Age Of Discovery Vs New Imperialism Essay

Acquisition and discovery are two extremely separated concepts, as one is fueled by the unknown, while the other is driven on by the known. Since the popular discovery of the Western Hemisphere, European expenditures and ventures to unchartered lands have constantly taken place, evermore mapping the Earth. However, once the geography of the World was understood, those same Europeans began movements to seize and occupy the lands they were once mystified and intrigued by. Although the Age of Discovery and the time of New Imperialism share similarities, regarding where each took place, in lands outside of Europe, the differences between the two are obviously more pronounced. To begin with, the Age of Discovery, which occurred in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, can

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries can be regarded as the height of European New Imperialism. This movement can be regarded as the time when an insatiable European need for more land and colonies occurred, and the time when European intrigue with owning more than the motherland was present. The New Imperialistic actions of the European states arose after the World, to the extent that concerned the European interests, had been reasonably chartered and understood by the expenditures taken by the Europeans in the Age of Discovery. In a sense, once the European knew what was there, they wanted to own it and claim it as there own. Once the Cape of Good Hope had been passed, and the shores of Africa were chartered and recognized, the Europeans began to claim Africa to fulfill their thirst for more, as their initial desires for knowledge had been fulfilled. Now, the Europeans wanted property and ownership. Europeans wanted to plant their flag at as many places they could, as there was no more exploration necessary to see their new