Chapter 13 Summary

The Chinese, Indians, and Muslims lacked incentive to participate in the exploration of the Americas, but the Europeans did not. A relevant quote expressed by a Spanish Conquistador, that of which our history book mentions, is "We came here to serve God and the King, and also to get rich." This pretty much sums up the reasoning behind many of the Europeans settler's incentives to find land elsewhere. Some were seeking better lives after the potato famine, others left as a result of religious persecution, and some sought to obtain the riches that they believed the Americas possesed. This new land was easily sought for by the Europeans because they were more advanced than the Native American's residing in this land. The diseases that the Europeans brought to the Americas killed off most of the Native American populations making them the dominant race. The Dutch, the British, and the Spaniards all had major advantages towards the Native American populations. The "Little Ice Age" also took place during this time period. The cool temperatures that arouse made it hard for individuals to produce crops. A major revolutionary process that occurred was the columbian exchange. New plants, crops, and animals were introduced to the Americas making it easier to provide food for many. International exchange became worldwide and major nations were trading amongst each other. Additionally, the Atlantic slave trade was a means of making profit from Africa to the United States. Cheap labor was needed to take care of crops such as tobacco, and many colonies would pay to bring these workers to America. 

Both the European and the Russian empires had some similarities and differences during this time period that relied on conquering land. As individuals were expanding in the Americas, Russians were also expanding their influence westward. The Russians were trying to take control of those nomadic pastoral individuals who lived in the grasslands south and east of Russia. The reason for this was because they posed a threat to their agricultural Russian neighbors selling many of them into slavery. What drove the russians to the east was the opportunity to access "'soft gold' of fur-bearing animals." The Russian empire enforced the individuals under their control to pledge an oath of allegiance to the Russian authorities. They also demanded a tribute that had to be paid in cash. Similarly to the conquest in the Americas, being under Russian control produced epidemics in the places that were conquered. Russians provided incentives such as "tax breaks, exemptions from paying tribute, or the promise of land or cash" to get individuals to turn to Christianity. Russians destroyed mosques as a means to get individuals to turn to Christianity as well.