What do you think were the top five motives (reasons) 15th and 16th century Europeans went on voyages of exploration? Explain your answers.

In the 15th and 16th century the age of exploration had begun. People began to sail, trade, and inquire. They were more introduced into science and they were asking themselves questions. They wanted to know the answers, and they knew that the only way they could find the answers to their inquires was to explore. They started voyaging!

            This might have been one motive already. The curiosity of it all. They all wanted to know whether the Earth was flat or not, where there can be conquering lands, if they will fall of the earth’s age in terror, and helplessness etc. They brought their fears to an end, yet some fears came back. This brought them to question. But they could not only question, they had to have proof to know what to believe. Many started sailing, discovering new lands claiming them there own, and understanding things they did not understand from mere predictions and Church “explanations”. Along their way they found different ways to improve ships, and claimed some lands. Christopher Columbus for example, Columbus was sponsored by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, he knew that they were wealthy and that if he convinced them well enough that he is going on an important voyage which can lead to the discovery of East Indies, they will provide him with foods, ships, and sailors and they did. They both believed that his voyage will bring wealth and prestige to Spain.  Without their help Columbus wouldn’t be able to start his journey to the East Indies. He sailed across the Atlantic hoping to see the land of Indies. With the curiosity of finding the Indies he accidently discovered the Americas. Columbus was smart and an educated European, except he didn’t know how big Earth really is, he estimated it to be much smaller. Today his name is celebrated in America, we owe it to his curiosity.

The second motive could have been financing. People that lived in different regions knew that there were goods and rich luxurious here and there, and we're waiting to be traded. They also wanted to become a richer, and wealthier region, there was no land where wealth wasn’t a need or desire. All they had to do is set to voyage with goods from their own country. They all wanted to go to Spain because they had gold and silver there the most. Some wanted to set out where spices are very current. Some places however were too poor, they couldn’t voyage, and they were unable to provide sailors with safe ships. Many people benefited from voyaging. If a person was set out to sail, and maybe discover a land, the person would come off wealthier and better known. Financial they all got richer, with the trading they brought gold’s and silvers and animals etc.

Another motive was trade. They all wanted goods and they were all aware of what goods and luxurious there are in the world, they wanted to find the trade route to Asia, and because they knew they had spices, tea, and gold. They knew they would become a country with a culture, and they would be wealthier, and provide themselves for more voyages and make new discoveries, and find more trade routes.  This lead to exploration they all needed the trade route so they can trade and have goods. They were searching for trading places, and along the way made remarkable discoveries. Spices were very big at the time. But really if they found out direct routes to trading, they would be more aware of the world around them, realize there cultures, and who they are.

The spread of religion played one of the biggest roles of the age of exploration, people like Francis Xavier, managed to explore Asia aiming to spread Christianity. He managed to turn 300.000 Japanese people into Christian faith. He told his missionaries to go around Asia and continue spreading before they were banned. It changed how many people think and their views on life. Prince Henry was also tried to do the same as Xavier, except he was aiming for Africa with an intention to spread Christianity. He thought the Portuguese (including him) could convert the African people into Christian faith, even though he knew that they practiced tribal religions and Islam.

Conquering empires and mapping lands were Again Prince Henry sets us a great example; his navigators claimed Azores and Madeira islands. They built up on each other’s ideas, improved them until they finally got the map right, when it became perfection. The only way they found lands was usually when they’re about to set to a trading route and they find a new land. When Prince Henry decided to move from Africa and go to Asia to trade, his plan was to go circumnavigate around Africa to get to Asia. But unfortunately Prince Henry died in 1460, but the Portuguese continued their journey to Asia. As they got to the tip of Africa, they named the tip Cape of Good Hope because it opened the way for a direct sea route to Asia.

The age of exploration started because people were curious, finance was coming of importants , trade routes were being searched for, spread of religion, mapping and conquering lands. We have more knowledge about the world now. We were able to build up on our ideas, like using there maps as rough drafts, then we man discovered a wonderful thing called a satellites that allow us to see the Earth. Today we are able to access maps and see how the world has changed and developed. Our knowledge about the world improved so much. It is easily said that we are always in the age of exploration, because there is always something new to ask, discover, invent.  

  

"Men love to wonder, and that is the seed of science." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

 Science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge. Science has evolved over the years and it still is, it always will. Man will always have an urge to discover, explore, confirm, dis-confirm tests/experiments, because everything they do really has an impact on how we live thanks to science, and how it applies on our everyday lives. For example, recently there has been a scientist that found a way how to tunr any color eye into blue eyes. They are also finding cures for disease that before were not tried nor tested, and also when earthquakes or any other natural disastear happens, we have science to tell us why or how a disaster had occured. If people were not interested in any of these topics, they are also not interested in science. But people who love to explore they will use science to test and experiment various things. The seed of science is a metaphor for the mans curiousty itself. Curiousity is how science starts, you are interested in something and you want to find the answer/solution to it, you just apply science; that is only the beginning that is why they are reffering to it as "seed" it later grows into something bigger, you gain understanding and you find the answers and solutions. I think this quote is describing how science starts, it starts by ondering and that is only a beginnging.

"Justification by Faith" vs. "The Spark for the Reformation; Indulgences"

The two of these religious points of view are very opposite of each other. 

Martin Luther lived on the brighter side of life he believed that by just believing in God, your sins will be forgiven/earning salvation. He said that God was a caring and loving person and that you don’t have to waste and destroy your own life to be forgiven for your sins. He had believed you do not have to serve the church to earn salvation. Justification by faith was believing in God, and for that being forgiven for sins, but not believing you will always be forgiven.“The offering of [the body] is called a spiritual sacrifice because it is freely sacrificed through the Spirit, the Christian being uninfluenced by the constraints of the Low or the fear of hell.” (The Complete Sermons of Martin Luther, vol. IV, "First Sunday after Epiphany," p. 10)

Then on the other hand we have the complete opposite, Johan Tetzel, the one who believed God was a negative person. God was a mean and harsh observer. He claims that you must be his slave to earn salvation. All humans are sins, therefore he thought that with any deed you do you will spend 7 years in purgatory. All these facts of this evil God people were scared so they accepted Tetzel’s offer; indulgences. They were too scared not to buy any. Tetzel states that this piece of paper releases you from a sin, because really you have no other chance of NOT spending 7 years of purgatory aside from buying a indulgent.

“As soon as the gold in the casket rings; the rescued soul to heaven springs”-Johan Tetzel (famous claim)

Martin Luther Hero or Heretic?

We all have different opinions on this particular topic, and both sides have quite a lot of evidence to them. It's hard not to sit on the fence, but there is one side that does seem stronger to me, and maybe that is only because I looked into it more then I had looked into the fact that he was a heretic. I would say he was somewhat a hero. 

Martin Luther showed interest in the church. He was following the church rules, until he started to question it in quite logical ways. In the middle ages, the rule of the Roman Catholic Church was absolute. They also limited access to the Bible, insisted that masses be held in Latin and that prayers were to be said only in Latin (there were cultures that would burn a person at the stake for teaching their children prayers in their native language). Luther didn't want this to go on, he wanted to translate the Bible into his own language (German) so that more people can have the privilege to read and interpret the Bible however they wanted to. Before the Holy Scripture was translated people had only followed religion out of culture, and because the church had ultimate power. The result was that by keeping the masses ignorant, a priest could teach its parishioners anything they wanted to teach. A true hero would fight for his and other people’s rights to interpret the church, religion and Bible on there very own. This is one of the reasons why Martin Luther led the Protestant Reformation when he posted his list on the church door (95 Thesis). He realized that the church had strayed from the original teachings of scriptures, because they were overwhelmed with the power and they knew that they couldn’t risk the power.
His interpretations on the church were only later adapted. After he was thrown in jail by Pope Leo X, he finally escaped and went to Germany to translate the Bible. When Martin Luther died Pope Leo III accepted some of his rules. So technically they waited for him to die to accept his rules and thoughts, that’s being hypocritical, so really they don’t have the right to call him a heretic when they are being ones themselves. The Church was hypocritical in the sense that they accused Martin Luther of heresy for questioning the church and for his beliefs. And then later they outlawed themselves during the Catholic Reformation. Pope Leo X was also quite a heretic himself; there are many quotes that can easily prove his heresy.
Martin Luther stands accused as a heretic yet who is the Church to call him a heretic when they were corrupt and heretics themselves. "How well we know what a profitable superstition this fable of Christ has been for us".  - Pope Leo X, the man who convicted Luther for heresy is going against the Church and calling it a lie! Luther tried to reform the Church and in the process started the Protestant Revolution. He cried out against indulgences and the sale of positions


Martin Luther was a true hero, because he didn't care about the power or the attention, he wanted to get his idea across, even though they locked him up sometimes, he was still a fighter for his and other peoples rights.
(Some information used from our debate note sheet.)

"Blood alone moves the wheels of history." - Martin Luther

We would say that in this qoute there is a metaphorical meaning behind it. When we say blood we mainly mean, the family roots. This qoute is saying the moving of every generation keeps history going and moving. History will never stop as long as we keep the human race going. Some people will always stay remembered, and they are of certain blood, his/her ancestors are keeping thehistory going, and keeping family history. Blood is representing somehting living. Us humans created history, and we will alwyas keep history, we wrote history, we know history. We are history and that is why we keep it going! 

The Sale of Grade Points

School, what is school really? School is made for educational reasons mainly. School makes us become informed citizeen, increase apreciation in art, tradition, culture, teach problem solving, and open up our minds to creativity, and many other reasons. School makes us become something we mainly want to be in the future, but you have to wok your way through to get to your goal. But what if really there was a somewhat easier way to become something you want to be by doing nothing, absoulutely nothing, just giving away money to the head of the school. Easy way to get through. We all know many rich people will succeed with whatever grade they graduate with, mainly becuase they have monye, and they dont have to work for it because its already there. Well the "ISB Indulgences" is the easy way to get out. You pay for a certificate to make up for the bad grade you got on a test or essay or pop quiz, or whatever. For 1,000 you can perfect your score in anything. That is how it was in the Church during the Renassaince period. If you had done somehting horrible, most of the people would go to the church and sin. But when the renassaince started the church was loosing power, inlcuding money. So they created indulgences, which were certificates that was a reminission of temporal punishment, many people believed that if you get a certifacate then its really something, it is not just a confirmation. With this the church was gaingin money just like our school attempted to!

The worlds a stage- William Shakspeare

This quote has different meanings and interpretations. I must say I agree with it. This quote to me means that people can play any role in there life. They can lie throughout there hole life, they can choose to be themselves as well, and there you create a character, a character on stage, and i think in this quote the stage represents life. Life is the stage, and you will choose how to show off your character, because really when we watch a play we discover who someone is acting as through his/her actions. And the actions in real life you represent yourself with will tell people who you are.
Another interpretation that i made is, plays that are played on stage are a series of events, just likke our life. Our life is full of "stages (lives)" that are different, and thats what i think this quote is trying ot tell us. We go through various stages in our life (infancy, childhood, love stories, education, soldier, justice, old age, etc.)
Also another interpretation on this quote is, manipulation. There is a lot of it these days, and it always existed, and always will. What I am trying to say here is that human beings are now treated like puppets, and are manipulated to do things they are not wishing to do, as if it were a human puppet show.
I think this quote applies to everyone, that is why i like it, everybody has different stages, and different changes observed or noticed by others whether the "actor" thinks there alone or not.

The end justifies the means

Doesn't matter what you do as long as the outcome is your wished result. This quote is not always true. Because it can be covered as both good and bad things. the final outcome becomes the reflection of your earlier acitons. For example, if the goal your trying to achieve are negative, you should not try to approach it that way. This qoute does make sense, and is true, but it can be considered as both positive and negative.
The person who wrote this quote was Machiavelli,  a man that was very negative about liufe, and believed in fear and hate. Based upon this fact we can say that this qoute cannot be placed as a ALL- situation quote.

Outer Beauty is the True Sign of Inner Goodness

I strongly disagree with this quote because your outer doesn't reflect the beauty you contain inside you. Outer doesn't reflect on your character. Outer beauty is something your born with. And character is something you choose to be, and someone you want to be. You can choose to be nice to someone, or mean to certain people, but you cannot change you outer beauty in any means (in those days at least). You can change you outer beauty, but the inner goodness is the true sign of beauty. The beauty you have inside you can make up for the outer flaws.

The Renessaince Man

The Renaissance was a time when everything bloomed, grew, and improved. So did some laws and ground rules. For example if you wanted to be a Renessaince man you had to reach some standard of high status.

The traditional Renaissance Man was seen to possess not only understanding of many topics, but a display of expertise in at least two or more of these areas. Science, literature, mathematics, grammar, cultural history and politics are a good place to start. Leonardo da Vinci, whom many consider to be the Renaissance Man, was known to have been a brilliant scientist, inventor, painter, and musician. He was also said to have maintained fitness throughout his life.A well-adjusted social life is perhaps the most important factor for a man to maintain his mental health and to become a Renaissance Man. Not to mention the fact that strong skills make a man an appealing candidate for both friendship and relationship. It is also a man’s responsibility as a citizen to make a significant contribution to his community throughout the course of his life, whether it be through time or money or both.

Histories Importance

History had lot's of ups and downs. It will never end. Like numbers history is infinite as well. Like James Joyce said "'History,' Stephen said, 'is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.'" Sounds like he already knows history will never end. We make history everyday and we will always have to learn more. But why is history important to us?

One reason is simply because we need the record of the past events, cultures, ideas and places that once existed. Also historical timelines come as significance as well. They help tell us important dates, which may help us in some further research on some historical mysteries. We can all agree that our history isn't perfect nor will it ever be, but with imperfections that we've heard of, that happened a long time ago it help's us learn from our mistakes, then evaluate what was done wrong and what right and then improve on the life we're building upon. But its not only that we learn from our mistakes, but also successes, so we know what to keep and what works for us. It helps us know who our ancestors were and learn what our family history was like. It benefits in learning other people cultures and each other in the world, with understanding each other it can help with disagreements, promote peace, prevent prejudice, prevent ignorant, and bias.

Those are not the only reasons history is important. Sure people say forget about the past, you can never forget the past."If you do not like the past, change it." William L. Burton

Who do you think wrote Shakespeare's plays?

 

Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare's plays. Other authors might have strong answers against them but none of there "facts" are completely proven right, some information about William Shakespeare were approved correct. I am going to start with some proven facts and then some theories that make sense and match up in the conspiracy. 
First of all William Shakespeare was born April, 23 1564-1616. He didn't have such an amazing life, many like other famous genius authors we have in this world. One of his more famous plays "Hamlet", now the reason he wrote this play was because his son called Hamlet died at age 11. A death of a young child was mentioned, another contribution to this fact is that he used the word "Farewell", as if he was saying goodbye, or letting go of someone.
"Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine ownself be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!"
--Lord Polonius, Hamlet Act I, Scene 3
Like every author William had to have a publisher, and the person that gathered, collected, and published most of his books was a man named Richard Field. He was asked that if they thought he wrote some certain plays/stories, he had approved, because he has been experienced with reading William Shakespeare work for years at the time, and he could recognize the handwriting every time a new book came out.
Another person that confirmed that Shakespeare was Shakespeare was Thomas Thorpe. Thomas Thorpe was not a historian but he has researched and consulted with thought to be Shakespearean ancestors and has found a couple of plays that were written for sure he was also able to notice that the handwriting was the same, because he read every one of his plays and did some more additional research.
Many of his plays were written to release his sorrow, like it was mentioned before Williams son died at a young age, which was described in a play named AFTER his son, Hamlet. Which may also result in him writing many plays about fatal deaths. For example, he had eight siblings, 2 of them died which maybe the reason he wrote plays with such deathly descriptions.
Another reason he might be so good at writing plays is because he had expireince in the erlier days as an actor. And it just so happen to be that he did act in some of his own plays while he had his job as an actor. That gave him some information on how to write plays. First he played in other plays (which taught him some things) and then his own. Not ONLY was he an actor but he also went to grammar school as a child that gave him some basic background information on how to write. The reason he went to grammar school is because his father thought he was a talent, and he didn't want to waste him (additional experience)
sure he only spent 2 years in grammar school but at the time, that was enough for a genius like him. And how doesn’t it come to peoples minds that he was just one of those complete born geniuses, like Mozart he self taught himself to play piano. We conclude our controversy with the fact that William Shakespeare did write the poems, sonnets, plays,stories etc.