Christopher Columbus Essay

Cristoforo Colombo

Europeans were interested in exploration before Columbus' journey because they were eager to establish new trade routes. Over the preceding centuries, sophisticated trade routes had developed around the world. There was the Silk Road that took goods between China and Europe. The Middle East was linked with India, Southeast Asia and with the east coast of Africa. However, because of the failure of Christians to dominate the Middle East in the Crusades, Muslim lands were often hostile to European traders. This spurred exploration in search of new trade routes, and new resources. Europeans had been exposed to many Eastern goods -- silk and spices were in particular demand -- but the political dimensions of long-distance trade made the acquisition of Eastern goods an uncertain proposition. One of the major reasons for exploration was the emerging idea that the world was round and therefore by sailing westward across the Atlantic, Europeans could reach Asia and India.

Columbus was one of many explorers who was interested in pursuing the route to India. Portuguese sailors had developed better ships, and pushed further out into the Atlantic. Doing so allowed them to explore the west coast of Africa, and when they went westerward into the Atlantic they found archipelagos there, but these were uninhabited. Columbus was from Genoa, a powerful city-state known for its maritime prowess and its wealth. Columbus convinced Queen Isabella of Spain to finance his voyage westward.

Other cultural factors contributed to the voyage as well. Spain was starting to become a powerful Catholic state, and the voyage presented an opportunity for Spain to express its growing power, particularly vis-a-vis Portugal, which was ahead of Spain in terms of exploration at the time. Columbus would ultimately be the one to sail westward until he reached land. There were many at the time who felt that the Earth was round, but few believed there were undiscovered continents, even though the entire coast of Africa had yet to be explored. Columbus, sailing for Spain with three ships, set sail.

Columbus landed in the Caribbean, officially discovering the Americas for Europeans, and in doing so became a hero to Europeans. His status as hero derives from being the first to demonstrate the existence of a western land -- originally mistaken for India -- and for opening up the area for European trade. European kingdoms earned massive economic gains from this discovery, thereby…