Throughout the early voyages of exploration, many new and strange things were discovered and brought back to the mother countries which would create prosperity and power. The motivations behind these voyages are governed by not only trade but also by the possibilities of personal gain for both the explorers and the nation as well as the influences of religion and unity against the Islamic state. Although trade was a major motivation it was not the only stimulus for the early voyages of exploration.
During this time period trade was very important especially considering that due to the fall of Constantinople. Constantinople fell in 1453 and as a result the Ottoman nation and …show more content…
The great seas of the world during this time were feared and so any man who led an expedition into the unknown were guaranteed fame and glory. Fame was a particular desire of the explorers themselves being inspired by great explorers and soldiers of old, such as Marco Polo and so sought to equal the efforts of those men in hope of being seen as heroes. This enticed many people to go on explorations as they would receive large amounts of glory. Along with this glory the explorers would be paid a great deal of money for their explorations and would receive significant profits from the valuable riches in which they would collect. “But in truth, should I meet with gold or spices in great quantity, I shall remain till I collect as much as possible, and for this purpose I am proceeding solely in quest of them.” This was said by Columbus when he went on his voyages of exploration. Columbus states that he is proceeding solely in quest of them which implies that the more spices or valuable goods he collects, that more of a profit he will receive. And when looking at nation wise, these nations were also wanting these valuables for their own personal gain as by having more spices and other goods, the nations would gain economically thus making them much more powerful thus increasing their national pride. Personal gain was a massive motivation for the early voyages of exploration as the individuals who would go out to explore would be granted wealth and glory as well as the nations which would experience wealth and power which would fuel their national pride as a result of