The Role of States in Maritime Exploration

European states were seeking ways to expand their authority and control of resources in the era of empire-building. Conquests brought new wealth to states through the collection of taxes and through new trading opportunities. In time it also brought great material wealth, especially in silver, to European states. Rivalries among European states stoked efforts to expand before another power might claim a territory. Religion was also a motivating force for exploration and expansion. Many Europeans believed that it was their Christian duty to seek out people in other lands to convert them.

For all these reasons, states were centrally involved in maritime exploration. Voyages such as those Columbus undertook were expensive, and without the financial support of a state, they would most likely have been too expensive for explorers and even most merchants to be able to afford. Since religion was tightly woven into the government of most European states, preserving and spreading a state’s religion became another reason for state involvement.

Also, in the 17th century, Europeans generally measured the wealth of a country in how much gold and silver it had accumulated. For this reason, countries set policies designed to sell as many goods as they could to other countries—in order to maximize the amount of gold and silver coming into the country—and to buy as few as possible from other countries—to minimize the flow of precious metals out of the country. This theory, known as mercantilism, required heavy government involvement.