Vocabulary: Age of Exploration
The Seven Years War: The Seven Years' War was a global conflict fought between 1756 and 1763. It
involved every European great power of the time and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the
Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines.
Caravel: a small, fast Spanish or Portuguese sailing ship of the 15th–17th centuries.
Arawak : The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of South America and of the Caribbean.
Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and
the Taíno, who historically lived in the Greater Antilles and northern Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean.
Bartolomeu Dias : Bartolomeu Dias, a nobleman of the Portuguese royal household, was a Portuguese
explorer. He sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, the first to do so, setting up the route
from Europe to Asia later on. Dias is the first European during the Age of Discovery to anchor at what is
present-day South Africa.
Henry the Navigator: Infante D. Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu, better known as Prince Henry the
Navigator, was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15th-century
European maritime discoveries and maritime expansion.
Christopher Columbus: Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, navigator, and colonist who
completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain.
Vasco da Gama: Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira, was a Portuguese explorer and the first
European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India was the first to link Europe and Asia by an
ocean route, connecting the Atlantic and the Indian oceans and therefore, the West and the Orient.
Ferdinand Magellan: Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who organised the Spanish
expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522, resulting in the first circumnavigation of the Earth,
completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano.
conquistadors : a conqueror, especially one of the Spanish conquerors of Mexico and Peru in the 16th
century.
Columbian Exchange: The Columbian exchange, also known as theColumbian interchange, named for
Christopher Columbus, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations,
technology, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the 15th and 16th
centuries.
Questions:
1.) What led the Portuguese and the Spanish empires to shift from land based travel to sea travel?
What advancements led to an increase in sea travel? The Renaissance
rebirth of Greek & Roman learning of religion, art, & technology Powerful Nations Emerge
Strong monarchs came to power in Spain, Portugal, England, & France;
Looked for ways to increase trade & make countries stronger & wealthier.
2.) What factors led Portugal in particular to quickly become a sea power? World Trade made
Portugal a sea power.
3.) What treaty insured peace between Spain and Portugal in their fight for territory in the
Americas? Why did Spain inadvertently gain more land as a consequence of this treaty? The
Treaty of Tordesillas, signed at Tordesillas on June 7, 1494, and authenticated at Setúbal,
Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Portuguese Empire
and the Crown of Castile, along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands, off the
west coast of Africa
4.) Why was it so important to have the support of countries when organizing sea exploration trips?
Because one man can’t pay for all the expenses and crew needed for sea exploration at the
time.
5.) Colonialism and the expansion of the trade routes had what two political effects on countries?
The Effects of Colonization on the Native Americans Native Americans had inherited
the land now called America and eventually their lives were destroyed due to European
Colonization. When the Europeans arrived and settled, they changed the Native American way
of life for the worst.
6. Stern post rudder positively affected this time was because it Increased maneuverability. Allowed
ships to take advantage of their improved sail power in tacking into contrary of the wind.
7. Lateen sail, triangular sail that was of decisive importance to medieval navigation. The sail, its free
corner secured near the stern, was capable of taking the wind on either side, and, by enabling the vessel
to tack into the wind, the lateen sailing method immensely increased the potential of the sailing ship.
8. By measuring the distance of the sun and stars above the horizon, the astrolabe helped determine
latitude, an important tool in navigation.
9. early explorer’s relied on magnetic compasses in navigation. The earth’s surface is covered by an
invisible magnetic field. The north and south poles are aligned with the earth’s axis. Therefore, magnetic
objects, like the needle of a compass, will align itself along the north-south axis. The Arabs brought
the compass from China to Europe.
10. The caravel was an improvement on older ships because it could sail very fast and also sail well into
the wind (windward).
11. The Europeans main way of getting new technology was trading a lot also they were exploring the
world and found north America. As their technology advanced they expanded.
12. Glory, Gold, and God, also known as the Three G's. Together, these motivations fostered the Golden
Age of Exploration. Glory meant they wanted to win and gain new territory, Gold meant that they
wanted to get a lot more wealthier and God meant that they passed their religion along.
13. The demise that led the Arawak in the Antilles was that the island Arawak were virtually wiped out
by Old World diseases to which they had no immunity. Since the Europeans came the new world they
traded a lot and that also meant disease.
14. The crops that came from Europe to America were horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and chickens.
Over time, new crops were introduced to the Americas, including wheat, rice, barley, oats, coffee, sugar
cane, citrus fruits, melons and Kentucky bluegrass. The introduction of wheat was of particular
significance. Avocados, Beans (kidney, navy, lima), Bell peppers, Black-eyed Susans, Cacao (for
chocolate), Chili peppers, Corn, Cotton, Marigolds, Papayas, Peanuts, Petunias, Pineapples, Poinsettias,
Potatoes, Pumpkins, Quinine, Rubber, Squashes, Sunflowers, Sweet potatoes, Tobacco, Tomatoes,
Turkeys, Vanilla beans, Zinnias.
15. The new worlds crops potatoes, various squashes, chilies and much more became essential to
millions of Europeans, Asians, and Africans which made the world’s population skyrocket.
16. Native peoples of America had no immunity to the diseases that European explorers and colonists
brought with them. Diseases such as smallpox, influenza, measles, and even chicken pox proved
deadly to American Indians. Europeans were used to these diseases, but Indian people had no
resistance to them. The disease that affected the Europeans was the bubonic plague.
17. The Old world diseases wiped out many tribes but some did survive which ultimately led to lots of
change in culture of tribes.
18. The cultivation of sugars and mining silver led to slavery, the native Americans had to do lots of hard
labor, and that led many to die.
19. The joint-stock company was the forerunner of the modern corporation. In a joint-stock venture,
stock was sold to high net-worth investors who provided CAPITAL and had limited risk. These companies
had proven profitable in the past with trading ventures. The risk was small, and the returns were fairly
quick. But investing in a colony was an altogether different venture. The risk was larger as the colony
might fail. The startup costs were enormous and the returns might take years.
20. Mercantilism is a system in which a country attempts to amass wealth through trade with other
countries, exporting more than it imports and increasing stores of gold and precious metals.
Mercantilism is an economies to augment state power at the expense of other countries. ...
In mercantilism, wealth is viewed as finite and trade as a zero-sum game.
21. Mercantilism is intended to function as an economy by which a nation, such as England or Great
Britain obtains colonies throughout the world. Those colonies in return are to supply the mother
country with wealth.
22. Mercantilism fueled resentment with European colonies because it placed restrictions on their own
trade, and it had the ultimate goal of enriching Britain. The idea of mercantilism revolved
around a mother country maintaining a positive balance of trade with its colonies, with the
ultimate goal of increasing the wealth of the mother country. Mercantilism for the colonists
meant trade limited with Britain.
23. At first the Japanese seem to have been open to a limited amount of contact with the west, but
eventually they became concerned and thus greatly curtailed contact.