Download Warm Up # 25 -- Voyages of Discovery - British-Honors

Name _____________________________ Class _________________ Date __________________
Exploration and Expansion
Section 1
MAIN IDEA
Inspired by greed, curiosity, and the desire for glory and aided by new
technologies, European explorers sailed to many previously unknown lands in
the 1400s and 1500s.
Key Terms and People
caravel a light, fast sailing ship with a rudder and lateen sails
Henry the Navigator son of King John I of Portugal, patron and supporter of explorers
Vasco da Gama Portuguese explorer who traveled to Calicut, India in 1497
Christopher Columbus Italian sailor who traveled west to reach China but discovered
islands in the Caribbean instead
Ferdinand Magellan first explorer to attempt the circumnavigate the globe; while he was
killed on the way, some of his sailors completed the journey
circumnavigate travel completely around the world
Sir Francis Drake English explorer, second man to circumnavigate the globe
Henry Hudson Dutch sailor who looked unsuccessfully for the Northwest Passage and
explored the river that is now named after him
Taking Notes
As you read the summary, use a graphic organizer like this one to take
notes about the reasons Europeans explored and where their explorations
took place.
Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Full Survey Chapter 16
185
Interactive Reader and Study Guide
Name _____________________________ Class _________________ Date __________________
Exploration and Expansion
Section 1
Section Summary
FOUNDATIONS OF EXPLORATION
In the late 1400s and 1500s, Europeans began looking
for new lands and new routes to known places. This
period is often called the Age of Exploration. One
major reason for exploring was the desire for money.
For years, goods from China and India such as silks
and spices could only be purchased from Italian
merchants at high prices. Explorers looked for faster
routes to China and India in hopes of trading directly.
Other explorers sought fame. Still others hoped to
spread their faith to new people. Curiosity about
exotic lands and peoples was also a factor.
These voyages were made possible by advances in
technology. Sailors needed to be able to calculate their
location accurately. From China, Europeans learned
about the compass, which allowed them to know at all
times which direction was north. From the Muslims
they learned to use an astrolabe, an instrument which
allowed navigators to calculate their location based on
the position of the sun and stars. Europeans also made
advances in shipbuilding. They made ships that sat
lower in the water than earlier ships, allowing them to
withstand heavier waves and also to carry more
supplies. The caravel, a new type of light, fast ship,
also aided in exploration. It was steered by a rear
rudder instead of by oars. It also had triangular sails
which allowed it to catch the wind from any direction.
EXPLORERS FROM PORTUGAL AND SPAIN
Portuguese and Spanish explorers began the Age of
Exploration. The son of Portugal’s King John I is
known as Henry the Navigator. He gathered sailors,
mapmakers, and astronomers at his court, and funded
expeditions. Portugal settled the Azores and Madeira
Islands in the Atlantic and learned about Africa’s
coast. Henry hoped to find a route around Africa to
India, but died before Vasco da Gama achieved this
goal, reaching Calicut, India in 1497. On the next trip,
Pedro Cabral sailed far west before heading south
around Africa. He spotted and claimed the land we
now call Brazil. In India, the Portuguese built trading
List reasons that inspired
European explorers in the
1400s and 1500s.
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
Name two advances in
navigation and explain
what each helped sailors
to do.
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
Henry the Navigator did not
actually make voyages of
exploration. So why was he
given this name? Underline
the answer.
Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Full Survey Chapter 16
186
Interactive Reader and Study Guide
Name _____________________________ Class _________________ Date __________________
Exploration and Expansion
Section 1
centers. They became one of the richest and most
powerful European nations.
In 1492 Spain paid for Italian Christopher
Columbus to try to sail west to China. Columbus
knew the world was round, but believed it was smaller
than it actually is. He also had no idea the American
continents existed. So when he reached a Caribbean
island after two months at sea, he believed he had
reached Asia. He called the people living there
Indians. He returned to the Caribbean three times,
never realizing it was not Asia. Only in 1499 did
Amerigo Vespucci conclude that South America was a
new land. Mapmakers named the land America in his
honor. In 1513 Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the
Isthmus of Panama, becoming the first European to
see the Pacific. Europeans realized they would have to
cross the ocean to reach Asia. In 1519, Ferdinand
Magellan tried to sail west all the way around the
world. He died in the Philippines, but some of his
crew made it back to Spain in 1522. They were the
first to circumnavigate the globe.
EXPLORERS FROM THE REST OF EUROPE
In 1497, Englishman John Cabot sailed to the Atlantic
coast of what is now Canada, thinking it was Asia.
But soon the English realized this was a new land, so
the queen sent Sir Francis Drake to round the tip of
South America and explore its west coast. He stopped
in California, then sailed north looking for a passage
back to the Atlantic. He gave up, headed west back to
England, and became second to circumnavigate the
globe. Dutch-born Henry Hudson was also sent by
England to look for a shorter route to Asia, hoping to
find a hidden Northeast Passage around Europe or a
Northwest Passage through the Americas. He found
neither, but did explore the river we call the Hudson.
Both Giovanni da Verrazzano and Jacques Cartier
were sent by France to look for a Northwest Passage.
Cartier left France in 1534. He sailed up the St.
Lawrence River, claiming the land along it for France.
In 1610 the Dutch paid Henry Hudson to look for
the Northwest Passage again. On this voyage he
explored what is now Hudson Bay.
Why do you think
Columbus never figured
out that he had not found
Asia?
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
Why do you think so many
people looked for a
Northwest Passage?
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Full Survey Chapter 16
187
Interactive Reader and Study Guide