European Influence

4 Pages 981 Words

There were many circumstances that lead to European discovery. One of the most significant was the search of new trading routes to different countries for certain goods. These goods were coming to Europe by Islamic traders. The most lucrative market was the spice trade. Most of the exotic spices used in Europe came from the Middle East, such as cardamom, India, cinnamon, or China cloves. They were brought to Europe by Islamic traders, who themselves had spread around the world in order to facilitate trade. The eastern coast of Africa, for instance, was one long line of Muslim cities that primarily served as conduits for trading goods from the interior of Africa. Muslims had also set up settlements in India and China; they did not, however, make it to the Americas. Because it was expensive, the European merchants and mercantile countries wanted to eliminate the middlemen and trade directly with the regions supplying these goods. In particular, Portugal and Spain, the states that carried out the bulk of trade in spices, wanted to find a route to the spice-producing countries so that they could trade directly with those countries. Portugal headed south and east along the western coast of Africa hoping to find the southern terminus of Africa so that ships could sail around Africa to India and China. Spain would take the opposite route, foolishly sailing west to find a shorter and more direct route to China and India. This western route was not short and certainly wasn't direct si...