Expansion of western europe Essay -- essays research papers

The expansion of horse opera europium started with the Iberian phase. Spain and Portugal, the two countries of the Iberian Peninsula, had a short-lived unless important role in European expansion. European expansion and so turned to Western Europe. Western Europe consists of the Dutch, French, and British. While Western Europe was exploring new manhoods everywhereseas, the Russians were expanding westward across both of Eurasia.Religion played a major role in expansion for both the Portuguese and the Spanish due to their extensive anti-Muslim crusade. Due to the over zealous religious ecstasy of the Christian Iberians, Christianity and thus the Iberians expanded into parts of western Europe during the crusades as Christians tried to convert the Muslims who were occupying this area. The Iberians did not stop with the European mainland they were also expanding overseas. They were fire in the fertile land of the Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores and Cape Verde. These islands wou ld also raise to be strategic acquisitions for the Iberians, as they would eventually provide the Iberians with bases and ports to be use for commerce. Throughout the 15th century the Spanish and Portuguese had been exploring lands throughout the Atlantic which drove Queen Isabella of Spain to commission Christopher Columbus in 1492 to Discover and rent islands and mainland in the ocean sea (p.340) which eventually led to the discovery of newton America. In the mid 1400s Spain and Portugal began to take separate routes of discovery. Prince Henry of Portugal, in reaction to the short progress of bullion in Western Europe, was interested in sending his captains to the African coast in search of gold. As a result, many Portuguese ports were established along the African coast and The Portuguese were able to exploit at least a part of the African caravan trade they had sought. (p.340) While Portugal was focused on expansion along the African coast the Spanish were the first to discov er the new military man despite the lack of geographical k instantaneouslyledge the Spaniards and Columbus in special(prenominal) possessed. This new world wasnt quite what Columbus had though it was, provided as Columbus maintained to his death that he had reached Asia. He hadnt, He had landed at one of the Bahaman Islands, San Salvador. (p. 342) Columbus distorted reality turn up to... ...d 18th centuries ended in an overwhelming British triumph. (p.364). Britain now had fatten out control of the New England colonies of North America.While the western Europeans were busy expanding all over the globe the Russian focused on expansion into Asia. The convocation of the Russian lands (p373) occurred during the reign of Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century. All of Russia was now united under Moscow. The Russians eventually crossed the Ural Mountains and gained control of all of Siberia. The Russians and then moved southward into the Amur valley where they More than met their ma tch (p.375) the Chinese empire. The age of Russian expansion ended with the signing of the Nerchinsk treaty, which remained in effect for over 170 years.Due to the explorations of the Iberians, Dutch, English, French and Russians, lands were discovered that encompass a braggart(a) portion of the world as we know it today. Due to many advances in maritime technology, geography and military powers, these groups were able to conquer much of the world in a relatively short amount of time.