European Imperialism and Reasons for Exploration

This section will explore the following outcomes… The social and economic factors for European imperialism. The ways in which European imperialism impacted the social and economic structures of the Aboriginal societies you studied in Chapter1.

What is Imperialism? Add definitions to glossary Imperialism: A time period in history where powerful European countries would go into other nations and attempt to take them over and control them. They did this so that they could build their Empires. Empires: are networks of colonies, controlled by a single country, sometimes called a Home Country. Colony: a territory of land that is controlled by another country.

European Imperialism The two most powerful European imperial countries were Britain and France. These two countries eventually competed with each other for territory in Canada. This competition eventually led to war between these two countries in a fight for who would control North America.

What was the age of Exploration? The Age of Exploration was when European Kings and Queens sent Explorers into unknown territories to gain land for their Empires. Explorers set off of large ships across the ocean to claim lands and find new trading routes. They were all looking for an alternate trade route into the orient that was known as the Silk Road. This “road” was a passage that led them into China for silk and India for spices.

Why were Europeans looking for an alternate route into the orient? Their regular route through Constantinople was blocked off by the Ottoman Turks. (The Turks were Muslim and they would not allow Catholics to use their trade route). Since this trade route was now blocked Europeans were forced to find another water route into the orient. Kings and queens did this by sending explorers off to sail the oceans.

Why were Europeans looking for an alternate route into the orient? The kings and queens of these countries knew that the first country to find the route would become rich and powerful. Europeans never intended to come to North America; they were looking for the silk road … but once they got to North America, they decided to try to make money off the resources in their colonies.

What led to war in North America? Land (which country would control North America)? They wanted resources from their colonies to keep their economic system of mercantilism going. Mercantilism: An economic system that allowed an imperial country to become rich by selling the resources taken from its colonies. The Fur Trade was a profitable and the British and French both wanted to control it. They wanted to expand their empires for their Kings back in Europe.

Skill Check… Look at the map on page 41 and identify where the silk and spice road were. It is similar to the one below…

Reasons for Exploration Over the next 50 years, Portuguese, French, Spanish and British travelers arrived on the shores of America, spurred on by the 4C’s of exploration— curiosity, commerce, competition and Christianity: Curiosity—the opportunity to learn about the world. The desire to learn, creativity and rational inquiry were replacing an unquestioning belief in the status quo (i.e., the world as it was) in the social and intellectual movement of the Renaissance. This openness to new ideas, explanations and experiences encouraged early exploration.

Commerce—the opportunity to make money through the trade of valuable resources. Although the first explorers were looking for a quick trade route to the Orient, after the Spanish discovered huge silver deposits in Central America, North America became a target, in itself, for those hoping to get rich. Although neither silver nor gold was found in the area that became Canada, the abundance of fish, furs and later wheat and timber made the area attractive.

Competition—the countries of Europe were often at war with one another as they competed for land and resources. The more colonies a country controlled, the more power and prestige it had. Colonies supplied their home countries with resources such as timber and iron ore. These were used to build up European armies and navies.

Christianity—the opportunity to spread the Christian faith to the Aboriginal populations. As trade and knowledge of the land across the oceans increased, many Europeans saw these new lands in religious and spiritual terms. Europe was deeply religious in the 16th and 17th centuries and many Europeans thought that God was leading their people to the promised land, directing them to a place where they might save the souls of people who had not heard of God or Jesus Christ. The French government believed that missionaries were needed to convert and civilize Aboriginal peoples.

Positives and Negatives for Europeans coming to North America. + Positives- Negatives

Positives and Negatives for Europeans coming to North America. + Positives- Negatives +First Nations people saw Europeans as trading partners + First Nations people were curious about European cultures. + First Nations people wanted European goods and technology. +First Nations wanted tools and weapons. + Mi’kmaq used the French as allies to help them fight against the Beothik. + Different ideas about how to live were introduced. + Europeans introduced Aboriginals to Christianity. + European inventions made life easier for First Nations. + Emergence of a new Métis culture resulted when French men married Aboriginal women. + An opportunity to learn about different culture, language and land (cultural exchanges) -Loss of land and depletion of resources -Disruption to their traditional way of life. -Pressure to adopt European ways. -Illness and death from previously unknown diseases. -Suspicion and mistrust of Europeans. -Forced new religion onto Aboriginal people and disregarded their own spirituality. -Europeans killed animals just for their fur and did not use the Aboriginal principle of the “Seventh Generation” -Difficulty with communication. -Encouraged war among First Nations groups so that Europeans could gain more territory. -Aboriginal people had to use their own resources to keep Europeans from dying. -Disrespected Aboriginals by not calling them by their original names. -Changed Aboriginal tradional way of life. -Kidnapped Aboriginal people to take back to Europe to show their Kings and Queens.