In approximately 1490, people all around the world began to explore. Of course, there were many reasons why people decided to do so, but pilgrimage and commerce were the two main incentives. (Lecture, 9/3/14). Europeans began to value crusading, but they didn’t yet have the resources to do it consistently. China, on the other hand, traveled all over the world, trying to recruit people to join them in trade and army. They were the biggest producers of important goods that everyone wanted. After a while, the Chinese began cutting down on their expeditions. The Ming started putting their money toward more important things that they thought would benefit their country. They wanted to consolidate territories around them and let go of naval defenses. (Lecture, 9/3/14). Little did the Ming know, Europe was about to take their place in the trading industry. They began going on voyages in search of potential investments. Spain and Portugal even decided to cut out their source of trade so that it’d be cheaper for them. This created something new for the trading business.
Shortly after, in the sixteenth century, a new kind of trade began to take place in Africa than what Europeans was used to. It even changed how Europeans operated their trade. The African Kingdom was divided into villages where most people were peasants. (Lecture, 9/10/14). This eventually led to the spread of slavery because it was a main source of revenue. People were viewed as property whereas