Study Guide for Social Studies Test
Searching Sea Routes – Columbus’ Voyages
PEOPLE
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Bartolomeu Dias - from Portugal; sailed around the tip of Africa (Cape of Good Hope) and searched
for water routes to Asia…did not reach Asia
Vasco Da Gama - from Portugal. Found an all-water route to Asia around the Cape of Good Hope
King Ferdinand - The Spanish monarch who financed Columbus’ journey
Queen Isabella - The Spanish Queen married to King Ferdinand
Christopher Columbus - An explorer from Genoa, Italy who sailed westward off the coast of Aftica
across the Atlantic Ocean to find a route to Asia (the Indies)
Ptolemy - a famous Greek Astronomer-geographer-mathematician who drew the original map that gave
Columbus his ideas about how the world looked and the size of the Earth
Taino - The peaceful Native American tribe that Columbus met when he landed in the West Indies
Prince Henry – A Renaissance thinker known as Henry the Navigator, he was eager to find an all-water
route to Asia and to learn about the ocean and what was out there. He sent Portuguese ships down the
coast of Africa and sponsored Portuguese expeditions
Howard Zinn – an author who wrote a very negative view of Columbus
Samuel Eliot Morison – an author who wrote a very positive view of Columbus
PLACES
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Portugal - European country bordering Spain on the Iberian Peninsula. Led the way to overseas
exploration in this era
Lisbon - the capitol of Portugal on the Portugal Atlantic coast
San Salvador – The island where Columbus landed and met simple and honest people
Hispaniola – The Caribbean Island in the Bahamas where Columbus found gold
TERMS
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Monopoly - one person or company has full control of a product with no competition
Caravel (Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria) a double rigged ship that made it possible for ships to sail into the
wind and have the wind at their back
Astrolabe – a tool to assist in finding your location while at sea
Columbian Exchange - Old World to New World – horses, cattle, pigs. New World to Old World –
potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco
Subjugate – forced obedience
Antiquity – ancient times –before the Middle Ages
Mariner – sailor
Navigator – a person who planned and controlled the course of ships
Latitude – lines that run horizontally (from east to west) across the glove
Longitude 0 lines that fun vertically (up and down or north to south) on a globe
CONCEPTS
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Reasons European monarchs and merchants funded exploration – for riches (gold) and spices and to be
part of the trade competition. In some cases to spread Christianity
Impact of DaGama’s discovery – finding an all water route to Asia stopped the Italian monopoly on
trade, and travelling by sea was far safer that dangerous travel by land
Columbus’ voyages – PURPOSE – to find gold and riches for King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.
RELIGION – King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella wanted to spread Christianity IMPACT ON NATIVE
AMERICANS – negative impact as they often subjugated and/or killed them. They took their gifts and
introduced many European diseases that the natives had no immunity to causing them to die