Renaissance Europe

The Renaissance in Europe experienced a whole new age of wonderment and advancement. It also experienced an explosion of new ideas and a strong desire for discovery. This insatiable appetite for discovery would be known as the

"Age of Discovery" and during this period many set sail to discover new and far off lands. These explorations carried with them many motivating forces ranging from several spectrums. However, I believe that the desire for riches and new land to be claimed as their own was the primary motivation for the explorers who partook in these travels, but unfortunately in the pursuit of these riches and new land to be claimed also came widespread acts of mistreatment and violence.

It became very apparent to me that the desire for riches was a strong motivation for overseas exploration after reading excerpts from Christopher Columbus' voyage. For example in a piece from Columbus' journal he numerously mentioned gold and it seemed to me that essentially every native that he came into contact with he immediately inquired about gold and where he could find it. It is very clear in this excerpt from Columbus' journal to what his main motivation for exploration is when he says, "I am not solicitous to examine particularly everything here, which indeed could not be done in fifty yearsÐ'...but in truth, should I meet with gold or spices in great quantity, I shall remain till I collect as much as possible, and for this purpose I am proceeding solely in quest of them." Clearly, he is saying that these riches of gold and spices would be his sole motivation for exploration if he comes across them. Lastly, I was sure that the desire for riches was one of the main motivations for exploration overseas when I read this excerpt from John Cabot:Voyage to North America, he mentions that another explorer by the name of Messer Zoanne "has set his mind on higher things, for he thinks that, when that place has been occupied, he will keep on still further towards the eastÐ'...where he believes that all the spices of the world, as well as jewels, are to be found." Clearly this explorer's main motivation like that of Columbus and many others was in search of riches.

Along with the desire to obtain riches, the search for new land to claim as their own was another primary motive for many explorers during the "Age of Discovery". This is evident in this excerpt from the Grant to Christopher Columbus in which it states, "Our will is, That you, Christopher Columbus, after discovering and conquering the said Islands and Continent in the said ocean, or any of them, shall be our Admiral of the said Islands and Continent you shall so discover and conquer; and that you be our Admiral, Vice-Roy, and Governour in them, and that for the future, you may call and stile yourself, D. Christopher Columbus, and that your sons and successors in the said employment, may call themselves Dons, Admirals, Vice-Roys, and Governours of them; and that you may exercise the office of Admiral, with the charge of Vice-Roy and Governour of the said Islands and Continent". Clearly, this excerpt illustrates how one of the primary motives for exploration overseas was to conquer and gain new land because if it wasn't Columbus would have never been granted these privileges. Finally, I am heavily persuaded to believe that finding new land to be claimed as their own was one of the major motivations in exploration overseas when I read this piece from Las Casas in which he explains that "the Indies were discovered in the year one thousand four hundred and ninety-two. In the following year a great many Spaniards went there with the intention of settling the land." As you can see this clearly states that the sole motivation for these Spaniards to make this voyage was indeed to find land that they could settle and claim as their own.

Unfortunately with these motivating forces of obtaining riches and land came widespread mistreatment and violence towards these native people by the explorers. This is clearly illustrated in excerpts from both Christopher Columbus and Las Casas. This mistreatment of the natives is evident in Columbus' Journal where he explains how, "a large canoe being near the caravel Nina, one of the San Salvador natives leaped overboard and swam to her; (another had made his escape the night before,) the canoe being reached by the fugitive, the natives rowed for the land too swiftly to be overtaken; having landed, some of my men went ashore in pursuit of them". Clearly this shows that Columbus and his crew had taken these natives against their will which is definitely a clear cut example of mistreatment. Another example of this mistreatment is illustrated in another excerpt from Columbus' journal in which it describes how some of the Indians that they had taken captive told them about an island where its inhabitants wear gold bracelets around their arms and legs however, to quote Columbus he "believed pretty confidently that they had invented this story in order to find means to escape". Again this clearly shows that these natives were mistreated by Columbus and his crew because Columbus is suspicious that the natives are trying to escape because he knows that he has taken them against their will. Finally, this mistreatment and violence towards the natives is shown in the piece by Las Casas when he describes the Spaniards as "ravening wild beasts, wolves, tigers, or lions that had been starved for many daysÐ'...killing, terrorizing, afflicting, torturing, and destroying the native peoples". As you can see this clearly explains how these Spanish explorers were just outright violent towards the natives by torturing and killing them at will.

In conclusion it is very clear to me that the desire for riches and the search for new land to claim as their own were two of the primary motives for explorers to travel overseas during the "Age of Discovery". It was also very clear to me that in the pursuit of these motives that widespread mistreatment and violence towards the natives occurred.

Question 2

The Renaissance has been defined by many historians in many different ways. It has been defined as "Rebirth", "Age of Recovery and Reconciliation"," Age of Consolidation", "Age of Entrepreneurs" and much more. All of these definitions of the Renaissance are most definitely valid and help to describe what the Renaissance encompassed. However, for me personally, these definitions just don't really truly cover what I feel the Renaissance was. For me, I feel that the "Age of Awakening" best describes the Renaissance. By