What Motivated Columbus Voyages

Essay question 1

Columbus had many reasons for voyaging out. In total he took four voyages to the “New World” each different and each with a different goal. He did run into some problems however. He faced natives who had never seen white skinned people before and he faced the dangerous crossing of the Atlantic. He had specific reasons for his motivation, he accomplished much and he dealt with those who doubted him in several ways.
Generally scholars will say that the explorers of the new world were motivated by “God, Gold, and Glory.” Columbus himself wanted to get rich and prove that he was correct in regards to his views on world geography. The main way he was trying to get rich was by locating a faster route to the spice islands located in Asia. This coincides with proving he was correct since Columbus believed that the continent of Asia was closer than most thought. In order for this to be correct the world would have had to been smaller which most scholars disagreed with at the time. His religious motives weren’t as prominent in his exploration of the new world. The combination of these three factors led to the motivation for Columbus’ voyages.
His first journey started centuries of exploration of the American continents and started years of economic, cultural and political relations between Europe and the Americas. His maps assisted Magellan during his voyage circumnavigating the world. He charted routes across the atlantic that are still in use today and he introduced the principle of compass