1. The Foundations of European Exploration
As Europe started to grow, the need to expand became important. Technology and resources were needed for long voyages.

2. NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT IMPACTED EUROPEAN EXPANSION
Improved Ship Design – (Caravel)
Faster, safer
The Printing Press
More reliable and accurate Magnetic Compass
Invention of the Clock
Allowed for new navigational methods – eventually Longitude
Astrolabe - Latitude
More Accurate Maps
Gun Powder and New Weapons
Cannons and Muskets

6. PRINTING PRESS- SPREAD INFORMATION

7. ASTROLABE- LATITUDE MEASUREMENTS
IMPROVED COMPASS

8. WEAPONS

9. ECONOMIC Rapid economic growth and an increase in business activity
Vast amounts of Gold and Silver Flooded into Europe
Prices of Goods rose due to inflation and Mercantilist economic policies
Too much Gold and Silver drove down the value of the currency
More opportunities for the rising Middle Class
Majority of Europeans (Peasant Class) saw little improvement in their standards of living
Capitalism slowly began to emerge by the 1700s

10. MERCANTILISM
Mercantilism stated that a country’s government should do all it could to increase the country’s wealth.
There is a limited amount of money, so you needed to grab what you could
Export more then you import….was the policy.
Favorable balance of trade
Placing tariffs on imports (taxed outsiders)
Encouraged exports (subsides)
Controlled raw materials

12. SOCIAL CHANGES
Social values became more focused on material wealth and social standing
Growing secular trend
Rising middle class benefitted the most from new economic and social opportunities
Power and wealth in the colonies came to be concentrated in the hands of a few (Europeans)
Strict economic and social hierarchy
Social and economic issues have continued to plague these regions as a results of this trend
This trend has continued throughout South and Central America
Christianity spread across the Globe and the Catholic Church became dominant in many colonial regions
Very often conversions were forced and or coerced; However, many ever, many truly converted to Christianity