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AGE OF EXPLORATION STUDY GUIDE
Terms:
Triangular Trade – trade that occurred in 3 or more ports of regions
Mercantilism – countries looking to increase wealth by maximizing exports through trade
Infrastructure – Framework or foundation of a system
Collaborator – one who partners up to complete a task OR who cooperates with the enemy voluntarily or through coercion
Dynasty – Sequential line of rulers of the same family
Mandate of Heaven – Emperor would rule if he was worthy; otherwise, power of Heaven lost and so was his throne
Shogun – military governor of a territory in Japan
Samurai – Feudal military leader and warrior, similar in job description to the knights of Medieval Europe
Cartography – the art of mapmaking
Treaty of Tordesillas – Pope gave portions of the world to Spain & Portugal
Epidemic – Diseases that became devastating to a large population, like small pox and typhoid
Imperialism – Large countries using their power to dominate and create empires by taking over smaller nations
Colonialism – Countries sending explorers and individuals to create standing towns in new worlds
Astrolabe – Used the sun and stars to help determine latitude for explorers
Compass – Device used for direction
Caravel – New type of ship that could leave the Mediterranean Sea and sail the waters of the more dangerous Atlantic Ocean
Silk Road – Route from Asia to Europe that was used for trading
Encomienda – system in Latin America in which the Old World countries came to enslave the locals
People:
Zheng He – Chinese explorer known for his “Treasure Ships”
Columbus – Discovered North & South America through his journeys
Magellan – 1st to circumnavigate the globe
Henry the Navigator – Portuguese man who created a school for navigation
Hernan Cortes – Spanish conquistador who beat the Aztecs for control in Mexico
Montezuma – leader of the Aztecs
Fransisco Pizarro – Spaniard who brought horses and gunpowder to the Incas of South America…but eventually took them over
Atahualpa – leader of the Incas
Concepts:
-The East India Trading Company was the first big business focused on trading around the world
-The Ottoman Turks closed the Silk Road to keep Europeans out of their territory
-The Age of Exploration went from the 15th century (1400’s) to the 17th century (1600’s)
-Originally, explorers were looking for a sea route to Asia
-Europe focused on Atlantic trade once they realized the bounty of goods they could get across the Ocean and sell back home
-The Columbian Exchange involved trade between Europe, Africa and the Americas
-Spain and other European nations imposed their language, culture and politics on new areas they conquered…..which is why most
countries in Latin America speak Spanish or Portuguese to this day
-The Europeans did not invent the slave trade, but they used it to sell slaves in order to get goods Europeans wanted to buy
-The majority of slaves were sent to the Caribbean initially to work on sugar plantations
-Many products now common in Europe and the Americas came to those places initially due to the Columbian Exchange
-The British set up trading posts in India…..and eventually took over the area through Imperialism
-The motives for European exploration were the 3 G’s, as well as the Crusades, Renaissance and Reformation eras
-The cycle of conquest and colonization: explorers --- conquistadors --- missionaries --- permanent settlers
-the Middle Passage was the part of the Triangular Trade in which slaves were sent from Africa to the Americas
-In the colonial class system, the Peninsulares were on top followed by the Creoles and Mestizos with the slaves at the bottom
-The impact of European expansion is that native populations were ravaged by disease, the Columbian Exchange changed trading forever
and it deepened colonial rivalries among exploring nations
Questions to think about (and be able to answer):
1. Why did the British favor having Hindus in power instead of the Muslims in India? What about their history tells you that?
2. What were some of the effects (good or bad) on the Americas due to European colonization?
3. What was the importance of the “3 G’s” to the nations of Europe?
4. Why would the Columbian Exchange be considered unintentional “bio-terrorism”?
5. Why might China and Japan isolate themselves from the rest of the world? Why would they eventually change their minds?
6. Explain the relationship between the Columbian Exchange, epidemics and cultural change.
Be prepared to write an essay explaining the impact that the Age of Exploration has had in the world today!