Why did Europeans dominate explorations of the globe?

Why have Europeans dominated global exploration? That is the topic of an article written by Mangan. He writes:

A couple of things occurred to me as possibilities. One is the concept of what used to be known as oriental despotism, conspicuously absent from most of the West. The term used to baffle me; after all, the West for most of its history has not been democratic. No, it has not, but it has not been autocratic either. The ruler has usually never had absolute power in the sense of having a claim on everything. Therefore, Western explorers could expect to be rewarded with both money and status for their exertions. In non-Western parts of the world, becoming too accomplished risked one's neck at the hands of a jealous ruler.

How about monogamy? The Incas that Pizarro faced were members of an extremely inegalitarian society in which the emperor, his lieutenants, and on down to the bureaucrats, claimed all the women. The ordinary man, and thus the ordinary soldier, had virtually no chance of getting a wife. So why would he fight on behalf of an entity like that? The West has stood out for much of its history by its monogamy, where every man has a decent chance at a wife and family. Therefore they had more of a stake in society.

And then there's the Faustian restlessness, like in Edmund Hillary, who climbed Everest because it was there. That may be a good explanation for the accomplishments of European explorers.

Read more here.