An Italian by birth, Columbus was born in 1435 and was originally from Genoa. His father, Dominic Columbus, was a craftsman: he had a small workshop. This craft gave the Columbus family full security in their livelihoods, and Dominic Columbus was considered a wealthy man. The purpose of this paper is to reveal the factors that have drawn the Europeans to the exploration of the New World.
In the Middle Ages, the cities of Italy, thanks to the development of trade and industry, made up the wealthiest part of Europe. Wealth gave them the means to be independent of the feudal system representatives. In the interests of trade, and then of political view, the Venetians captured many islands and coastal points in the Mediterranean Sea. The Spaniards, the Portuguese and later the Dutch, paving the way for the world trade, became powerful rivals.
Thus, Columbus’s conviction that land should lie beyond the Atlantic Ocean turned out to be fair. Researchers note that on the morning of October 12, 1492, the team anchored off the coast. It was easy to see that it was a small island, but its nature was so new and productive for Europeans that this piece of land made the most significant impression on travelers. However, at first, the relations between the aborigines and travelers were friendly, but this was mainly due to the influence of Columbus. He strictly forbade the Spaniards any attempt on the property of the aborigines and outrage over them. The Spaniards, who wanted to get rich at the expense of the aborigines, were very dissatisfied with this order, and the fear of punishment only constrained them. Thus, the factors that influenced the conquest and settlement of the New World were greed, thirst for war, and the acquisition of new subservient territories.
Work Cited
King, Stephen D. Grave New World: The End of Globalization, the Return of History. Yale University Press, 2018.