The Consequential Age of Discovery

Since the beginning of time, humans have been led by an insatiable desire to explore the world. This is particularly evident during the Renaissance time period. While explorations in the past have not always brought great change, several of the discoveries have had astronomical effects on the world.

Trade routes dominated early European economies

Vasco de Gama was a Portuguese explorer. He was one of the first to sail around the horn of Africa and landed in India. What makes this voyage particularly significant is the trade routes that it opened up. The spice routes brought great riches to Portugal. The effects of controlling these trade routes would set in motion events that would change the world. I would argue that this is one of the most important events in history. This time of prosperity that Portugal enjoyed was an inspiration to rival nations that riches lay in undiscovered trade routes. This is one of the primary reasons Spain sent Christopher Colombus in search of a different route to the Indies. While watching their neighbors grow richer by the day, they were willing to take a bold step to find a better way.

The discovery of the Americas by Christopher Colombus led to a series of events that would change the world forever. Conquerors, missionaries, and explorers alike would be drawn to the New World for the unknown opportunities that could be discovered. The New world offered seemingly limitless land. Many an explorer left their homes in search of treasures in the Americas. Other notable explorers of the New World include:

• Hernan Cortez who conquered the Aztecs
• Francisco Pizarro who conquered the Incas
• Jacques Cartier explored Eastern Canada 

Jessie Bruner wrote a blog post titled "World Discovery: A Necessary Evil..?" about how the conquistadors and other ruthless explorers were a necessary evil to discover the new lands. their methods were inhumane, yet, it opened up a world of opportunity that would lead to the founding of many great nations. Spain would soon be plagued by war, which would tear the New World from the Spanish control, however, they have already left their mark as millions of South and Central Americans still speak Spanish today.

America would continue to draw explorers and settlers for centuries to come. Carter Shearer wrote a blog titled "Manifest Destiny"  about the people who would soon sweep the nation as they spread west. As America was settled by immigrants from across the world, it would soon become a land of opportunity like none before it. Unclaimed land was oftentimes given away by the government to motivate settlers to develop lands.

Despite all these incredible discoveries, I believe the most significant discovery was not of lands or people.  I would argue that the discovery of the printing press was the most consequential discovery of the Renaissance, and perhaps of any time.  It revolutionized the spread of information. The Protestant Reformation could have never succeeded without it, as many had tried before to reform the Roman Catholic Church. The common folk finally had access to books, including the Bible, which had never been possible before in history. This opened a world of discovery for the lower classes.

Image credit: TheAndrasBarta World maps 2015, by Andras Barta licensed under CC 2.0