was the greatest landmark in the transition from the Middle Ages to modern times. Certainly the movement of western Europeans beyond the narrow limits of their homelands out to both the East and the West, a movement that began in the fifteenth century, had momentous consequences. In time it led to the penetration of European influence, and in some cases European domination to every continent on the globe. "Europe has held sway on all the continents in succession....Europe has produced a civilisation which is being imitated by the whole world, whilst the converse has never happened."8 But the influence did not all move in one direction, and European life and thought were significantly affected by the outside world.
Why was it that the Europeans imposed their presence on the rest of the world to such an amazing degree? This is one of those historical questions whose fascination is in proportion to our inability to answer any of them, for no definitive answer is possible. The peoples who led the way were neither rich nor numerous, not only by our standards but also by comparison with China, the most powerful, wealthy, and civilized state in the world at the time the great expansion began. The Chinese Empire was a trading empire, regularly sending ships on distant commercial expeditions involving thousands of tons of shipping and thousands of men. The Moslems were, and had long been, engaged in active trade throughout the East. European trade and navigation had, by comparison, been relatively restricted during the Middle Ages.
Though we cannot expect to find the ultimate causes for the European expansion, we can acquaint ourselves with some of the conditions in which it began. In the first place, the movement is associated with a shift in European life from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic seaboard. Leadership in European political and economic life was coming more and more into the hands of Portugal, Spain, France, and England. These nations all had monarchies that were growing in strength, increasing their control over the various classes within the state, and consolidating their hold over the territories subject to them. They all had Atlantic coastlines, and led the way in seeking new trade routes and new lands. The Dutch joined in the race as their political independence grew. These rising states sought a way to counteract the long-standing Italian particularly Venetian monopoly of the eastern trade.
The economic impulse was no doubt dominant, but the missionary aspect was present too. Vasco da Gama was said to have named "Christians and spices" as the objects of his voyage to India. The desire to convert was linked to the crusading zeal, which lived on in the hearts of many Portuguese and Spanish as a legacy of their long conflicts with the Moors. To combine a profitable acquisition of new trade routes with a telling blow against the infidel was a potent combination in urging brave men on to daring enterprises. Nor was the desire to learn more about the world a negligible factor.
The state of technology was adequate to the task. At the start of the fifteenth century, European ships were inferior to those used by Arab and Chinese traders; but the Europeans learned fast, and within two hundred years they were building the best ships in the world. In 1400, European ships, though sometimes quite large, were clumsy. They usually had only one mast, though some larger ships had two or three. They were square-rigged, which limited their movement, and had only one sail to a mast, which meant large sails, difficult to handle. Thus these ships were difficult to maneuver and unsuited for long journeys or adverse winds.
These square-rigged ships, consequently, were not important in the early voyages of discovery. Instead, the Portuguese used a type whose construction they borrowed from Arab merchants, the two-master lateen caravel. The lateen sail was more or less triangular and capable of being adjusted to almost all winds. The Portuguese modified the caravel by combining the square-rig with the lateen sails and adding a mast, or sometimes two. As a result, the advantages of both types of ship were gained and the disadvantages eliminated. The Arab caravels could not attain the size or speed possible to square-rigged ships, but were superior for sailing close to the wind and much more easily steered. The new ships made feasible the long-distance voyages to the Far East and the New World.
Some instruments existed for the use of navigators. Compasses had been used by Europeans at least from the thirteenth century. To ascertain their latitude, sailors found the altitude of the heavenly bodies by means of the astrolabe; the quadrant was invented and used in the fifteenth century. There was no satisfactory means of finding longitude or speed.
Why was it that the Europeans imposed their presence on the rest of the world to such an amazing degree? This is one of those historical questions whose fascination is in proportion to our inability to answer any of them, for no definitive answer is possible. The peoples who led the way were neither rich nor numerous, not only by our standards but also by comparison with China, the most powerful, wealthy, and civilized state in the world at the time the great expansion began. The Chinese Empire was a trading empire, regularly sending ships on distant commercial expeditions involving thousands of tons of shipping and thousands of men. The Moslems were, and had long been, engaged in active trade throughout the East. European trade and navigation had, by comparison, been relatively restricted during the Middle Ages.
Though we cannot expect to find the ultimate causes for the European expansion, we can acquaint ourselves with some of the conditions in which it began. In the first place, the movement is associated with a shift in European life from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic seaboard. Leadership in European political and economic life was coming more and more into the hands of Portugal, Spain, France, and England. These nations all had monarchies that were growing in strength, increasing their control over the various classes within the state, and consolidating their hold over the territories subject to them. They all had Atlantic coastlines, and led the way in seeking new trade routes and new lands. The Dutch joined in the race as their political independence grew. These rising states sought a way to counteract the long-standing Italian particularly Venetian monopoly of the eastern trade.
The economic impulse was no doubt dominant, but the missionary aspect was present too. Vasco da Gama was said to have named "Christians and spices" as the objects of his voyage to India. The desire to convert was linked to the crusading zeal, which lived on in the hearts of many Portuguese and Spanish as a legacy of their long conflicts with the Moors. To combine a profitable acquisition of new trade routes with a telling blow against the infidel was a potent combination in urging brave men on to daring enterprises. Nor was the desire to learn more about the world a negligible factor.
The state of technology was adequate to the task. At the start of the fifteenth century, European ships were inferior to those used by Arab and Chinese traders; but the Europeans learned fast, and within two hundred years they were building the best ships in the world. In 1400, European ships, though sometimes quite large, were clumsy. They usually had only one mast, though some larger ships had two or three. They were square-rigged, which limited their movement, and had only one sail to a mast, which meant large sails, difficult to handle. Thus these ships were difficult to maneuver and unsuited for long journeys or adverse winds.
These square-rigged ships, consequently, were not important in the early voyages of discovery. Instead, the Portuguese used a type whose construction they borrowed from Arab merchants, the two-master lateen caravel. The lateen sail was more or less triangular and capable of being adjusted to almost all winds. The Portuguese modified the caravel by combining the square-rig with the lateen sails and adding a mast, or sometimes two. As a result, the advantages of both types of ship were gained and the disadvantages eliminated. The Arab caravels could not attain the size or speed possible to square-rigged ships, but were superior for sailing close to the wind and much more easily steered. The new ships made feasible the long-distance voyages to the Far East and the New World.
Some instruments existed for the use of navigators. Compasses had been used by Europeans at least from the thirteenth century. To ascertain their latitude, sailors found the altitude of the heavenly bodies by means of the astrolabe; the quadrant was invented and used in the fifteenth century. There was no satisfactory means of finding longitude or speed.
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The Sail technology greatly influenced European expansion of white colonies outside Europe, this was the only way the Europeans could get to other lands and colonize them, another discovery was the celestial navigation which aided in providing routs to lands outside Europe, without this two discoveries then Europeans would not be able to reach lands outside Europe, leave alone colonizing them.
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