Background

Explorers throughout history have been driven by a desire for discovery that has incorporated a multitude of objectives both personal and nationalistic. From the conqueror to the adventurer, all types of explorers, both men and women, have traveled to the furthest corners of Earth. As man broadened his horizons, one of the strongest forces driving further exploration became the pursuit of trade, especially in luxury goods such as precious metals, jewels, furs, silk, aromatic scents, and spices. In the 1600s organizations such as the East India Company made historic ocean voyages to the Orient and South Pacific. Trade soon led to permanent trading posts and these in turn led to colonial occupation such as the colonies founded in North America. By the end of the seventeenth century explorers also began to venture forth for nobler motives—some as missionaries...