In the process of reading about explorers during the Renaissance voyaging out to "Brave New Worlds" and experiencing new peoples and cultures I pondered on what may have prompted their voyages. Governments surely dispatched some for reasons such as trade or imperialism. Others were prompted by a desire to experience new things and bring that knowledge back to their homes.
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| We all are explorers and adventurers facing our own Brave New worlds |
Continuing on with this thought process I thought of others who left their homes to venture to new places and thought on their reasons. I ended up in America in the 1800s where Manifest Destiny was in full swing. Manifest Destiny was an attitude that America was a virtuous country who had an obligation to bring this virtue to the world and that this mission was divinely appointed to them from God. One of the big outcomes of Manifest Destiny was the settling of the west. I feel this expands the theme from the Renaissance of a Brave New World. While those who were settling the west weren't traveling oceans, they were expanding into their own new worlds and bringing American traditions with them. They were expanding their country and proliferating its values in new areas. Whether is was right or not for these people to spread and often force American culture onto the areas in which they settled is a discussion for another time. But their manifest destiny mindset and them traveling into their own "Brave New World" is something I think many people can relate to.
Many people grow up being taught values and principles which they hold close. In my own case, I was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints and grew up with a specific set of beliefs and morals. I served a mission to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in a way went out with a manifest destiny mindset, feeling I had a mission from God to bring those beliefs and morals to others. I ventured out into the unknown, ready for new experiences and too meet new people, all the while desiring to bring my beliefs to them. I think many people have experiences and beliefs that connect them with the theme of A Brave New World and Manifest Destiny.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifest_destiny#CITEREFFord2010
I'm glad that you brought up Manifest Destiny, it's one of the first things I thought of when I first heard the topic of "Brave New Worlds". I do wish that you might have elaborated on why exactly the claiming of the future land of America was exactly seen as "Virtuous", however. Did the people of the time actually consider it to be like that? I think even the Pioneers themselves only really saw it as gaining new free land.
ReplyDeleteCarter, you eloquently connected a single motivation behind the Renaissance exploration, the Westward expansion, and your own personal adventures. Perhaps this same enterprising spirit is what drives "the American Dream" as we know it today.
ReplyDeleteTo Christian, I would disagree with you concerning virtue as a motivation. I firmly believe that the explorers and pioneers had a vision of their posterity and the future of America in mind; otherwise, they would've lacked the moral fortitude to carry the burdens which they did.
This is a really good point! I really like how you compared it to yourself today. Even setting aside the subject of religion, we often have an attitude of manifest destiny when we talk about the things that we hold dear.
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