The movie "Columbus" tells the great journey of a navigator - the discovery of the new world. As we all know, medieval Europe was an era shrouded in clouds, and the dark rule of the church was like a lock, trapping the spirit and soul of all the people in the flame of Christ. Columbus lived at the end of the Middle Ages, in the middle of the Renaissance. During this period, the commodity economy developed rapidly, and humanist ideas spread widely on the European continent. In such a situation, many people began to advocate the "spirit of adventure".
As the saying goes, "A lot of things happen requires an opportunity." "Driven by the admiration of humanism and the high development of the commodity economy, Mark Polo's Travels are like a catalyst for many navigators who are eager to open up new worlds. They can't wait to go after the fascinating East to break through the current situation.
The Age of Discovery also unfolded in this context. Relying on the compass needle from China and the support of the feudal power Spain and Portugal royal families, many navigators packed their bags and began to pursue their "golden dreams". Thus, a new page was opened in the history of the world, and its direction was changed.
Poster of Columbus
Driven by the "Golden Dream"
Born in Venice, Italy, Marco Polo traveled to China with his cousin as a young man for four years. Later, he traveled to China alone, formed a deep friendship with the reigning Yuan Shizu at that time, and held important positions in the Chinese imperial court. This experience lasted for 17 years, and he personally felt the richness and strength of China, as well as the charm of the East, which also provided important material for its description of "Mark Polo's Travels". After returning to Venice at the end of his travels, Marco Polo took part in the Naval Battles of Venice.
Unfortunately, Venice was defeated and Marco Polo was imprisoned for it. In prison, he dictated what he had seen and heard in the East, which had been compiled into a book by a Pisa writer named Rostisson at the time. This book is the "Travels of Marco Polo", which was widely circulated by later generations. It is said in the book that "the East is a rich paradise, full of spices and gold." Marco Polo used extremely exaggerated and even distorted descriptions to portray the East as a desirable paradise. It succeeded in inspiring the desire of thousands of Europeans for the Orient.
And this desire is linked to gold. Due to the continuous development of the economies of European countries at that time, many European aristocrats were extremely extravagant. Coupled with the fact that gold was the main payment currency in Europe at that time, gold became the only means of payment for domestic and foreign transactions. All of this led to a thirst for gold among Europeans, and the depiction of the Orient in Mark Polo's Travels undoubtedly led Europeans to find a way to find gold. As a result, many navigators found the direction of sailing.
The Age of Discovery
The four great inventions of China went to the European continent
In the 15th century, the productive forces of Europe had been rapidly developed, and great progress had been made in science and technology, which provided sufficient conditions for navigators to sail. For example, the multi-masted fast sailing ships produced in Europe at that time provided an important means of navigation for navigators to travel far.
In addition to the development of Science and Technology in Europe itself, the compass needle, one of China's four major inventions, has also made great contributions to the opening up of new shipping routes. Navigating the seas, vast and inexhaustible, necessarily requiring guiding instruments, the compass needle introduced to Europe in the 13th century played a huge role.
Not only the compass, but also gunpowder and printing indirectly promoted the opening of new shipping routes. Marco Polo's Travels were widely circulated in Europe precisely because of printing, and gunpowder played an irreplaceable role in opening up new shipping routes for post-colonial hegemony. All in all, China's four great inventions have promoted the opening of new shipping routes to a certain extent.
compass
The new shipping route opens up a comparison with China's Maritime Silk Road
The "maritime navigation" route opened up in China's history is known as the Maritime Silk Road. It covers multiple dynasties, starting in the Western Han Dynasty and reaching the golden age of the Ming Dynasty, and is more famous for "Zheng He's Seven Voyages to the West". It is rumored that the routes traveled by Zheng He played an exemplary role for many navigators during the opening period of the new routes. European navigators at that time sailed along the route of the Maritime Silk Road and reached the west coast of the Pacific Ocean.
In addition, the intrinsic nature of China's Maritime Silk Road and the opening up of new shipping routes are not the same. China's Maritime Silk Road is designed to facilitate trade with other countries, while the opening of the new route is a journey of "gold hunting" and full of purpose. Someone once commented: "China's Maritime Silk Road is a peaceful cultural exchange journey, while the opening of a new route is a journey of capital accumulation accompanied by colonization and plunder." "
Although the purposes of the two are very different, they have made a huge contribution to the world's economic exchanges. With their fearless spirit of adventure, European navigators succeeded in discovering new continents and bringing the world's economic ties closer. China's maritime voyages have promoted trade around the world.
China's Maritime Silk Road
A dynasty that gradually declined after the opening of new shipping routes
In the 15th and 16th centuries, the economic momentum of Spain and Portugal was very rapid. Combined with reality, many navigators in the opening period of the new route were funded by Spain and Portugal. Moreover, their ability to carry out such rigorous seafaring activities under the heavy control of the Church in medieval Europe was enough to see how strong the economies of the two countries were at that time. After the opening of new world routes, these two countries have carried out activities to divide up world capital. Spain also relied on colonialism to become the world's first "country where the sun never sets".
In addition, Spain at that time had begun the criminal "black slave trade". Through the slave trade, Spain accumulated a large amount of primitive capital and plundered a large amount of wealth. But throughout history, Spain and Portugal have not always flourished, and even weakened.
There are reasons for this. Although Spain and Portugal had reaped great wealth by the opening of new shipping routes, this wealth was squandered by the feudal aristocrats of Spain and Portugal, who bought large quantities of luxury goods and eventually flowed these primitive capitals to other countries. Not only that, Spain and Portugal also repeatedly waged wars over colonies and property, which also depleted the national strength of the two countries to a certain extent, paving the way for the rise of Britain and other countries later.
Scenes of war between Spain and Portugal
As new shipping routes open up, world powers are gradually rising
From the end of the 16th century to the 17th century, some European countries rapidly developed their economies by relying on trade on new routes, and carried out bourgeois revolutions, moving towards the road of national modernization. The first to develop was in the Netherlands. At that time, the Dutch shipbuilding industry ranked first in the world, and many European countries had traveled to the Netherlands to order ships, which was also known as the "coachman of the sea".
In addition, the Dutch had defeated the Portuguese fleet twice on the island of Guawa and the Strait of Malacca, and in 1602 established the East India Company to specialize in colonial plundering overseas. At its peak, Dutch naval warships nearly doubled the total number of Britain and France, which was enough to see the hegemony of the Netherlands in all aspects at that time.
In addition to the Netherlands, Britain rapidly developed its own capitalism thanks to the geographical advantages of the opening of the new sea route, and quickly established a constitutional monarchy with the active revolution of the assets, moving towards the road of modernization, and at the same time became one of the early capitalist countries in Europe. In addition, the "enclosure movement" carried out by Britain has also accumulated a large amount of original capital for it. In 1588, the British even defeated Spain's "Armada" in one fell swoop, with strong sea supremacy, and rapidly developed its own maritime transport trade.
With the continuous development of British capitalism, science and technology also developed rapidly during this period. Britain became the first capitalist country in the world to carry out the "industrial revolution", and officially entered the "era of large-scale machine production" from the "era of handicraft industry". By the 19th century, Britain's colonial expansion had reached its peak, and according to statistics, Britain's colonial area at that time was 111 times that of its own territory. There is no doubt that Britain became the world's premier hegemon through the Industrial Revolution and colonial expansion, hence the name "Empire of the Sun Never Sets".
British colonial plunder war
The new shipping route opens up the world direction
Until the opening of the new shipping routes, the whole of Europe was still in an ignorant and backward medieval era. After the opening of the new shipping routes, the maritime trade in Europe developed rapidly, capitalism was fully developed, and many countries carried out their own bourgeois revolutions and successfully modernized.
As the economy continued to develop, new ways of production began to emerge, and the United Kingdom became the first country in the world to carry out the Industrial Revolution. This has also led to the formation of a new historical development situation in the world, and the West has gradually moved towards the forefront of the times. In addition, from the end of the 15th century, the colonial movement carried out by European countries brought terrible disasters to the colonies and seriously affected their own normal development.
Labor carried out by colonized people
From a global perspective, the opening of new routes is inevitable. It has prompted many European countries to go to the forefront of the times, and has also led to many countries being far behind the times, and has successfully changed the historical trend of the entire world, which in turn has had a profound impact on the world.
Judging from the development of Europe after the opening of the new route, the opening of the new route is very forward-looking. It indirectly prompted many European countries to shake off the darkness of the Middle Ages, successfully develop their own capitalist road, and move towards modernization. All in all, the opening of new shipping routes is a great feat in human history, and it has prompted the world to take a step forward.
bibliography:
Li Kaixuan. Comparison of the opening of the new route with Zheng He's voyage to the West[j].Middle School Liberal Arts, 2011(3).
Von Erkham. Patriotic Education in History Class: A Case Study of "Zheng He's Voyage to the West" in Middle School History Textbooks[j].History Teaching, 2012(10).