The sixteenth century was a turning phase for the Portuguese. Although they were wise in their first exchanges, they were no match for the Spanish whose strength began to grow. Many voyages in the early 1500s by the Spanish (namely Columbus who was under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain and at the invitation of King Manuel I of Portugal, Amerigo Vespucci, whose name was given to the New World) emphasized Europe’s new goal to be in control of many places. Spain actually had gained control of Northern South America and Central America. By 1550 with Portugal not taking a hold on its stations, the Spanish began to incorporate themselves in Portuguese ventures. This turning point gave the Dutch and English the incentive to stake their claim on trade and control. The English had been slow to get in on the lucrative trade as they were fighting their own battles back home such as the famous War of the Roses.  The Dutch also grew stronger as they had gained independence from Spain. Now, towns such as Antwerp and Amsterdam were major trade ports.  The Dutch wanted to carry vast loads bought from the Far East at low prices and ship them back to Europe for vast profit. This was done by the opening up of the East India Company which would be one of the first multinational mega-corporations in trading. This company would take most of the Portuguese trade.  The English, although having wars with the Dutch never really fought for this trade, having established trade with India and having acquired the seaport of Singapore as well as the colonies in North America. There was also the London East India Company which was a private entity and extremely powerful in itself. This company came to rule large parts of India with its military power and also its administrative functions. Europe was gaining control of the world.

Trade was not the only idea that was prevalent in these journeys to far off places. The motto was God, Glory, and Gold. This now begins to explain more of the suggestion that these explorers and the countries behind them were going forget all they needed. They wanted to convert the natives to their respective faith. Each of the explorers wanted the glory back in his homeland for finding new sources of income for the nation, and Gold was the income source they were looking for the most. Locals were unable to stop the European intruders with their fast weaponry and training that while this would seem total overthrow of the natives, trade was still done with locals with established trade.  The Portuguese actually failed in this respect as they used their strength to try and take over all trade. The British, Dutch, and Spanish would later appease this by maintaining trade relationships but still with control.  Trade continued and the Spanish crown took a vast amount of gold and silver from India to fill its coffers. The Catholic Spanish would also try to convert the locals. This was heightened by the fact that countries like England were Protestant. The Spanish took their technology, and strangely, disease to conquer most of South America, parts of the Southwestern United States, and all of Mexico and Central America. The English would make big inroads to North America along with the Dutch.

To conclude, the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were astonishing times of exploration and discovery. These European countries had enormous power and took it to all parts of the world colonising many countries and taking natural wealth from them. The Europeans also have the view that these were inferior lands but as time moved on instead of thinking that these people were just man-eaters they came to the view that they were ‘noble savages’. It could be said that European domination led to the erosion of many traditional values and destroyed many existing social relationships while taking many natural resources. Conversely, imperialism and colonialism can be said to have saved countries in a lot of ways by way trade, technology, roads, railroads, schools, hospitals and better farming.

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