Europe's expansion

Europe’s expansion was the spread of European power, trade, settlements, and influence to distant parts of the world from the 1400s onward.

• Improved ships, maps, compasses, and knowledge of sea routes allowed European sailors to travel across oceans more regularly than before.
• For example, Vasco da Gama reached India by sea in 1498 after sailing around Africa. This opened a direct sea route that Portuguese traders and soldiers used to gain control over valuable Indian Ocean trade.
• European rulers supported these voyages because spices, textiles, gold, and other goods could bring enormous profits. They also competed with one another for ports, territories, and influence.
• Expansion was not only exploration. In many places, European powers built forts and settlements, made unequal agreements with local rulers, and eventually took political control. This is how overseas expansion often became colonial rule.
• The effects were very unequal: European countries gained wealth and global power, while many indigenous communities lost land, freedom, resources, and control over their own societies.
• India became especially important because of its rich trade in cotton textiles, spices, and other goods. European trading companies first arrived as merchants, but some later became rulers.