It remains unclear why humanity chose a relatively spontaneous moment to matriculate from the sheltered semicircle of Mediterranean lands, to expand to the farthest reaches of the earth, with an inchoate disregard for personal welfare.

However, pretentious man feels the need to speculate and impart drivelous reason, vain though it be: What were the causes of European expansion? An anonymous author proffers this model conjecture, "Western Europe's outward expansion in the 15th and 16th centuries was caused primarily by the unique brand of centralized governments which developed in England, France and Spain." The duressed reply to such a statement is of ardent disagreement. European expansion was not spearheaded or enticed by these governments primarily, though they were contemporaneous and conducive. And Portugal, a prominent figure in the assimilation of the New Land, should also be considered, although it was annexed with the rule of king Phillip II of Spain. The factors which propelled the exploration of these real "nether lands" were desires driven by religious domination, advances in technology, geography, and (I admit no concession) the "unique brand of

The centralized governments, although not of principal influence, did play a vital role in provoking European expansion. These rulers, with the weakening of the nobility, held power both regionally and universally in their countries of France, England and Spain. The Valois ruler's centralization, with their tailles and standardization of language and arts, would lead to expensive voyages to prestatial america, where their influence remains today in Quebec and Louisiana. In England, Queen Elizabeth's privateers waged a brutal war agains the gold laden spanish ships. The venerated Francis Drake was one of these privateers, or pirates, who discovered parts of the New World while attempting to steal the riches of enemy ships.

Before Phillip II absorbed the Portuguese coast into his vast empire (thus causing it to be centralized), Portugal's earliest expeditions served as a prelude to the rest of europe's explorations. Driven by greed for gold, spices, and slaves, and the desire to convert infidels, the Portuguese landed sporadically along the continent of Africa, rounding the dangerous cape of good hope. The great Prince Henry "the navigator" served as an exemplar for future explorations, making voyages to Africa and founding his own navigation school centered in Portugal in the 15th century. His expeditions down the west coast of Africa heralded the age now commonly called "The age of discovery". By controlling the gold issuing from Ottoman Africa, the Portuguese were able to finance extremely expensive voyages, prodding the coasts and inlet until Bartolomew Diaz rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1487. Another Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, reached India and returned with such lucre that the Portuguese King Manuel cast a series of perilous expiditions which resulted in landholdings in present day Brazil, Africa, Arabia, India, Java, and Mallaca.

The geography

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Approximate Word count = 1275
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)