What were the main causes of European exploration and colonization? Were Europeans successful in attaining the goals they set for exploring the world?

What were the main causes of European exploration and colonization? Were Europeans successful in attaining the goals they set for exploring the world?

This week we are looking at the development of colonies in the Americas, and the trans-Atlantic slave trade as European states developed into overseas empires. I am expecting most of you to write on the first three questions — which is fine — but the fourth is a challenge for anyone who wants to dig deeper into the documents. 1. What were the main causes of European exploration and colonization? Were Europeans successful in attaining the goals they set for exploring the world? 2. The primary documents that we read for this week deal directly with the actual carrying out of the slave trade. Use the documents to explain the process by which an African person might become a slave, and end up in the Americas. 3. Using the essays on the Slave Voyages database, give a brief — 2 to 3 paragraph — overview of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade; how did it begin? What were its objectives? How large was it? What was the human cost?