Download Middle Ages - Ohio County Schools

Changes in Europe
That Led to Exploration
The Middle Ages
• Also known as the Medieval
period or Dark Ages (500 A.D.1500 A.D.).
• When Roman rule disappeared,
Europe broke up into hundreds
of small kingdoms headed by
monarchs who were very weak.
• It was generally a dangerous
period. They lacked a central
government, along with the
constant threat of war and
famine, made the weak
dependent upon the powerful
for protection.
Feudal System
• A feudal society developed as a result. It gave those less
•
•
•
powerful the assurance that they could depend upon their
more powerful neighbors for assistance in their time of need.
The most important feature of the feudal system was the
granting of a fief.
A fief, or fee, was the granting of an estate, or manor, by a lord
to his vassal in exchange for homage and service.
The vassal, in turn, gave the use of the land to the peasants or
serfs, landless peasants, who lived on and worked the land for
him.
• People seldom left their manors and there was little
opportunity for people to communicate or exchange new
ideas.
Decline of the Feudal System
• Many workers who had been tied to the manors
•
•
•
were not happy with their lives and desired
more freedom.
Movement to towns- With the growth of towns
a new social class, the townspeople, gained
power. This caused the importance of feudalism
and the strength of nobles to diminish.
Often led to overcrowding and unsanitary
conditions.
Increasing trade brought people more in contact
with one another.
Black Plague (1347-1352)
A deadly disease spread throughout Europe killing more more than one-fourth
of its population. The disease was carried by fleas on rats. This disaster broke
down what remained of the feudal system..
The Crusades to the Holy Land
• Another characteristic of the Middle Ages was
•
•
•
the importance of the Church. The Catholic
Church was the church for almost everyone.
Then the Protestant Reformation in 1520 caused
new Christians faiths to emerge.
Palestine was the Holy Land for both Christians
and Muslims
1071 a group of Turkish Muslims took over
Jerusalem and closed it to all Christians.
During the First Crusade, Christians captured the
city of Jerusalem. 100 years later the Muslims
eventually recaptured it.
The Crusades to the Holy Land
• Why were the
Crusades important
to the rise of
exploration?
The Crusades to the Holy Land
• Returned with spices, silk, porcelain, ivory,
•
•
•
jewels, soap, and perfumes.
Learned of new medicines.
Crusaders got new ideas and products from
Muslim markets who traded with India, China,
Japan, and other Asian countries.
As Europeans learned of these Eastern products,
they wanted to buy them.
• In 1271 he traveled to
•
•
•
China on a three-and-ahalf year, 7,000 mile
journey to present day
China.
Reported there were
more than 7,000 islands
in the Sea of China that
he called the “Indies.”
Came back and wrote a
book about his travels
and reported of incredible
riches and “rubies the
size of a man’s arm.”
Europeans became
curious of the world
beyond city walls.
Marco Polo
Marco Polo’s Travel Route
Renaissance
• Mid 1300s until about 1600.
• It was a period of renewed interest in
learning and knowledge
• Writer-William Shakespeare
• Studied the movement of the planets and
set up experiments with new inventions.
Artists from the Renaissance
Artist such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci created
beautiful paintings and drawings.
• Rise of nations: After the Middle Ages,
European monarchs, kings and queens,
gained more power to form such nations
as England, Spain, France, Portugal, Italy,
and others.
• Mercantilism- It was an economic system
whose theory states that a country could
be rich only if wealth continually flowed
into its economy and treasury. Finding
new wealth became important to the
growth of countries.
Technological Advances in
Navigation
• Prince Henry of Portugal
also called the Prince
Henry the Navigator
• He was a religious man
and wanted to spread
Christianity around the
world.
• He had two goals: 1.
Find and ocean route
around Africa to Asia 2.
To locate sources of gold
that came from Africa.
• Prince Henry realized
•
•
sailors needed better
ships and to know more
about navigation- the
science of piloting ships.
He started a school of
navigation to plan
voyages of exploration.
Cartographers made
more accurate maps from
reports from explorers.
Cartographers made more
accurate maps from explorers
• Ptolemy’s world map1st attempt to map
the world 25 B.C.
• Portuguese shipbuilders designed the Caravel.
The caravel used triangular sails and could easily
sail against the wind and work their way in and
out along coastlines of Africa.
Better Navigational Instruments
Magnetic Compass, A Chinese
Invention that allowed sailors
To determine direction
Astrolabe, an instrument which
Measured the position of the
stars
African Kingdoms
• Portuguese explorers set
out to explore the west
coast of Africa and a way
around the continent to
the Indies.
• Ghana- Muslims traders
had gold & salt & traded
slaves.
• Mali- a powerful kingdom
with gold mines.
Greatest king was Mansa
Musa. He built great
mosques, Muslim houses
of worship, in the capital
of Timbuktu.
• Songhai- had gold
trading centers and
Askiya Muhammad built
many schools and
encouraged trade with
Europe and Asia.
Review
•Why did the Europeans
begin trading with Asia and
Africa?
Reasons for Exploration
•
•
•
•
•
•
New middle class
The Crusades introduced goods and trade routes
Search for riches
Fame and honor for country
Spread of Christianity
Better trade routes
Sunken Ship from Age of Exploration
Sunken Ship Activity


One member from each group will retrieve an
artifact from a sunken ship hull.
Based on the information sheets and
pictures, each member from each group will
write down a short summary sentence
describing the artifact and draw a picture of
the artifact on their Map of Sunken Ship’s
Hull sheet.
Sunken Ship Activity

Quickly repeat each procedure allowing a
different member of the group to retrieve the
artifact and place the artifact your group just
investigated back where it is meant to go.
Example: Astrolabes

The astrolabe was one of the most important
instruments used by navigators in the
fifteenth century. The word comes from the
Greek astro (star) and labio (finder).
Explorers used the astrolabe to plot the
position of the sun, moon, and stars in
relation to a given point. With an astrolabe,
an explorer could determine the time of day
and the latitude (distance from the equator) of
his ship’s position.
Astrolabes Summary

Astrolabes were used by explorers to
determine the time of day and the
latitude of his ship’s position.