Study Guide: Exploration, Scientific Revolution, & Enlightenment
People: Name the contribution/teaching/philosophy of the following people:
Ptolemy – the early Greek thinker that influenced the Scientific Revolution the most
Galileo – the first person to use a telescope to study the sky
Copernicus – discovered that the sun was the center of the universe; heliocentric model
Newton – proved the laws of motion and published Principia Mathematica
Kepler – discovered that the planets move in elliptical, oval, orbits around the sun
Bacon & Descartes – developed the scientific method
Henry the Navigator – created a Portuguese school of navigation; sponsored many voyages
Vasco da Gama – sailed around the southern tip of Africa; found a direct route to India
Columbus – attempted to sail west across the Atlantic to get to China
Magellan – first to circumnavigate the globe
Sir Francis Drake – English privateer; stole from the Spanish; second to circumnavigate the globe
Locke – taught that people were born with natural rights; life, liberty, property
Voltaire – believed people had the right to say what they want; separation of church and government;
and no censorship
Montesquieu – stated that government should be divided into separate branches
Rousseau – taught the idea of popular sovereignty and a “social contract”
Diderot – edited the encyclopedia
Adam Smith – father of modern economics
Mary Wollstonecraft – English writer that claimed that women should have the same rights as men
Define the following:
Circumnavigate – to go all the way around the globe
Columbian Exchange – the transfer of plants, animals, and ideas from the Old World to the New
World
Mercantilism – system in which a government controls all economic activity in its country and its
colonies to make its government stronger and richer
Salon – a place to meet and discuss new ideas during the Enlightenment
Divine right – the belief that God gave you the right to rule
Scientific method – the step-by-step process used to perform experiments & other scientific research
Spanish Armada – the large naval fleet of Spain
Market economy – where individuals decide what goods to buy and sell
Multiple Choice questions:
1. What fears did church officials have about the new scientific claims that were being made
known? Church officials feared that science might lead to people to doubt key elements of their faith,
undermining the church’s influence.
2. How did the church respond to Galileo’s scientific claims? They put him under house arrest and
tortured him.
3. What discoveries did Galileo make while studying outer space? Phases of Venus, moons of Jupiter,
the Moon was covered in craters, sunspots
4. What did people think was the center of the universe for nearly 2000 years? The Earth
5. What early Greek thinker influenced the Scientific Revolution the most? Ptolemy
6. According to the policy of mercantilism, what was the main purpose of the colonies? To help the
ruling country have a favorable balance of trade
7. What event was most responsible for the Scientific Revolution? The Renaissance
8. The period of history known as the Enlightenment, grew out of what 4 eras? Greek and Roman
philosophers, Christianity, Renaissance and Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution
9.What view did the political thinkers of the Enlightenment share with the scientists of the
Scientific Revolution? a belief in reason
10. Enlightened despots believed in what new ways of running their country? They tried to make
life better for the commoners and believed they could make the country stronger if the commoners were
happier.
11. What earlier document in English history contained the idea that a king’s rule is limited?
Magna Carta
12. In what “world” did horses originate? New World
13. Name 3 plants that came from the New World. Maize, cocoa, and tomatoes
14. Which Enlightenment thinker had the greatest impact on the United States Constitution?
Montesquieu
15. What European ruler would be considered an enlightened despot? Catherine the Great of
Russia
0
