A desire for natural resources, specifically gold and silver bullion to stabilize the European economies was the main driving force behind colonization. The effect of this was the establishment of Spain as the dominant colonial force in the sixteenth century. The European empires of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries were based on commerce. The aim was to increase national wealth and the key to this was to gain trade with a good balance of gold and silver. However, there was not enough gold and silver in Europe to match the demand of the vast empires. This is what led to overseas colonization. As stated in our European History book, “Colonies existed to provide markets and natural resources for the industries of the home country”. As a result of this colonization, the Spanish embarked on a short period of economic domination [before the other nations laid colonial claims]. According to Bailey, “ Spain became the dominant exploring and colonizing power in the 1500s”. This dominance of the Americas by Spain was fueled by the desire for gold, silver and other natural resources throughout Europe in the time preceding colonization.
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2 comments:
Nice. In addition: wasn't there colonization also fueled by the whole crusade for Jesus to reign for a millennium.
David,
This is a nice beginning. I was hoping you would spend more time explaining how the focus of Spain's exploration (mainly the acquisition of gold and silver) led to their temporary dominance. You danced around it, but didn't drive the point home. Good analytical instincts, though.
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