It was through the use of these ships (and through the hardships such as scurvy) that European nations established themselves as global superpowers. If it wasn't for the improvement of sail technology during this era, America may have remained under the control of the great empires such as the Aztecs. Africa would have likely have become a far more Islam-dominated region, and there would have never been slave trade via Europe. Europe would have been a much poorer region without the profit produced by the plunder and colonization that was the result of advanced ships.