Now that you know what ideas and inventions made it possible
for Europeans to explore we need to answer the question…
➔Why did Europeans
want to explore?
Keep in mind…
➔This was a time of great
superstition
➔ The world was relatively
unknown
➔ More than anything sailors
worried about running out of
food and water
Why risk so much?
Just remember the 3
G’s:
➔God
➔Gold
➔Glory
God
➔European explorers
believed they were called
to bring Christianity to the
rest of the world
➔Some explorers were truly
devout…while others used
religious differences as an
excuse to conquer other
people
Gold
➔Incredible wealth flowed
into Europe from the
Americas
➔Gold found primarily in
Central and South America
➔Other riches - natural
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gold_B
angles.jpg
resources are discovered
and harvested
Glory
➔Explorers would usually
receive a portion of the
wealth that they brought back
➔The King or Queen rewarded
explorers with noble titles and
lands in their home country
➔Explorers were also called
Conquistadors because they
“conquered” the land they
discovered for their home
country