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Spanish Explorers Motivation

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Spanish Explorers Motivation
Spanish Explorers Motivation

The Spanish explorers were noble men who traveled across the sea’s to explore new land and new areas. In this case, the Spanish explorers were Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortez, both of which are from Spain, and lived in the late 1400’s and early 1500’s. The reason Columbus and Cortez are so important in our history is because without them Central and South America would be so different today. Due to their huge impact on the Americas, it is important to understand why they even traveled their to begin with. Although some think they traveled out of curiosity, the Spanish explorers were motivated to leave home and conquer the Americas because of riches and possessions, obtaining new land for Spain, and to spread the religion of Christianity. A huge factor that motivated Spanish explorers to journey to the Americas were riches and possessions. “I shall make you in a very short time the richest of all men who have crossed the seas,” said Cortez, who was persuading his men to join him on the journey. Apparently, the riches and possessions were too much for Cortez’s men to pass up, considering the fact that his crew did travel to the Americas. Money and riches did play a big role in motivating Cortez and his crew. However, it wasn’t just Cortez. Columbus said, in a letter to the King and Queen of Spain, “It was my wish to bypass no island without taking possessions.” From this statement, we can infer that the “possessions,” that Columbus gathered from neighboring islands was a motivating factor on him traveling to the Americas, and the King and Queen of Spain funding his journey. As you can see, the people of Spain were determined to believe that there were great treasures in store for them in the Americas. However, there were only a few men who were brave enough to give up everything and go. Riches and treasures had a large impact on motivating Spanish explorers to travel to the Americas. Another issue that gave Spanish

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