Age of Exploration
Discover how European exploration changed the world.
Learn
Key Concepts
- Motivations: Gold, God, and Glory - wealth, spreading Christianity, and fame
- Technology: Compass, astrolabe, better ships (caravel)
- Columbian Exchange: Transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between hemispheres
- Key explorers: Columbus, Magellan, Da Gama, Cortes, Pizarro
- Consequences: Colonization, slavery, disease, cultural exchange
Practice
Question 1: What were the three main motivations for European exploration?
Answer
Gold (wealth/trade), God (spreading Christianity), and Glory (fame and power).
Question 2: What was the Columbian Exchange?
Answer
The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and ideas between the Americas and Europe/Africa/Asia after 1492.
Question 3: What technology helped sailors navigate during the Age of Exploration?
Answer
The compass (for direction), astrolabe (for latitude), and improved maps helped with navigation.
Question 4: Who sponsored Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492?
Answer
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
Question 5: What was a major negative consequence of European exploration for indigenous peoples?
Answer
European diseases like smallpox killed millions of indigenous people who had no immunity to these illnesses.
Question 6: Name one food that came from the Americas to Europe through the Columbian Exchange.
Answer
Examples: potatoes, tomatoes, corn (maize), chocolate, peppers, squash.
Question 7: What is a caravel?
Answer
A small, fast sailing ship developed by Portuguese that could sail into the wind, making long voyages possible.
Question 8: Who led the first expedition to sail around the world?
Answer
Ferdinand Magellan started the voyage in 1519, though he died during the journey. His crew completed it in 1522.
Question 9: How did the Age of Exploration lead to the Atlantic slave trade?
Answer
Europeans needed labor for American colonies and plantations, leading them to forcibly transport millions of Africans as enslaved workers.
Question 10: What animal brought from Europe changed life on the American Great Plains?
Answer
Horses transformed Native American cultures, especially on the Great Plains, enabling new ways of hunting and traveling.