Pacific Dbq Ap World History

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West of the American Revolution the rest of the continent was in deep competition. Russia, Britain, and Spain all were on the race to explore the Pacific Ocean. It was the only part of the globe that had gone untouched and unexplored by the Europeans. They feared the immensity of the Pacific Ocean and everything they did not know about it. This only makes the Native people of the pacific Islands that much more impressive as they were able to navigate those waters with much less technology and advantages that the European colonizers possessed. Nevertheless, the Europeans knew that there was much more profits and trade opportunities yet to be discovered on these lands and ocean so therefore they pushed at full strength to map this region of the world out. …show more content…

446). This shift in attitude was a representation for how Europeans would approach the Pacific people. Unlike the Spaniards who were “Wedded to Catholic absolutism” (Taylor pg. 476). The British in particular were not seeking to save souls or to enlighten the people of the pacific, they were looking to create trade and profits. The Russians started expanding eastward and by 1680 they reached the edge of Siberia; Kamchatka, which eventually become the port for the later expeditions to the northwestern parts of America. The Russians like the Spaniards had a particular way of treating native people. When describing the native people of Siberia, the Russians said “Only in the power of speech do they differ from animals” (Taylor pg. 447). That was a strong indication of how the Russians would eventually treat the Aleut people of the Alaska

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