Download Homework/Graded Paper Name: Social Studies Seven/PD: _____ D

Homework/Graded Paper
Name: ____________________________
Due Date: Thursday October 8, 2015
Social Studies Seven/PD: _____
HW – Finding a Trade Route to Asia
Finding a Trade Route to Asia
Historical Context
European interest in overseas trade and exploration first developed during the Crusades. For
hundreds of years, Europeans traded for rare and exotic goods from Asia through the Middle East.
The early trade was dominated by the navies of the Italian City States (places like Genoa, Venice,
and Florence). By the middle to late 1400’s, however, several circumstances combined to bring
about a major change in European trading patterns. As the Fifteenth Century (1400’s) drew to a
close and the Sixteenth Century began (1500’s), the more powerful nations of Western Europe
decided to trade directly with Asia and were determined to find direct trade routes that would allow
them to make great profits.
Passage
During the Fifteenth Century (1400’s), trade with the Middle East became more difficult and
even impossible at times. In 1453, the Byzantine Empire (the last part of the old Roman Empire in
the East) collapsed and was destroyed by a new Muslim Empire – the Ottoman Empire. In many
cases, old trade routes were closed and the flow of Asian goods to Europe was interrupted.
Invasions by Mongol Armies out of Asia also interrupted overland travel between the Middle
East and Asia. Further complicating the situation, outbreaks of the Black Plague disrupted trade
throughout Europe and the Middle East and several of the Italian City States were at war with one
another. After centuries of trading for silks, spices, and exotic foods, many European nations found
that they faced a shortage in gold and silver coin with which to buy these goods.
While all of these factors interfered with trade, another set of circumstances was changing the
nature of Europe itself. Several European nations such as Portugal, Spain, France, and England had
become large and united nations under the control of single, powerful rulers. They now had the
resources and the ability to explore on their own and wished to bypass the Italian City States as well
as the Middle East. All understood that a nation that was able to open direct trade with Asia would
become fabulously wealthy and powerful. Each also hoped to create colonies to expand their power
and influence both in Europe and overseas.
Portugal was the first nation to send out organized sailing expeditions to find a route to Asia.
Portugal’s sailors concentrated on finding a way around Africa to Asia and were successful by the
early 1500’s. As a result, Portugal controlled the eastern trade routes to Asia and started to form
colonies in Africa, India, and South Asia. Spain, wishing to avoid a confrontation with the powerful
Portuguese Navy, decided to sail directly west to Asia. Spanish exploration led to the creation of
colonies and eventually an empire in the Americas (from Mexico to the bottom of South America).
France and England began to explore later than Spain and Portugal. They also wished to
avoid wars with more powerful nations (Spain and Portugal) and concentrated on finding what came
to be called a “Northwest Passage” to Asia. Although they were never successful, their journeys led
to the creation of colonies in North America (present day United States and Canada). By the 1600’s
and 1700’s, Western European nations were busily creating the empires that would influence World
History for centuries.
The early exploration routes of the Portuguese that led to direct trade with Asia and enormous
trade profits
Columbus’ voyages that led to the creation of a Spanish Empire in Mexico, Central America, and
South America
Cartier’s voyage that led to French settlement of Canada
Henry Hudson’s voyages that led to
Dutch and English Colonies in what is
now the United States
Finding a Trade Route to Asia
Name: ________________________________
1.
Period _____
What did the nations of Western Europe decide by the end of the 1400’s and
beginning of the 1500’s?
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2.
What interrupted trade with the Middle East and Asia in the 1400’s? Explain and
give two examples.
A. ___________________________________________________________________________
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B. ___________________________________________________________________________
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3.
How did “the nature of Europe itself” change?
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4.
What did the exploring nations understand about trade with Asia and what did each
hope to create?
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5.
What led England and France to search for a Northwest Passage and what did their
explorations create?
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