Exploration

Exploration

Key Points

During the 1400’s, some Europeans began to wonder what lay across the great oceans. Many decided to make dangerous journeys across the oceans in order to explore new lands for themselves. Perhaps the most famous European explorer was Christopher Columbus who made four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean between 1492 and his death. In this period, new countries, a new continent and new civilisations were discovered for the very first time. In this section you study the lives of the people who made this all possible as well as the changes that occurred as a result of exploration, both positive and negative.

Learning objectives:
In this unit you are expected to know:

• What made exploration possible in the late 1400’s?
• Which European countries led the way in exploration?
• Why did some men wish to explore?
• What was life like for a sailor on a ship?
• The life of one famous explorer.
• The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and the Incas.
• The consequences of exploration.

Review Questions

1. What did most people in Europe believe about the world in 1400?
2. What were the main goods traded between Europe and the East in the 1400’s?
3. Why were spices so important?
4. Why were sailors afraid to travel far out to sea?
5. What was an astrolabe used for?
6. How was the speed of a ship measured?
7. Explain why the caravel ship was so different from previous ships.
8. Explain why Prince Henry the Navigator was so important.
9. List the main reasons why some Europeans wanted to explore new lands.
10. Why was Diaz so important?
11. Why was Da Gama so important?
12. Where was Columbus born?
13. Who sponsored his first great voyage?
14. How did Marco Polo influence Columbus?
15. What did Columbus hope to achieve?
16. When and where did Columbus set sail from on his first voyage?
17. Name his three ships.
18. What did Columbus call the first island he came to in October?
19. What did Columbus call the native people of the islands?
20. How many voyages did Columbus make overall?
21. Where was Magellan born?
22. Which King gave him 5 ships?
23. What were some of the main problems faced by Magellan on his voyage ?
24. Why did Magellan give the Pacific ocean this name?
25. On what island was Magellan killed and explain how this happened?
26. Who commanded the final voyage home and name the ship?
27. What does the word circumnavigaton mean?
28. What was agreed at the treaty of Tordesillas?
29. What was a conquistadore?
30. Where did the Aztecs once live?
31. Where did the Incas once live?
32. Write a paragraph about Cortez.
33. Write a paragraph about Pizarro?
34. Why were the Spanish able to defeat the native Americans so easily?
35. Why did millions of native Americans die?
36. Why were African people brought to the Americas?