Exploration can be interpreted in many different ways. For one person exploration can be finding out new things about the whole world and being able to come up with new things. To another person it could mean exploring through little places and finding little things. Like, for example, exploring your house. The dictionary defines it as “an act or instance of exploring or investigating; examination; the investigation of unknown regions.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/exploration) Exploration is what has founded all the continents and places people live today. It has also helped people learn about many things that have happened in the past and help teach people new things so that they can thrive in the future. Exploration is a good thing because it has given people new things to have and places to be.
The Renaissance period had a lot exploration to it. Europeans traveled to many different places and set up trade routes. This brought new homes and new things to everyone. There were three reasons why there was not much exploration before the Renaissance period. “First, mariners lacked maps and charts of foreign waters and possessed little useful knowledge of winds and currents. Second, mariners did not have much experience sailing out of sight of land, and their navigational tools and methods were primitive. Third, few ships were well equipped for long ocean voyages or unfavorable winds.”(http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/rens_02/rens_02_00165.html) The Renaissance brought more technology and maps so that exploration would be possible. The Renaissance was huge because so many things happened because of exploration. Without all this exploration people probably would not be here today. If there was no exploration at all ever, people would all be packed in one place and they would have a very limited amount of things. Life would not be diverse at all.
Everyone knows of the famous rhyme, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” Columbus was an Italian navigator who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and found North America. There was one man before him, Leif Ericson, who also found North America. But Columbus had more widespread contact between the Europeans and America. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus) Christopher Columbus kept a journal of his voyages. He left Europe on August 3, 1492. In his journal he says, “Set sail from the bar of Saltes at 8 o'clock, and proceeded with a strong breeze till sunset, sixty miles or fifteen leagues south, afterwards southwest and south by west, which is the direction of the Canaries.” (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/Columbus1.html) This was a great voyage of exploration. Christopher was exploring because he wanted to find new routes to the Far East. All of this exploring led to him finding North America. This proves that exploration is definitely a good thing because if he did not go exploring they would of never found North America. If they did not find North America then nobody would be living on that continent and people would not have the resources that come from North America. People would also not have any information and tools that the Indians in North America had.
Overall, exploration is a very good thing. It brought people a lot of technology and useful sources during the Renaissance. And, one of the biggest benefits of exploration, it was the reason that Christopher Columbus came and found North America. Without exploration, the world would not have much and there would not have been many new discovered places. There would also be not many resources and technology because nobody would be exploring new ways to get things done.
sources:
"Christopher Columbus." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 10 May 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus
"Exploration | Define Exploration at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 10 May 2010. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/exploration
"Exploration." Novelguide: Free Study Guides, Free Book Summaries, Free Book Notes, & More. Web. 10 May 2010. http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/rens_02/rens_02_00165.html
"Medieval Sourcebook: Christopher Columbus: Extracts from Journal." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 May 2010. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/Columbus1.html
a) The quote you give from Columbus is interesting, but it has little to do with your thesis. Don't use primary sources just for the sake of using them; use primary sources to support your argument.
ReplyDeleteb) You need to work on honing your prose. "Exploration is a good thing because it has given people new things to have and places to be." is a good example. In this thesis "good" is too general (what's good for one may not be good for another); "has given" is a weak construction; "new things to have" is awkward. Think about exactly what it is that you are trying to say and say it. Then go back and edit it into shape.