Download Voyages of Discovery

The Age of
Exploration
Unit 3: Term 3
Success Criteria:

MUST:

Understand what the Renaissance was

SHOULD:

Understand what changes came about as a result of the
Renaissance

COULD:

Understand why the age of exploration came about
because of the Renaissance
Unit 3: The Age of Exploration: Lesson 15
In your workbook:
1. What does the word Renaissance mean?
2. Can you give 4 reasons why the Renaissance
happened and explain why they helped cause
the Renaissance.
3. List any examples of things that changed
during the Renaissance?
Critics of the Roman Catholic
church could gain support
quickly.
Christian scholars fled to Rome, Paris etc. They
brought with them ‘lost’ manuscripts full of Greek
and Roman ‘classical’ knowledge. This prompted
people to copy these designs and ideas.
‘New’ ideas could be
copied quickly and spread.
Fall of Constantinople to
the Islamic Ottoman
Empire.
Rich people couldn’t get
their silks and spices
because the Turks blocked
the route. This led to the
Voyages of exploration to
find alternative routes.
WHAT CAUSED
THE
RENAISSANCE?
Spirit of Nationalism developed.
Countries, kings, families and
states competed to be the best
at everything.
People patronised and
encouraged artists,
explorers etc to produce
new works for them.
The Printing
Press was
invented in
Germany.
Maps could be produced to
encourage further
exploration.
Merchants had become
rich during the middle
ages. They had extra
cash to spend.
Think: Why did the Renaissance
change the way Europeans
thought?
The Search for Spices
Unit 3: The Age of Exploration: Lesson 16 - 17
Read the transcript of the CCWH
Video: 15th Century Mariners
Questions on 15th Century Mariners:
•When were Zheng He's voyages?
•Why did Zheng He go on his voyages?
•How did the Chinese Tribute missions work?
•Who was Prince Henry the Navigator?
•How did the Portuguese create the Trading Post Empire?
•Why did Columbus go on his voyage?
Let’s watch:
Technology of Exploration
● Open water sailing required sailors trained in navigation, accurate
maps and ocean going ships
● You also needed maps
● Cartographers - mapmakers
Exploring the Sea
● Europeans traded long before the Renaissance
● The Crusades introduced Europeans to many luxury
goods from Asia
● The most valued items were spices
● The chief source of spices was the Moluccas
●An island chain in present-day Indonesia
• Spice Islands
Portugal Sails East
●Mapping the Coast of
Africa
● Prince Henry the Navigator
saw great promise in Africa
● The Portuguese could convert
the Africans, who practiced
either Islam or tribal religions,
to Christianity
● Also believed that in Africa he
would find the sources of riches
the Muslim traders controlled
● Hoped to find an easier way to
Asia by going around Africa
Portugal Sails East
● Henry gathered
scientists,
cartographers, and
other experts
● They redesigned ships,
prepared maps, and
trained captains and
crews for long voyages
● Henry’s ships then
slowly worked their way
down south to explore
the western coast of
Africa
Portugal Sails East
● Henry died in 1460, but the
Portuguese continued their quest
● Bartholomeu Dias
● In 1488, rounded the southern tip
of Africa
● Despite the turbulent seas around
it, the tip became known as the
Cape of Good Hope
● Because it opened the way for a
sea route to Asia
Portugal Sails East
● Vasco da Gama
● In 1497, da Gama followed in
Dias’s footsteps, led four ships
around the Cape of Good Hope
● After a ten-month voyage, da
Gama reached the great spice port
of Calicut on the west coast of
India
Portugal Sails East
● On the long voyage home, the
Portuguese had lost half their
ships, and many sailors died of
hunger, thirst, and scurvy
● A disease caused by the lack
of Vitamin C in the diet
● Despite the hard journey, the
venture proved highly
profitable
Unit 3:
Why did Columbus go on his journey and how did it lead to
the age of exploration?
Success criteria:

MUST:

Understand who Columbus was and what his journey
was like

SHOULD:

Understand why he went on his journey

COULD:

Understand what impact Columbus’s journey had on
Europe and the Americas

Born: 1451 in Genoa,
Italy.

Sent: by Queen Isabella
and King Ferdinand of Spain.

Died: May 20, 1506 in
Valladolid, Spain
Reason for Exploring

He thought that Japan and the Indies were much
closer than they are.

Explore a new route to the East Indies (Spice
Islands) to avoid the Ottoman Turks at
Constantinople.

He would become Governor of any lands
discovered and so gain power.

He could keep 10% of any wealth he discovered.
His Voyage
He took 3 ships:
the Niña (70ft)
the Pinta (70 ft)
the Santa Maria (100ft)
A crew of about 90 men and boys
He set sail on Aug 3, 1492 from port of Palos,
Spain.
His 1st Voyage

It was a dangerous voyage into
uncharted waters.

They made good time, but it was
much further than he thought.

Columbus was forced to ration
food & drink.

October 10th 1492 – the crew
became mutinous. They wanted
to turn back.
His 1st Voyage
Oct 12th..sighted land “Tierra, tierra.”
Columbus had made it.
He named the land San Salvador meaning Holy Saviour.
He returned home a hero.
Columbus maintained to the day he died that he had
found a new route to India or China! He paved the way
for further explorations in an Age of Discovery.
After 6 weeks at sea. You stumble
on to land.
What do you do?
How do you feel?
What do you see?
How do you react?
Are you scared?
What are the people like?
Write 150 words of Columbus’s log
to explain what it was like to first
sight land.
DO NOW

Read the passage about Aztec human
sacrifices.

Write a step by step process for human
sacrifice: What are the steps needed?
SUCCESS CRITERIA:
MUST:
Understand what the Aztec religion and
empire was like
SHOULD:
Understand how the Spanish were able
to conquer the Aztecs so quickly and
what the Columbian Exchange was.
COULD:
Understand the impact of Columbus’
journeys on the Americas and Europe
AZTEC GODS
Aztec Gods

Religion was extremely important in
Aztec life.

They worshipped hundreds of gods
and goddesses, each of whom ruled
one or more human activities or as
aspects of nature e.g. sun, rain.

They believe that everything in life
is controlled by the gods, they bring
good things, such as rain to make
the crops grow, but also bad things
like disease, drought and bad luck.

The Aztecs thought that the power of the
gods should be acknowledged and thanks
given to them, so as to avoid the
catastrophes that their rage could cause.

For this reason monuments temples and
statues were built, and sacrifices
performed as gifts to the gods.
Huitzilopochtli
(Hummingbird)




He was the god of war and the
rising sun and special guardian
of Tenochtitlan.
He was the special god of the
Aztec people, they believed
he brought them success in
war.
His temple on the main
pyramid was the focus of
fearsome sacrifices of the
prisoners captured by Aztec
warriors. Victims’ heads were
strung as trophies on a great
rack.
He was always shown as a
warrior. He wears a warrior’s
cotton oversuit and carries a
shield and a snake of fire. His
body and clothes are painted
blue.
Quetzalcoatl
(Feathered Serpent)

He was the wind god and also
the god of knowledge.

He was usually a friend to the
people. He taught them many
skills, such as picture writing,
art and science.

He taught men the calendar
and devised ceremonies

He was shown with a beard to
represent age or an old man.

He wore the mask of a serpent
and a hat decorated with the
feathers of a quetzal bird.
Tlaloc








Tlaloc was the rain god.
He was known as “he who
makes things sprout”.
The rain he brought allowed
crops to grow.
Tlaloc also controlled storms,
thunder and lightening.
He was shown holding
lightening in the form of a
snake in one hand.
In the other hand he held an
axe which makes thunderbolts.
The jaguar he sometimes had
coming from his mouth is the
roar of thunder.
Tlaloc is always shown with
goggle eyes and long teeth.
DO NOW:
Unit 3: LO: What was the interaction between the Spanish and
the Aztecs?
How did the Aztecs rule?

The Aztecs were a poor, nomadic group when they first
arrived in the Valley of Mexico around 1200 AD.

They became stronger and by 1428, they had joined with two
other city-states to form the Triple Alliance.

Together, they became the dominant power in the area
controlling around 80,000 square miles by 1500.

The empire had an estimated population of between 5 and
15 million.

They kept control by demanding tribute and attacking any
city that disobeyed.
Why did the empire fail?
 In
1502, a new ruler, Moctezuma II came to
power.
 He
was a weak king.
 The
Aztecs had demanded an increasing
number of sacrifice victims from the
provinces and now Moctezuma demanded
even more.
A
number of the provinces rebelled.
 There
was a period of unrest and rebellion.
The myth of Quetzalcoatl
(keht•SAHL•koh•AHT•uhl)

Earlier civilisations had worshipped
Quetzalcoatl.

According to these legends, after his exile
from Tula, the god travelled east, crossing
the sea on a raft of snakes. He would
return one day, bringing a new reign of
light and peace.

The myth of Quetzalcoatl would come
back to haunt the greatest empire of
Mexico, the Aztecs.

Cortés Conquers the Aztecs Soon after landing in Mexico, Cortés
learned of the vast and wealthy Aztec Empire in the region’s
interior. After marching for weeks through difficult mountain
passes, Cortés and his force of roughly 600 men finally reached the
magnificent Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán.

The Aztec emperor, Montezuma II, was convinced at first that
Cortés was a god wearing armour. He agreed to give the Spanish
explorer a share of the empire’s existing gold supply. The
conquistador was not satisfied. Cortés admitted that he and his
comrades had a “disease of the heart that only gold can cure.”

In the late spring of 1520, some of Cortés’s men killed many Aztec
warriors and chiefs while they were celebrating a religious
festival. In June of 1520, the Aztecs rebelled against the Spanish
intruders and drove out Cortés’s forces. The Spaniards, however,
struck back. Despite being greatly outnumbered, Cortés and his
men conquered the Aztecs in 1521.
How were the Spanish able to
conquer so quickly?

Several factors played a key role in the stunning victory. First, the Spanish had the
advantage of superior weaponry. Aztec arrows were no match for the Spaniards’
muskets and cannons.

Second, Cortés was able to enlist the help of various native groups. With the aid
of a native woman translator named Malinche, Cortés learned that some natives
resented the Aztecs. They hated their harsh practices, including human sacrifice.
Through Malinche, Cortés convinced these natives to fight on his side.

Finally, and most important, the natives could do little to stop the invisible
warrior that marched alongside the Spaniards—disease. Measles, mumps,
smallpox, and typhus were just some of the diseases Europeans were to bring with
them to the Americas. Native Americans had never been exposed to these
diseases. Thus, they had developed no natural immunity to them. As a result, they
died by the hundreds of thousands. By the time Cortés launched his
counterattack, the Aztec population had been greatly reduced by smallpox and
measles. In time, European disease would truly devastate the natives of central
Mexico, killing millions of them.
DO NOW:

How were the Spanish able to
conquer the Aztecs so quickly? Write
a 50 word paragraph answering the
question.
Unit 3: Lesson 21: LO: What impact did the discovery of the Americas
have on Europe and America?
Voyages of conquest?
For the people already living in the newly
‘discovered’ countries these were not voyages of
discovery at all. They were voyages of conquest.
The newly ‘discovered’ countries were claimed by
the European explorers and added to the growing
empires of the European countries. The peoples
who lived in these countries were powerless to stop
the Europeans because the Europeans carried
guns.
Effects on the ‘discovered’ peoples
There were many negative effects for the people who were
‘discovered’:
new diseases carried by European sailors wiped out
whole peoples
the peoples that lived in the newly ‘discovered’
countries were often forced to convert to Christianity
or face death
millions of them were sold into slavery and
transported hundreds of miles from their homes
huge quantities of gold, silver, furs, sugar, tea, coffee
and spices were taken from the newly ‘discovered’
countries with little offered in return.
Religious, economic or political causes?
Look at the causes again. Decide whether each is a Religious, Economic
or Political reason.
The Columbian Exchange
Impact of the Columbian Exchange

Perhaps the most important items to travel from the Americas to the rest
of the world were corn and potatoes. Both were inexpensive to grow and
nutritious. Potatoes, especially, supplied many essential vitamins and
minerals. Over time, both crops became an important and steady part of
diets throughout the world. These foods helped people live longer. Thus
they played a significant role in boosting the world’s population. The
planting of the first white potato in Ireland and the first sweet potato in
China probably changed more lives than the deeds of 100 kings.

Traffic across the Atlantic did not flow in just one direction, however.
Europeans introduced various livestock animals into the Americas. These
included horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs. Foods from Africa (including
some that originated in Asia) migrated west in European ships. They
included bananas, black-eyed peas, and yams. Grains introduced to the
Americas included wheat, rice, barley, and oats.
Impact on the Americas

Disease was just as much a part of the Columbian
Exchange as goods and food. The diseases Europeans
brought with them, which included smallpox and
measles, led to the deaths of millions of Native
Americans.

Other diseases Europeans brought with them included
influenza, typhus, malaria, and diphtheria.
Growth of global trade:

The new markets and new products made available
through the discovery of new lands meant that there
was a competition between European countries to
see which one could take over the most new
territory.