An Analysis of the Factors Affecting Early Western Expansion

During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a series of backwater feudal states began to emerge as the leading territorial, military, political, and technological powers of the Earth. What are the factors of this transition, and what intent did the civilizations undertaking it hope to realize? Herein shall be explored the technological, economic, and ideological motives influencing the progress and colonization of an increasingly globalizing West.