Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Gold, silver, copper, timber, furs, fisheries—resources scarce or exhausted in Europe abounded in the Americas. The Spanish quinto real (royal fifth) on precious metals alone financed empires.
New crops revolutionized global commerce: sugar, tobacco, cotton, chocolate, potatoes, maize. The Columbian Exchange created the first truly global economy, linking Europe, Africa, and the Americas in a triangular trade (including enslaved Africans).
Catholic powers (Spain, Portugal, France) sought to convert Indigenous peoples. Protestant groups (Puritans, Quakers) fled persecution to build "godly societies." Missions became frontiers of empire.
Humanist ideals, improved navigation (caravel, astrolabe, compass), and tales of Marco Polo fueled a spirit of discovery. Explorers sought glory, knowledge, and personal fortune.
Empires competed for territory, ports, and strategic advantage. Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) divided the world between Spain and Portugal; later, England, France, and Netherlands challenged this duopoly, leading to wars fought globally.
These factors reinforced each other: trade funded navies; navies protected colonies; colonies produced resources; resources financed wars; wars expanded empires. The "New World" became the arena where Europe's internal rivalries played out on a planetary scale.