Download Context for Exploration (Motives and Innovations)

Context for Exploration (Motives and Innovations)
10 pts. This shape of sail allowed people to sail into the wind. Triangular
**The Triangular sail was invented by people from this religion. Islam
20 pts. This explorer, made famous by his diaries he kept while visiting the Yuan Dynasty, inspired
other men to seek similar “Glory” by exploring. Marco Polo
**During which century did Marco Polo travel to China? The 13th century…the Yuan dynasty was
Mongol
30 pts. What were the three G’s or three main motivations for exploration? God, Gold and Glory
**Please explain what is meant by “God” as a motive for exploration. The desire to spread the
Christian religion (at first Catholicism, but then Catholicism or Protestantism) to other regions of the
world.
40 pts. This innovation, perfected by the Muslims, allowed for sailors to determine their latitude using
the sun or star. Astrolabe
**Identify at least one innovation created by the Chinese that aided exploration. Compass, the use of
multiple masts, deep sea rudder
50 pts. Identify at least one political development within Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries that
led to an increased desire and ability to explore. Stronger monarchies allowed for the funding of large
exploratory missions, the Reconquista of Spain increased the religious fervor of the Spanish.
**Identify at least one technical innovation that Europeans made that allowed for this wave of
exploration. Stronger ships, good maps made by Prince Henry and his explorers (although the firsts
maps the Portuguese used were Arab), using a combinations of different types of masts (triangular and
square)
60 pts. Identify two reasons why the Silk Road became more dangerous in the 14th century. Black
plague (1340s-ish) and the end of the Mongol Peace after the Mongolian empires fell across Eurasia.
** What product were the Europeans most interested in getting on the Silk Road during the 14th and 15th
centuries? Spices
70 pts. Why did spices get so expensive during the 14th and 15th century? Because the Silk Road trade
route became a less viable trading option, so Egyptian traders could increase the prices of goods
coming through their ports.
**Besides spices, identify two other commodities that Europeans wanted to gain from trade. Gold and
Land
Spice Trade and Southeast Asia
10 pts. This trade port in Southeast Asia was controlled by different groups of people at different times,
generally signifying who dominated the spice trade in South East Asia. Malacca
**Malacca is often confused with this similar sounding name for the Spice Islands. Moluccas
20 pts. What was the first European country to dominate the Indian Ocean spice trade? The Portuguese
**For a brief period of time, Spain was a player in the Indian Ocean spice trade. Why? Because Spain
took over Portugal in the 1580s
30 pts. Identify one of the two Southeast Asian countries that became Catholic during the Early Modern
period? Vietnam and the Philippines
**Which European country was most responsible for the conversions in each of these places? Vietnam
= France, Philippines = Spain
40 pts. This group of people dominated the Indian Ocean trade until the 15th century. The Muslims
**Which two European countries were the strongest competitors in the spice trade during the 17th
century? The English and the Dutch
50 pts. Why were the Portuguese unable to completely control the Indian Ocean trade? Because they
were a little country trying to control an entire trade network that had been operating independently of
them for hundreds of years.
**Identify one way the Portuguese attempted to control the Indian Ocean Trade. The killed or cut off
the hands of all those people who traded on the Indian Ocean who did not officially have the right to do
so.
60 pts. During the 17th century these two corporations were extensively involved in the Spice Trade in
Southeast Asia. The Dutch East India Company and the English East India Company
**The corporation has been seen by some historians as the most important invention in Europe. What is
a corporation according to these historians? A type of investment in which many small investors invest
into one large venture
70 pts. Identify one reason why mainland Southeast Asia was more able to resist imperialism than the
Americas. They did not have the vulnerability to European diseases, they had strong monarchies that
were able to resist European advances.
**The Southeast Asian islands were not as successful in repelling European colonialism. Identify which
modern Southeast Asian country was the most completely colonized during this time period. The
Philippines were colonized by the Spanish
The New World
10 pts. Which European country colonized Brazil? Portugal
**What became the most successful cash crop in Brazil? Sugar
20 pts. Why did the native population of the New World decrease so significantly in the 16th century?
Because European diseases wiped out large percentages of the population
**Why didn’t Africa experience a similar pandemic after Portuguese colonization? Because some
Africans had had exposure to these diseases previously, and in fact Africa contained many diseases that
were extremely deadly to Europeans, thus limiting the ability of the Europeans to fully colonize Africa
before the 19th century.
30 pts. What is the term for the exchange of plants, animals, diseases and ideas between the Old World
and the New during the late 15th and 16th century? Columbian Exchange
**What was the most significant crop that Europe got and why was it significant? The potato. Because
it was easy to grow almost anywhere and because of its high caloric and nutritional value, it allowed for
a huge population boom. This ultimately helped fuel an industrial revolution in Europe because there
was a surplus population that did not need to work in agriculture and so could be employed in other
sectors of the economy.
40 pts. This was the term for the grants of land given to Spanish nobles after gold had been discovered
on that land. Encomiendas
**What was the term for the religious and military outposts established by the Spanish government
founded to both spread Christianity and colonize California? Missions
50 pts. Why did the Spanish monarchy believe that the encomienda system was good for the Native
Americans? Because it exposed them to Christianity.
**True or False: Brutality and abuse of the Native Americans was outlawed by the Spanish
Government. True. Although the distance of the monarchy from the New World prevented their full
knowledge of the abuse and their enforcement of the law even when they came to learn of the abuse.
60 pts. Columbus is often portrayed as the first “American Hero”. Dispute the idea that he was a hero
by giving at least two details. He only thought that he could get to Asia by travelling west because he
made faulty math calculations, he enslaved Native Americans (although it is also fair to say that there
was slavery in the Americas before he arrived), he treated some natives brutally, he was a poor ruler of
the colonies he claimed for Spain, he stubbornly insisted that he had reached Asia until the day he died.
**True or False: Columbus brought African slavery to the New World. False. (My lecture is a big
misleading on this point…)
70 pts. Identify two crops that were grown in the plantation systems in the Americas during the 16 and
17th centuries and identify where each crop was primarily grown. Sugar = Caribbean Islands and
Brazil; tobacco and rice plantations = Southern English Colonies
True or False: Cotton cultivation was the primary reason why most slaves were brought to the
Americas. False. Cotton cultivation was not a significant industry in the Americas until the 1800s,
following the invention of the cotton gin in 1793. Sugar was the commodity that the Portuguese most
desired to use slave labor to cultivate.
Africa
10 pts. What is the name of the trade relationship established between Africa, the Americas and Europe
from the 16th-19th century. Triangular Trade
**What was the term for the specific trade route that went from Africa to the Americas and carried
slaves? The Middle Passage
20 pts. Identify at least two hardships endured by slaves brought from Africa. On the ships= crowded
unsanitary conditions, harsh treatment. In the Americas= Brutal treatment, overwork
**True or False: Prior to European intervention, there was not a tradition of slavery in Africa. False.
Africa had a long tradition of slavery, although that slavery was often quite different in character than
the slavery that the Europeans ended up developing.
30 pts. Why wasn’t Christianity spread as effectively in Africa as it was in the Americas during the 16th
and 17th centuries? Because Africa was not colonized as thoroughly as the Americas. Most Portuguese
settlements were along the coasts.
**What religion was making major inroads in the interior of Northern Africa during this time? Islam
40 pts. Identify one African community along the Niger River was probably partially weakened as a
result of the slave trade. The Songhay, Benin
**The Songhay empire was eventually brought down not by Europeans but by these Northern Africans
armed with European guns. Moroccans
50 pts. Explained how trade patterns changed in Western Africa as a result Triangular Trade. Trade
across the Sahara Desert decreased (although it still continues, even today) as trade along the coasts
picked up.
**Trade along the coasts significantly included slaves and ivory. However, these two items, which were
also the most significant items traded across the Sahara Desert, continued to be traded. Gold and salt
60 pts. Around what year did the Portuguese start their exploratory missions down the coast of Africa?
Prince Henry starts his institute in 1419.
**What year do the Portuguese bring the first slaves to the Americas? 1518…almost exactly 100 years
later—good memory trick.
70 pts. Identify at least two ways that some Africans may have benefitted from the slave trade. African
communities that waged war on other communities could then sell their captors as slaves and make a
profit, African middlemen whose business was supplying a steady stream of these slaves to the
Europeans made money. In addition, some communities as a whole probably benefitted because of their
access to traded commodities, such as iron ore or cheaper fabrics.
**Identify one product that the Europeans traded for slaves that may have caused more destruction of
African cultures. Alcohol (Beer, rum) and guns which were used to wage more warfare
People
10 pts. This individual was the most significant leader who started the Age of Exploration. He was
Portuguese. Prince Henry the Navigator
**Identify one achievement of the missions that Henry commissioned. They charted information about
the west coast of Africa and created detailed maps with logs of information for future travelers.
20 pts. Which person actually coined the term New World? Amerigo Vespucci
**True or False: Vespucci was a famous conquistador. False. He was not even a leader of an
expedition. He made maps and was a bit like a tourist.
30 pts. Who was the first European to find a sea route to Asia? Vasco de Gama
**What nationality was he? Portuguese
40 pts. Who was the first European who found a Western sea route to Asia? Magellan
**True or False: Ferdinand Magellan was the first person to circumnavigate the globe. False. He died
the in Philippines, but part of his crew made it the full way.
50 pts. This English explorer first sailed for the Dutch. Henry Hudson
**Why did the Dutch eventually give up New Netherlands? They needed the money to focus on the
spice trade
60 pts. Identify the two most famous conquistadors from Spain. Cortes and Pizarro
**Which civilization did each of these men conquer? Cortes = Aztecs, Pizarro = Incas
70 pts. What is the difference between a privateer and a pirate? A privateer is just a pirate who works
for a government.
**Why might it be preferable to be a pirate than a sailor on some other type of ship? Greater possibility
for wealth (although you also have greater risks), Pirate ships were often run more democratically than
other types of ships.
Hodgepodge
10 pts. In what year does Columbus discover the Americas? 1492
**In what year does Cortes defeat the Aztecs? 1519
20 pts. Which group of English religious fundamentalists were instrumental in settling along the east
coast of North America? The Puritans
**True or False: Religious freedom was the main reason for English settlement in the Americas. False.
Mostly the English settlers came for economic reasons.
30 pts. Which country was the best at exploring (but not colonizing) the interior of North America? The
French
**Identify two regions in North America today that still have significant French influences. Creole
culture in Louisiana and Quebec in Canada
40 pts. Identify one reason why Portugal started the Age of Exploration before Spain. Because the
country unified earlier than Spain, because their economy was even more based on coastal trade than
Spain.
**Spain united when these two people married. Isabella and Ferdinand
50 pts. Identify at least two “accomplishments” of Isabella and Ferdinand. Their marriage united
Spain, they started the Spanish Inquisition, the kicked the Jews and Muslims out of Spain, they
conquered Grenada and took it from the Muslims, they funded Columbus and thus led to the discovery of
the New World.
**As a result of the discovery of the New World, the pope declared that the Spanish had all of the
territory west of the Line of Demarcation. What treaty established this Line of Demarcation? The
Treaty of Tordesillas
60 pts. Identify one positive and one negative effect of the discover of the Americas on Europe.
Positive = Potatoes, chocolate, corn, yum yum…eventually raw materials like sugar, cotton, wood, etc.
that fueled industrialism. Negative = all the gold created a huge wave of inflation…which created
social disruption which caused the witch trials amongst other things. Tobacco usage eventually causes
lots of lung cancer and general smelliness.
70 pts. Why was the treaty of Saragossa necessary (in other words, why didn’t the Treaty of Tordesillas
solve all territorial disputes between Portugal and Spain)? Because the world is round. Eventually,
Spain found a way to Asia by travelling west thanks to Magellan (ironically…Magellan was born
Portuguese!) So, that meant that technically, if they just travelled far enough in either direction, both
Portugal and Spain could claim the entire non-Christian world.
**What South East Asian country did Spain claim in violation of the Treaty of Saragossa? The
Philippines
Geography
10 pts. Within the borders of what modern day country was the Aztec Empire once located? Mexico
**Point to the Incan Empire. North-west coast of South America
20 pts. Where was the general location of the Gold/Ivory and Slave coasts? Southern coast of the
“hump” of Africa.
**Where was the Songhay empire? North of there, along the Niger River.
30 pts. What is the biggest modern day country in Meso-America? Mexico
**What is the Southern most country in Meso-America? Panama (remember, Panama Canal separates
North and South America)
40 pts. What two countries make up the Iberian peninsula? Spain and Portugal
**What is another term for the West Indies? The Caribbean Islands (just look south of Florida)
50 pts. Point to the Cape of Good Hope. Southern tip of Africa
**Who was the first person to round the Cape of Good Hope? Bartholomeu Diaz
60 pts. Where is the Congo Basin? “Heart” of Africa.
**Where is Mainland Southeast Asia? If China was a cow, southeast Asia would be its udders. Looks a
bit like a bird on a perch if you look at it right.
70 pts. Point to the Spice Islands. Islands of Southeast Asia…South of the Philippines (you need to
know that too.)
**During which centuries did Spain and Portugal dominate exploration? The 15th and 16th centuries.
(Remember 1492…)