Download Independence High School Global History Regents Mr. Wisell Unit 1

Independence High School
Global History Regents
Mr. Wisell
Unit 1: The First Global Age
CW 1-4: European Exploration and Expansion
(Assignment B)
The explorers from Europe may have been curious about the world or may have
wanted adventure. In most cases, they desired riches for themselves and their
countries. On their explorations, they often came upon civilizations in the new
lands. However, the explorers did not think about the rights of the people already
living on the land. Instead, they forced their own culture on them, often making
slaves of them.
For centuries, the rest of the world did not know about the Americas or the
people living there. Then the Vikings landed in North America. They met
American Indians, but the Vikings did not stay long in North America. Much later,
European explorers found the continent by accident. What they were really
looking for was a quicker route to India and the Far East. The place they found
instead seemed like a land of wealth and plenty. It seemed well worth exploring
and conquering.
What Was Christopher Columbus Looking for and What Did He
Find?
Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain in August 1492. He was not out to prove
the world was round, as stories often tell. He was also not out to conquer new
lands. Columbus was looking for a water route to Asia. He believed that by
sailing west he might find a shorter route to the treasures of Asia. He had
convinced Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain to support his voyage.
Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand gave Columbus three ships for the voyage.
They were the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
Columbus sailed westward. Instead of reaching Asia, Columbus landed on an
island in the Bahamas. There it was—a new world where no land should have
been! Columbus claimed the land in the name of Spain. He named the land San
Salvador.
Columbus thought he had reached an island off the coast of India. That is why he
called the people living there “Indians.” It was not too many years before the
people realized Columbus was wrong about the land’s location. Those islands
Columbus explored are called the “West Indies.”
Many places in America have been named after Columbus. The word America,
however, comes from the name of another explorer, Amerigo Vespucci. He was a
European explorer who reached the mainland of South America in 1500. A
mapmaker honored his accomplishment by naming the Americas after him.
What Did Portuguese Explorers Discover?
Other explorers searched for that water route to Asia. The Spaniards and the
Portuguese led the way in voyages of discovery.
In 1497, Vasco da Gama sailed around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. Vasco da
Gama was a Portuguese noble and sailor. He became the first explorer to reach
India by a sea route. Another Portuguese explorer, Pedro Cabral, set out for India
in 1500. He sailed wide of Africa and found Brazil. Thanks to Cabral, Brazil was
claimed in the name of Portugal.
In 15919, the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan began a voyage around
the whole world. His own king had refused to give him money for his trip.
However, the Spanish king agreed to supply five ships and 241 men.
Magellan sailed around South America and across the Pacific. However, Magellan
himself did not make it all the way. In 1521, people in the Philippine Islands killed
him. However, one of the ships, the Victoria, completed the trip around the world.
With only 18 survivors, it returned to Spain in 1522. This was the first ship to have
sailed completely around the world. The Victoria’s voyage was the first proof that
Earth is round.
What Things Did Spanish Conquistadors Bring to South America?
Europeans quickly realized what a prize they had found in the new lands. They
thought it did not matter that people already lived there. Europeans did not
recognize that the natives had civilizations and cultures of their own. Europeans
wanted the new lands for themselves.
When the Spanish conquistadors (conquerors) arrived in Mexico and South
America, they found great civilizations. The conquistadors brought guns and
horses to help them claim gold. The American Indians have neither one.
Hernando Cortes attacked the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1521. The
Spaniards soon conquered all of Mexico. They called it New Spain.
In South America, Francisco Pizarro attacked the Inca Empire in 1532. Again, the
Indians were no match for the new enemy they did not understand. The Spaniards
tried to make the Indians accept the Christian religion. Many Indians who refused
to burned to death.
The Spaniards treated the Indians cruelly in other ways, too. They used Indians as
slaves, working them harder than animals. Many Europeans thought these people
were only savages.
The Europeans caused the Indians to suffer in yet another way. The Europeans
brought their diseases with them to the Americas. Thousands of American Indians
died from the new diseases.
Independence High School
Global History Regents
Mr. Wisell
Unit 1: The First Global Age
CW 1-4: European Exploration and Expansion
(Assignment B)
1. Why did European explorers want to explore the rest of the world?
2. What was Christopher Columbus looking for? What did he find?
3. What did Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage accomplish? Why was it so important?
4. Why were the Spanish conquistadors so easily able to defeat the Aztec and the
Inca?
Write the letter of the answer that correctly completes each
sentence.
5. Columbus named the land he discovered ____.
A. Bahamas
B. West Indies
C. San Salvador
D. Brazil
6. The Spaniards and the ____ led the way in voyages of discovery.
A. Dutch
B. Portuguese
C. French
D. English
7. Spaniards tried to convert the Indians to the ____ religion.
A. Muslim
Buddhist
B. Hindu
C. Christian
D.
8. The Europeans brought ____ with them to the Americas. This caused thousands
of American Indians to die.
A. diseases
religion
B. ships
C. horses
D.
9. A ____ king supplied five ships and 241 men on Magellan’s voyage.
A. Spanish
B. Dutch
C. French
D. English
10. Columbus called the people living on the island he explored ____.
A. Americans
B. Aztecs
C. Incas
D. Indians