What is the relationship between colonization and nation building? This question has many answers. However, we will analyze it by discussing the greed factor. Greed among rulers was the strongest relationship between colonization and nation building.
explorers of all time. Like every other explorer, Columbus
had many reasons for his exploration. However, it is made obvious by studying the history of Columbus' explorations that his main motive for exploration was greed. Columbus had the same desires as many explorers both before and after him. He yearned for gold. He wanted land. He wanted power. The whole purpose for his first voyage to what he thought was India, but turned out to be Central America, was to gain land for Spain. It took quite a bit of sweet talking from Columbus to get the money and ships needed for this voyage from Spain's Queen Isabella. But in the end, Columbus had the chance to reach a goal brought on by greed : to gain riches. Queen Isabella had the same motive. She wanted land for Spain, and that is the only reason that she ever gave him the money and ships to make his voyage.
The English, like other countries, voyaged to the Americas in search of riches. It wasn't until they got there that they realized that people already lived there. It was at that point that greed took over the English. The English did something, that by today's standards would be considered inhuman. They used a method of mass murder called extermination. They used whatever it took to kill the most Native Americans possible in the smallest amount of time. The English would not have done this had it not been for extreme greed. They wanted the land that the Native Americans had and they wanted it as soon as possible. This greed among the English did accomplish their task of taking land quickly, but it also accomplished the murder of thousands of Native Americans.
Although it doesn't seem obvious at first thought, new laws in Europe helped with the effort in nation building. With the new laws were the guidelines as to were the laws were in effect. Often, a new law included a new area of land. This meant that with each new law a king put forth, theoretically, he could gain more land. A newer set of laws that were not made law by the king, took power from the king and said that he did not have total control. This set of laws, the Magna Carta, is perhaps the most famous set of written laws ever.
With the decline of feudalism came the development of monarchies. A monarchy, form of government in which one person has the hereditary right to rule as head of state during his or her lifetime, usually presents the chance for nation building. A greedy king or queen can, if they have the forces needed, build their nation quickly and effectively. Just like everyone and everything else, the monarch always had a reason for nation building. Nine times out of ten, that reason was greed. The king wanted more people to tax. The king wanted more land. The king wanted more trade routes to tax. All of these are a part of greed. The king (or queen) wanted something that they didn't need and they were willing to do almost anything to get it. Fight a war. Kill a thousand people. The phrase 'Whatever it takes' meant the world to a monarch.
Greed. Whether it was colonization, as with Queen Isabella and Christopher, or it was nation building, greed was the motive behind it nine times out of ten. Christopher Columbus tried for years to make a voyage to what he thought was India, and he was so diligent because he was greedy. The English murdered thousands upon thousands of people because they wanted the land belonging to the Native Americans all to themselves. These are two very good examples of greed within colonization. A king wants more land, but he doesn't want a war. How does he get it? Why, he just thinks of some new ridiculous law that will have no effect other than to give him more land. The end of but also the beginning to the major development of one of monarchy. The monarchy would prove to be a major force behind the building of many nations for decades. Greed among rulers was the strongest relationship between would like to see someone effectively argue against it.
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