Migration to America
...me were fair with the goods they traded and others took advantage of other communities’ needs and naivety. This need to expand their trading led to sailors trying to find new communities that were willing to trade. Columbus tried to find a shortcut to India by sailing east. Instead he unknowingly landed in the new world. When Amerigo Vespucci followed the same trail as Columbus he realized that it wasn’t India it was a new continent full of new possibilities. There were new items that were available for trade such as: corn, peanuts, and tobacco. These items inspired sailors to visit and settle in the new world in order to trade these items to make themselves rich. Religious freedom was also a reason why people looked for other places to start new communities. Martin Luther became disillusioned with the Catholic Church’s teachings when they began selling pardons. He started the protestant religion and preached that people had free will to choose between right and wrong behavior. His teachings caused him to be excommunicated from the Catholic Church in 1524. Breaking away from the Catholic Church was not always an easy thing to accomplish and could often cost you your life. Some people felt that if they went to another land they would be free to practice their own religious beliefs. These people wanted freedom to practice their religion but were not always as open-minded about other people’s beliefs. Political and individual freedom was important to many people living under a monarchy. They had ideas of their own on how their community should be run, but they were forced to live as the King and/or Queen saw fit. If you questioned the authority or judgment of the monarchy you would be imprisoned or killed for treason. People no longer wanted to be ruled without individual freedoms, they wanted to be able to put their own input into their society. These ideas came about from the newfound wealth and growing education of the Renaissance. The Renaissance inspired people to have independent thoughts through artistic freedom and readings from philosophers. The philosophers inspired people to want more from their lives and in wanting more they needed to find somewhere to live that would allow them to pursue personal freedom....