European Expansion Around the World

The capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453 made access to Asia more difficult for Western traders. The major European kingdoms (France, England, Spain and Portugal) began funding major explorations to find another route to Asia. Leaving Europe and heading west, the explorers discovered a whole new continent: America. The Europeans began to take possession of the lands of the New World, with harmful consequences for the indigenous populations. They were decimated by rivalry, war and disease, lost most of their land and many were reduced to slavery.

The Europeans set up trading posts and settler colonies all over America, creating a major trade network between the new colonies and their mother countries. This was the birth of a world economy.