Final answer:
The term for the period of competition between maritime powers after discovering new lands and trade routes, leading to the modern economy, is C. Age of Exploration.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Age of Exploration
The term for the period of competition between maritime powers that followed the discoveries of new lands and trade routes, which led to the emergence of the modern economy, is C. Age of Exploration. This era, lasting from roughly 1450-1750, saw European nations like Portugal, Spain, England, and France embark on extensive voyages of discovery. These expeditions aimed to establish new trade routes and colonies and to bypass overland trade paths with the Islamic world. This period is characterized by technological advances in navigation, the establishment of European global trade networks, and the onset of colonialism, ultimately leading to significant economic and cultural exchanges known as the Columbian Exchange.
The Age of Exploration marked the beginning of the early modern era where global interconnections through trade, politics, culture, and religion were first established, resembling the interconnected world of the twenty-first century.
The Spanish and Portuguese led this Age of Discovery with significant advancements in seafaring technology and contributed to the global web that drew many African kingdoms into global trade, leading to later colonization in the Americas.