Bell Ringer:
1. Study the painting on page 53.
How does the man appear to
be finding his location?
2. How do the tools that
navigators use today differ
from those of early explorers?
A WATER ROUTE TO ASIA
•
Prince Henry the Navigator
• Wasn’t actually a navigator
• He started a school of navigation
• Sponsored voyages to explore the Atlantic and the west coast of Africa
• Why was he interested in these places?
• African gold
• Learn more about geography
• Spread Christianity
•
Bartolomeu Dias (1488)
• Portuguese explorer
• His role in naming of the Cape of Good Hope?
•
Vasco de Gama (1498)
• Portuguese explorer
• Followed Dias’ route around the cape
• How was his trip different?
A WATER ROUTE TO ASIA – STUDY GUIDE
1. In what way was the caravel an improvement over earlier ships?
The caravel had triangular sails – to sail into wind – and square sails,
which carried the ship forward when the wind was at its back.
2. How did Dias’ new route to Asia help Portugal?
It led to Vasco de Gama’s trip which found an all-water route to Asia.
The Portuguese could now trade with Asia without dealing with the
Muslims in Northern Africa or the Italians.
3. Compare what happened after Portugal began to control the spice trade to
what happened when Italy controlled it.
In both cases, rival countries tried to find ways to end that control.
COLUMBUS
•
Italian sailor
•
Studied a different route to Asia – going west!
• What route had others taken?
•
What mistakes did Columbus make in his planning?
•
Columbus went to the king of Portugal, seeking money for his trip. The
King said no…why?
•
Where did Columbus turn next?
HELP FROM SPAIN’S RULERS
•
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
• Why did they like the plan presented by Columbus?
• Did everyone like the plan?
• Royal council had doubts about his calculations
• Spanish monarchs were in the middle of a costly war to drive
the Muslims out of Spain
 Columbus was asking for a high payment for his services
 What did Columbus want as his reward?
 High Admiral of the Ocean Sea
 Percentage of any wealth he brought back
 Ruler of lands he discovered
SETTING SAIL
• Columbus and his crew left on August 3, 1492
• Three ships – names?
• Stopped in Canary Islands before continuing
• Why did Columbus decide to keep two logs?
• How did Columbus avoid mutiny?
STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS
What two mistakes made Columbus think that sailing west to Asia would be a short
journey?
1. He relied on writings of Marco Polo and geographer Paolo Toscanello, who were
wrong about the size of Asia
2. He underestimated the distance around the globe – he thought it was only 2/3 as
large as it really is! He thought the Atlantic was small, so a voyage west would be
short.
Why did Ferdinand and Isabella support Columbus?
They wanted a share of the rich Asian trade.
They wanted to spread Christianity
REACHING THE AMERICAS
•
Columbus believed he had reached the Indies, islands in Southeast Asia
•
Taino people greeted Columbus – he called them Indians
•
Columbus named the island San Salvador
•
For three months, he traveled around the islands
with a few Taino guides
• Found gold and precious objects on Española
(present-day Hispaniola)
STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS
What kinds of problems did the sailors on Columbus’ ships face?
Loss of courage and confidence
They had been at sea for 10 weeks w/no land sighting in one
month; afraid they would starve.
What convinced Columbus that he had reached Asia?
On Hispaniola, he found gold and precious objects, like pearls.
AN EXPANDING HORIZON
•
Columbus returned to the New World three more times
•
How did Ferdinand and Isabella react to his trip?
•
Columbus died in 1506, still believing he had reached
Asia.
•
Even though he
didn’t reach Asia, what
did his trips
accomplish?
STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS
Were Columbus’ voyages viewed as successful?
Yes and no.
Yes – people realized after his death that he had reached
unknown lands
No – He never found great treasures, he did not spread
Christianity, and he mistreated the native peoples.
How did Columbus’ voyages change the way Europeans looked at
the world?
Europeans no longer saw the ocean as a barrier. The ocean
became a bridge.
KEY TERMS
Navigator – a person who plans the course of a ship
while at sea
Caravel – a ship with triangular sails that allowed it to
sail into the wind and with square sails that carried it
forward when the wind was at its back
Christopher Columbus - Italian sailor; discovered the
"New World" of the Americas on an expedition
sponsored by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of
Spain in 1492.