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Human Civilization I and II
Essential Understanding and Essential Questions
For All Objectives 2010
Human Civilization I
Objective 1-1
Demonstrates knowledge of world geography
Topics: Continents, oceans, major gulfs and seas, lines of latitude and longitude, Sahara
Desert, 17 Geographic Areas of the world, and three (3) modern nations from each
Geographic Area
Essential Understandings and Questions:
1. A practical knowledge of the basics of world geography and the location of the major
countries of the world today is critical for students to understand history
a) What are the major landforms on the world map?
b) How does latitude and longitude help navigators know where they are on the
globe?
c) Where are the most important bodies of water, deserts, Geographic Areas and major
countries located on a world map?
Objective 1-2.
Identify the beliefs of the seven (7) major positions on the political spectrum.
Topics: Anarchist, Radical, Liberal, Moderate, Conservative, Reactionary, Fascists,
basic beliefs of each group, major historic and current events and people who fall into
these categories, how to create an analogy that represents the concept of the Political
Spectrum and can design a student made political handbill
Essential Understandings and Questions:
1. A working knowledge of the Political Spectrum begins with the ability to identify the
differences between the beliefs of the seven major positions on the political spectrum, the basic
beliefs of liberals and conservatives, as well as, being able to name some of the most influential
liberals and conservatives and their greatest accomplishments
a) What are the basic beliefs and positions for the spots on the Political Spectrum?
b) How do these beliefs influence people’s beliefs and political actions?
c) What types of historic and/or current accomplishments can each of these groups
claim to have achieved?
Objective1-3
Illustrate the origins, development, and achievements of early humans
Main Topics: Origins of early humans, physical characteristics of the five early human
types, cultural characteristics of the five early human types, prehistoric verses historic period
of history, environmental challenges, and the scientific methods used to learn about
“prehistoric” people
Essential Understanding and Questions
1. The study of early human remains and artifacts helps in understanding our place in
history and how we have been able to learn so much about these prehistoric humans
a) How are scientists able to learn about the physical and cultural characteristics of the
humans who lived before written records were developed?
b) What are the physical and cultural characteristics of the five early human groups that
lived in the Old Stone Age and New Stone Age?
Objective 1-4
Compare the process by which early peoples organized their societies and
built advance civilizations.
MainTopics: Development of agriculture, basic elements of civilizations:
economic, social, political, religious, and record keeping (writing), advances in
technology, migration, advanced cities, specialization, artisans, barter, scribes,
Bronze Age, ziggurat, polytheism, city- states, dynasties, and empires
Essential Understandings and Questions
1. The new methods for obtaining food and the development of culture and technology laid the
foundations for advanced ancient civilizations.
a) What were some of the new methods of trade and technologies that allowed for more
and better food production?
b) How did food production and the domestication of animals “revolutionize” the
quality of life of the early humans?
2. All ancient and modern civilizations developed complex institutions that allowed them to
organize their civilization and to solve critical problems of life.
a) What are some of the elements of civilization that were developed by the early
humans and passed on to modern people?
b) What are the institutions that helped organize and solve critical problems in early
civilizations?
c) How do institutions help solve important problems and maintain a viable
civilization?
d) How did ancient civilizations select people to fill the top leadership positions in these
important institutions?
e) What are the five (5) most important inventions in the ancient world?
Objective 1-5
Examine how geography, economics, and social changes led to the rise of
early river valley civilizations.
Main Topics: Early River Valleys, Early River Valley Civilizations,
Mesopotamia, Fertile Crescent, Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Egyptians,
theocracy, Harappan Civilization, monsoons, Chinese Civilization, and the
environmental challenges facing the early river valley civilizations
Essential Understandings and Essential Questions
1. Humans have selected sites for establishing their civilizations based on the resources
provided by the surrounding environment.
a) What are the resources that humans have identified as necessary for sustaining
human cultures?
b) How have civilizations adapted to the unique characteristics of their particular
location?
2. Each River Valley Civilization developed a unique culture and made significant
contributions to history, but they all provided a blueprint for how our world would evolve.
a) What are the similarities and differences between the various River Valley
Civilizations?
b) Why did the Fertile Crescent produce multiple civilizations while the other
early river valleys produced only a single dominate civilization?
c) What were some of the most important long-term contributions of each of the Early
River Valley Civilizations?
Objective 1-6
Categorize the ways in which ancient Egypt’s geography, political structure,
religion, technology, and culture shaped Egyptian life and Egypt’s contributions
to later history
Main Topics: Egyptian geography, Nile River, unification of Egypt, political and
religious leadership, pyramids, mummification, Egyptian society, hieroglyphics, Egyptian
science, and the decline of Egypt
Essential Understandings and Questions
1. Geography had a huge impact on the development of the Egyptian civilization.
a) What were the environmental challenges that had to be overcome by the Egyptians?
b) What elements of the Egyptian civilization were influenced by the Nile River?
c) How did the failure of Egypt’s “geographic protection” lead to its downfall?
2. Egypt developed an impressive civilization despite its geographic location because the Egyptians
adapted so successfully to their environment.
a) How did the Egyptians modify their social, political, and religious culture to fit their
geographic circumstances?
b) What were the major accomplishments of the Egyptians in the areas of building, writing,
medical technology, science, and the belief in life after death?
Objective 1-7
Evaluate how migration, trade, and cultural ideas spread throughout the ancient
world
Main Topics: Indo-Europeans, Hittite Empire, Aryans, Caste System, Seafaring
Traders, New Kingdom of Egypt, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Persians, Unifying China, Confucius,
and Qin Dynasty
Essential Understandings and Essential Questions
1. Early people often migrated from their home lands to new locations to find the promise of a
better life.
a) What were the important developments that were created by the early civilizations in
the Middle East and Asia?
b) How did the Aryans organize the Indian caste system to the point that it is still the most
powerful social code used in India today?
2. Some early groups discovered vastly improved military weapons and strategies that allowed them to
conquer large areas of land and establish the first empires.
a) What were some of the military inventions (weapons and strategies) that allowed these early
people to create an empire?
b) Where were these early empires located and how did they spread?
c) How did many of these early empires decline and eventually fall?
3. As history progressed and human needs and wants increased, early groups developed ways of
exchanging goods and increasing communication and interaction of the people regionally and globally.
a) Who were the early seafaring traders and where did they live?
b) How were they able to travel so far and engage in regional trade?
c) How was the world affected by the cultural diffusion that was generated by trade and
the creation of great empires?
Objective 1- 8
Compare and contrast the major religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and
Daoism.
Main Topics: Hinduism, basic beliefs, polytheism, reincarnation, karma, Buddhism,
Siddhartha Gautama, enlightenment, Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, nirvana, Buddhist monks, the
spread of Buddhism, Judaism, Palestine/Canaan, Abraham, Torah, Monotheism, Moses, Ten
Commandments, great kings of ancient Israel, treatment of the Jewish people, Daoism, Laozi, “The
Way”, and Yin and Yang
Essential Understandings and Questions
1. Fundamental belief systems have helped organize civilizations throughout history, but the
actual beliefs vary significantly within each individual culture.
a) What were some of the belief systems that were developed and how were they similar
and different?
b) How did these belief systems affect the social, political, economic development of each
culture?
c) In what ways have the beliefs spread throughout the world and how have the
believers of these philosophies come into conflict with themselves and with others?
Objective 1-9
Compile a list of the geographic, historical, and cultural elements of ancient
Greece
Main Topics: Greek geography, Influence of sea, land, and climate, Mycenaeans,
Minoans, Trojan War, Dorians, Homer’s Epics, Greek Mythology, polis, acropolis, forms of
government, philosophy of Athens, Greek democracy, Greek reformers, Athens/ Sparta, and
the Persian War
Essential Understandings and Essential Questions
1. Geography had a huge impact on the development of Ancient Greece.
a) Where was Greece located and what were the major features of its landscape and
climate?
b) How did geography influence settlement, government, economy, and the daily life of
the Greek people?
2. Greek history was strongly influenced by a series of internal and external conflicts.
a) What were the similarities and differences between Athens and Sparta?
b) Why was the Trojan War so important to understanding the Ancient Greeks?
c) How does the Persian War set the Greeks up for a period of great development?
d) What were the causes of the Peloponnesian War and how did it lead to the
destruction of the Greek civilization?
3. Greece experimented with a variety of government models that influenced government
organization throughout human history.
a) What were the five forms of government that were used to organize and govern
Greece during its early history?
b) Which one of the models was most successful for the Greeks?
c) Which elements of Greek democracy were incorporated into the U.S. government?
Objective 1- 10
Describe Greece’s impact on the modern world in the areas of art, philosophy,
architecture, and forms of government.
Main Topics: Golden Age, Pericles, Greek architecture, sculpture, Classical art, Greek
Drama, the study of History, Peloponnesian War, Greek Philosophers, Philip of Macedonia,
Alexander and His Empire, Alexander’s legacy, Hellenistic Culture, and Greek contributions to
Science, Astronomy, Math, and Physics
Essential Understandings and Questions
1. Ancient Greek culture has made significant contributions to modern civilizations.
a) What were the most important Greek contributions to sculpture and architecture?
b) What were the most important Greek contributions in drama and in literature
c) What were the most important Greek contributions to science, math, and astronomy?
2. The Greeks were able to build an amazing civilization but they were not able to survive the
internal conflicts and jealousies that eventually brought the greatness of Greece to an end.
a) How did the great victories against the Persians not translate into centuries of peace,
prosperity, and progress for the Greeks?
b) What were the major issues that caused Athens and Sparta to go to war?
c) What was the final outcome of this Greek Civil War?
3. The Ancient Greek philosophers pioneered the study of “thinking about thinking” and
understanding one’s mind.
a) Who were the three most significant Greek philosophers and what were their basic ideas?
b) How did Socrates try to get his students to think and what was his reward for all of
his efforts?
c) What major contributions did the Greek philosophers make to history?
4. Alexander the Great was an amazing Greek leader who created and administered the largest empire
created to that time in history.
a) How was Alexander able to acquire such a huge empire and what were his “secrets”
to running it so successfully?
b) What was Alexander’s most significant legacy to history and what were the greatest
accomplishments of the Hellenistic culture?
Objective 1- 11
Trace the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and analyze its impact on culture,
government, and the rise of Christianity
Main Topics: Rome’s geography, early settlers, Roman Republic, Patricians/Plebeians,
Roman Legions, Twelve Tables, Punic Wars, Hannibal, economic and political problems, Julius
Caesar and his reforms, Roman Empire, Augustus, Pax Romana, Life in Roman Empire, Rise
of Christianity, persecution of Christians, Constantine and the Spread of Christianity, the
organization of the new Roman Church, decline of Roman Empire, mercenaries, efforts to
Reform Rome, barbarian invasions, Attila the Hun, the Roman civilization falls, Greco-Roman
Culture, Roman contributions in arts, learning, literature, construction, and law
Essential Understandings and Essential Questions
1. The early Romans established a powerful republic and contributed many governmental institutions
to the U.S. political system.
a) How did location and geography influence the early development of Rome?
b) How was the Roman Republic organized and what were its key elements?
c) How did the Roman legions help spread Roman culture?
d) What were the causes, course, and results of the three Punic Wars?
2. Despite its military successes, Rome faced many political, economic, and social problems which
forced Rome to change from a republic to an empire.
a) What were the major political, economic, and social challenges that forced Rome to
change its form of government?
b) How did Julius Caesar try to reform Rome’s problems and what were the consequences for
his efforts?
c) How was Augustus able to guide Rome into the Golden Age of Rome?
d) How did Roman lifestyle affect the course of Roman history?
3. The rise and fall of great civilizations is a recurring pattern in history, therefore, internal problems
and external invasions caused Rome to decline, split, and the eventual collapse.
a) What were the economic, military, and political problems that caused Rome to fall?
b) Why were Roman Emperors unable to solve these serious problems?
c) What barbarian groups invaded Rome, why did they invade, and how did they finally
destroy Rome?
4. Christianity, a major world religion with more than a billion members today, began in the Roman
occupied area of Judea (Middle East) and spread throughout the Roman Empire and the rest of
Europe.
a) Who was Jesus of Nazareth and how did his life and death reflect the beliefs of
Christianity?
b) What happens to the Christians and the Jewish people in Palestine when Jesus is martyred?
c) What are some of the major tenets of Christianity?
d) Why does Constantine make Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire?
e) Who were the early leaders of Christianity and how was the Roman Church hierarchy
organized?
5. The legacy of the Roman civilization has made many significant contributions to the enrichment of
the culture and life of Western European.
a) What are the most important contributions to the arts and learning that were made by the
Greco-Roman culture?
b) What great building projects that the Romans constructed are still standing today?
c) What impact did Rome’s legal and governmental heritage have on Western European
nations and America?
Objective 1-12
Diagram the split of the old Roman Empire and explain how it led to the
formation of the Eastern and Western Civilizations.
Main Topics: Geographic split of the old Roman Empire, beginning of the Byzantine
Empire, Justinian and the Law Code, Theodora, Fall of Justinian, religious conflicts between
West and East, and the development of the Greek Orthodox Church
Essential Understandings and Essential Questions
1. As the Roman Empire was collapsing, the Romans tried unsuccessfully to save Rome by dividing the
Empire into two halves: a Western half and an Eastern half.
a) How was the old Roman Empire divided by Constantine and what did the parts look like?
b) What were the basic characteristics of each of the halves?
c) Which of the two halves had the best chance for political and economic success?
2. Byzantium developed a prosperous and complex culture based on trade and the Greek Orthodox
Church that lasted for more than a thousand years.
a) Where was the Byzantine Empire located and what were the geographic advantages of this
empire?
b) How was Justinian able to rule Byzantine so successfully?
c) What political and religious problems eventually brought an end to Justinian’s rule?
d) What caused the Greek Orthodox Church to break away from the Roman Church?
Human Civilization II
2010 EU’s and EQ’s
Objective 2-1
Trace the rise of Islam, its beliefs, contributions, and internal conflicts
Main Topics: Geographic location of Arabian Peninsula; Mecca; Allah; Islamic beliefs;
Muhammad; revelations; Five pillars; differences between Islam and Muslim; Islam takes
control; mosque; Qur’an; Sunna; Shari’a; links to Christianity and Judaism; Internal conflicts
in Islam; Rightly Guided Caliphs; Islamic lifestyles; Umayyads; Sunni-Shi’a split; Muslim
trade; Islamic values; scholarship-House of Wisdom; and contributions: calligraphy, art,
medicine, math, and science
Essential Understandings and Essential Questions
1. The Arabian Peninsula and the entire Middle Eastern area are influenced by geography, climate,
and trade.
a) Where are the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East located, and what type of climate and
topography do these areas share?
b) How does the climate and topography of this region affect the way of life of the Arabian
people?
c) What are the most historically significant cities in the Middle East and why are they still
important?
d) Why does trade play such an important role in the past, present, and future of this area of
the world?
2. The prophet Muhammad united the Arabian people politically and religiously through a new
monotheistic religion called Islam.
a) How did Muhammad influence the development of Islam and his impact on humanity?
b) What are the basic beliefs associated with Islam and how do these beliefs control the daily
life of the Muslim community?
c) What internal conflicts caused a serious split in Islam that affects the followers of Islam
today?
3. The Islamic empire spread rapidly across the Middle East and throughout the world, blending
Arabic culture and providing many important contributions to mankind.
a) What methods have been used to expand Islam?
b) What does the modern religious map of the world look like?
c) What types of cultural diffusion has helped make the Arab culture significant to the ancient
and modern world?
Objective 2-2:
Explain the political, economic, and social decline of Western Civilization throughout
the Middle Ages.
Main Topics: Middle Ages; Factors that led to decline; monasteries; secular; Pope Gregory I;
Frankish rulers: Clovis, Charles Martel, and Charlemagne; accomplishments of Charlemagne;
break-up of Charlemagne’s Holy Roman Empire; more attacks: Vikings, Magyars, and Muslims;
Essential Understandings and Questions
1. After the fall of the Roman Empire many Germanic rulers tried to provide leadership and
organization during the Dark Ages by spreading Christianity across Western Europe.
a) What problems faced Western Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire?
b) Who were the Frankish rulers, how did they establish their authority, and how did
they promote the Christian Church?
c) How was Charlemagne able to establish a powerful Holy Roman Empire and what happened
to his empire when he died?
2. In the Middle Ages, Western Europe suffered through a series of invasions that made the people of
Europe more interested in security and salvation than independence and self direction.
a) How did a series of invading groups plunge Western Europe into the Dark Ages?
b) How did the people of Europe re-organize themselves to provide for greater protection and
security?
Objective 2-3:
Describe life in the Middle Ages based on Feudalism, the Dark Ages, knighthood,
and the power of the Church.
Main Topic: Feudalism: manors, lords, vassals, fief, knights, serfs, and peasants;
miserable life on the manor; knighthood and the Code of Chivalry; Middle Ages literature and
song; noble women verses peasant women; growing power of the Roman Church; sacraments;
Canon Law; Otto I of Germany; Holy Roman Empire; lay investiture; and powerful clashes
between the Pope and kings
Essential Understandings and Questions
1. With the fall of Roman power and authority Europe faced serious political, economic, and social
disorder that they tried to solve by developing Feudalism?
a) How did Feudalism try to restore order in the social, political, and economic life of
Western Europe during the Middle Ages?
b) What were the most significant challenges for the people living during the Middle Ages?
c) How did castles, knights, heraldry, and chivalry influence life in the Middle Ages?
2. The Roman Church became more powerful during the Middle ages because it became a major
player in Feudalism and as a result Church leaders and kings began to compete for control during the
Middle Ages.
a) How did the Church use its position and practices to become more powerful?
b) What were the corrupt practices that crept into the Roman Church?
c) What are the major points of conflict that caused disagreements between the popes and the
kings?
Objective 2-4:
Identify the impact of the Crusades in terms of the growth of towns and trade,
stronger monarchs, the Bubonic Plague, and early conflicts between England and
France.
Main Topics: Age of Faith; problems inside the Catholic Church; New Religious
Orders: cathedrals: Romanesque verses Gothic; Crusades: Goals of Crusades, Pope Urban,
King’s Crusade, Richard the Lionhearted, Saladin, Children’s Crusade, loss of Crusading
spirit, long term effects of Crusades; Rise of town and trade: new power sources, three field
system, guilds, Commercial Revolution, fairs, business and banking, growth of towns, new
merchant class, burghers; revival in learning; St. Thomas Aquinas and the scholastics;
Essential Understandings and Essential Questions
1. As the Medieval Church spread Christianity, the Roman Church came into conflict with the
Muslims in Jerusalem.
a) How did the Age of Faith influence Western Europe so extensively?
b) How did missionaries spread God’s message?
c) Why were cathedrals built and how were they architecturally different?
2. Crusades were Pope-ordered holy wars that changed Western Europe.
a) How did the Crusades begin and what were the results?
b) What were the long term effects of the Crusades on Western Europe?
3. Many factors combined to transform the economic landscape of Western Europe between 1000 AD
and 1300AD.
a) What were the main factors that increased economic activity and began the Commercial
Revolution?
b) What were the most important contributions of the Middle/Merchant class to this
development?
4. The political landscape of Western Europe changed from feudalism to emerging national
governments with powerful monarchs.
a) How was the development of the English and the French nation similar?
b) Who were the main leaders of England and France that helped create these
early national government and monarchies?
c) How did the Black Death and the Hundred Years War affect life in the Late Middle Ages?
5. Serious criticisms and conflicts developed within the Catholic Church that caused a major another
major split in the Christian faith.
a) What were the major issues that led to the Great Schism in the Church in 1054?
b) Who were some of the outspoken critics of the Catholic Church, what were their criticisms,
and what happened to these heretics?
Objective 2-5
Summarize the new ideas and values that led to the Renaissance and explain how
the Renaissance forever changed culture and society.
Main Topics: Renaissance; Influence of Italian city-states; Italian merchants; Medici
family; Greek and Roman traditions; Humanism; patrons; Renaissance men and women;
perspective; Renaissance giants: Donatello, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael,
Petrarch, Machiavelli, and Colonna; Renaissance moves north; German and Dutch
painters, advancements in painting techniques; Thomas More and Utopia; DePizan;
William Shakespeare; Johann Gutenberg and the printing press; and the Legacy of the
Renaissance
Essential Understandings and Questions
1. The Renaissance changed all aspects of life in Western Europe in many ways.
a) Why did the Renaissance begin in Italy?
b) How did “Humanism” influence so much of the beliefs, the artistic and cultural
developments of the Renaissance?
c) Who were some of the most important artists, sculptors, and writers of the Renaissance and
what masterpieces did they produce?
2. Although the Renaissance begins in Italy, it quickly spreads to all parts of Europe through a variety
of means.
a) What were some of the ways that the Renaissance ideas spread throughout Europe?
b) How was Renaissance art improved by artists from Northern Europe?
c) How did Shakespeare transform play-writes forever?
d) How did Johann Gutenberg revolutionize the world after 1440 AD?
e) What were some of the most significant changes in the arts and in society as a result of the
Renaissance?
Objective 2-6
Compare and contrast religious beliefs and practices in the Middle Ages that led
to the Reformation.
Main Topics: Causes of the Reformation; Martin Luther; 95 Theses; indulgences;
Luther’s teachings; Church response to criticism; excommunication; Charles V; protestant;
Lutherans; Peace of Augsburg; Henry VIII and his wives; Church of England; Bloody Mary;
Elizabeth I; Anglican Church; John Calvin and predestination; theocracy; Presbyterians;
Catholic reformation; Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits; Council of Trent; and the Legacy of
the Reformation
Essential Understandings and Questions
3. The Renaissance spirit of inquiry created more Church critics and their criticism eventually split
Christianity into Catholics and Protestants in the Protestant Reformation
a) Who were the Renaissance Era critics of the Church and what were their main beliefs?
b) What were the social, political, economic, and religious causes of the Protestant
Reformation?
c) What was the response of the Catholic Church to this renewed criticism and how did it
impact the politics of Europe in the 1500’s?
d) What caused Martin Luther to finally leave the Catholic Church?
e) How did the Protestant Reformation affect Henry VIII, Mary, and Elizabeth?
f) What long term political problems did the Protestant Reformation cause in Europe?
4. The Catholic Church continued to be attacked, but at the same time, tried to fight back with the
Counter (Catholic) Reformation.
a) How did John Calvin, predestination, and other Protestant reformers further hurt the
Catholic Church?
b) What the long range goal of the Counter (Catholic) Reformation?
c) How did Ignatius Loyola, the Jesuits, and the Council of Trent try to re-establish the
power of the Church?
Objective 2-7
Evaluate the factors that led to the rise of European exploration and exploitation
in the New World.
Main Topics:
{Early Africa} Ghana, Gold-Salt trade, political and religious heritage of West Africa; Empire
of Mali, Sundtiata, Mansa Musa, Ibn Battuta; Empire of Songhai, Sunni Ali, and Askia
Muhammad
{Central and South America} Mayan civilization: Yucatan Peninsula, Tikal and Chiche’n Itz’a,
agriculture and trade, political dynasties, Mayan religion, math, architecture, and writing, and
the decline of the Maya civilization; Aztecs: Location in Mexico, Toltecs, Quetzalcoatl, Aztec
Empire, Triple Alliance, Tenochtitlan, Aztec religious beliefs, and Montezuma II; Inca Empire:
Location on Andes, Pachacuti, Incan cities, government, mita, public projects, writing, religion,
and conflicts
{European Exploration and Exploitation} Reasons for exploration; advances on open ocean
sailing technology; Portuguese explorers: Dais, Prince Henry, DaGama; Columbus; Spanish
claims to the New World; Treaty of Tordesillas; Trading Empires; England and Dutch
explorers and traders; Dutch East India Company; New World colonies; Vespucci; Balboa,
Magellan; Spanish Conquistadors: Cortes and Pizarro; Spanish push North in New World;
Opposition to Spanish Rule; Beginning of African slavery; English take over African slave
trade; Triangular Trade; Middle Passage; Consequences of Slavery and Slave Trade; the
Columbian Exchange; capitalism, joint-stack companies; mercantilism; and favorable balance
of trade
Essential Understandings and Essential Questions
1. The area of North and West Africa had many developed civilizations in the 700’s to 1500’s that had
advanced cultures with strong social, religious, and political systems.
a) What were the three most important early African civilizations?
b) How were these early African kingdoms able to become so wealthy?
c) What type of religious beliefs did these African people have?
d) Who were some of their most successful leaders?
2. The New World areas of Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America had many
developed civilizations throughout early history that had advanced cultures with strong social,
religious, and political systems.
a) What were the three most important early New World civilizations?
b) How were these early New World Civilizations organized and how did the natives live?
c) What type of religious beliefs did these New World people have?
d) Who were some of their most successful leaders?
e) What happened to these great civilizations when the Spanish arrived?
3. The European explorers used strong motivation, new technology, and great courage to sail across
the world and make many important discoveries.
a) What were the major motivational factors that caused the explorers to begin overseas
exploration?
b) What were the new inventions and discoveries that allowed the explorers to sail out of the
sight of land?
c) Who were the most important European explorers and what did they discover?
d) How did overseas discoveries lead to the creation of trading empires and eventually conflict?
4. As the Spanish began to dominate the New World, how were the natives treated and how did the
Spanish organize their American colonies to the point of needing African slaves?
a) What attitudes did the Spanish bring with them about the New World natives?
b) Who were the “conquistadors” and what did they accomplish?
c) What new social groups were created by mixing the natives and the Spanish?
d) How did the New World natives try to resist the Spanish treatment?
5. As a result of the destruction of the native population in the new world and the extensive plantation
economic situation, the plantation owners began to import African slaves into the New World as a
source of cheap labor.
a) Why was there a need for African slaves in the New World?
b) How did Triangular Trade affect the plantation economy and the need for African slavery?
c) What made the “Middle Passage” such a horrible experience for the slaves?
d) How were the Columbian Exchange, Capitalism, and Mercantilism connected to encourage
colonialism and the exploitation of the New World natives and the African slaves?