7th Grade UBD - Unit 7 – The Americas

Technology Allows Exploration- Between 1100 CE and 1400 CE
new technologies emerged which helped sailors sail farther from
land.

Christopher Columbus- An explorer, colonizer, and navigator who
made four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, leading to
widespread awareness of the Americas.

Ferdinand Magellan- Tried to circumnavigate the world. His crew
proved once and for all that what Columbus had discovered was
indeed a new world.

Early sailors were limited by what they could see. If they traveled
out into the open ocean away from land they would get lost. They
used landmarks along the coast to help them navigate.

The final invention that allowed sailors to travel further from
home was that of the triangle-shaped sail. This new type of sail
allowed ships to harness the power of the wind to travel in any
direction.

Between 1100 CE and 1400 CE new technologies emerged which
helped sailors sail farther.

During the Age of Exploration
Europe had a population of
about 60 million people.

Europeans at this time had
little contact with outsiders.

Most Europeans did not
venture beyond the safe and
familiar boundaries of their
isolated world.

Those few who were
ambitious enough to seek new
experiences in strange places
faced discouraging obstacles.

Small slow ships took two
months just to travel from one
end of the Mediterranean Sea
to the other.

Travel over land, even more
difficult and time-consuming.

Early sailors were limited
by what they could see. If
they traveled out into the
open ocean away from
land they would get lost.

Early sailors used
landmarks along the
coast to help them
navigate.

Between 1100 CE and 1400 CE
new technologies emerged which
helped early sailors.

The astrolabe helped sailors
measure objects in the sky such
as stars, planets, the moon and
sun. After measurements were
taken, the use of star charts then
helped sailors to determine their
location.

The compass was another
invention that helped sailors
to determine what direction
they were traveling.

Maps also began to
improve. For centuries the
maps used by travelers had
been very inaccurate.

By 1400s map makers
began to use grid
lines known as
latitude and
longitude to help
travelers measure
and determine where
they were.

Up until the 1400s ships had been
equipped with square-shaped
sails.

These sails only allowed explorers
to travel in the same direction that
the wind was blowing.

If the wind stopped blowing in the
right direction, they had to either
paddle or wait for the wind.

The Portuguese developed a
new type of ship called a
Caravel.

The Caravel had a center
mounted rudder and a
triangle-shaped sail that
made it very fast and
maneuverable.

The triangle-shaped sail
allowed ships to harness
the power of the wind
to travel in any
direction, and not just in
the direction that the
wind was blowing.
Reading Handout- Traders, Explorers, and Colonists
Video- Modern Marvels- Super Ships
Key Term
Compass - An
instrument whose
magnetized metal
needle aligns itself
with the magnetic
fields of the earth.
This causes one end
of the needle to
point north.
Key Term
Navigate- To
direct or
manage a
ship on its
course.
Key Term
Astrolabe – A tool
used by navigators
in the 1400s and
1500s to determine
a ship’s position by
charting the
position of the
stars.
Key Term
Caravel– A
small
Portuguese
ship that is very
fast and
maneuverable.
Video- How Math Guides Ships
Key Term
Christopher
Columbus-An
Italian navigator
who discovered
the New World in
the service of
Spain.

Explorer, colonizer, and navigator who made four voyages across
the Atlantic Ocean, leading to widespread awareness of the
Americas.

His expeditions began the first enduring European exploration and
colonization of the Americas.

Tried to reach the East Indies by sailing west from Spain, with
support from the Spanish monarchy looking for trade advantage.

Called the inhabitants of the places he visited “ Indians,” never
admitting that he had found a continent previously unknown.

Thought that Asia was
much closer to Europe
than it was.

Would become Governor
of any lands discovered.

Keep ten percent of all
wealth discovered.

Three ships:
 the Niña, the Pinta, and the
Santa Maria.

A crew of about 90 men and
boys.

Set sail from Spain on Aug 3,
1492.

Landed in the Bahamas on Oct.
12, 1492.

Columbus was certain
that he had succeeded
in reaching Asia, so he
wrote a letter to King
Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella declaring his
voyage a success.

Ferdinand and Isabella were very
excited when they heard
Columbus’s news.

They were even more pleased
when he appeared before them
with gold as well as six natives
whom Columbus planned to
teach Spanish and use as
interpreters on later voyages.

Isabella believed that
Columbus should convert,
or change the religious
beliefs of the natives so
they could also serve as
missionaries on future
voyages.
Key Term
Missionary - A
person who
teaches his or her
religion to others
who have
different beliefs
and attempts to
convert them.

Columbus began
preparing almost
immediately for a
second voyage across
the Atlantic Ocean, this
one with a much larger
fleet.

Between 1493 and 1504, Columbus made three more trips to the
Americas.

On his second voyage he found that the men he had left had all been
killed by the Indians. Apparently, as soon as Columbus left, the
Spanish had begun to quarrel and fight among themselves. They had
made no common effort to build a lasting community. Bands of
Spanish thieves roved the countryside, plundering native villages.
They forced the Indians to hunt for gold and took women as their
prisoners. The Indians defend themselves and killed the Spanish
intruders.

Columbus never found the gold and jewels he had
expected. Apart from his hunt for wealth, his mission
was to convert the natives to Christianity.

The idea that the Indians might have a right to
determine their own way of life and to govern
themselves never occurred to him.

In 1500 Columbus was sent
back to Spain and was
removed as governor of
the Indies.

In the end, he retained
only empty honors. Sick,
disappointed, and ignored,
he died in Spain in 1506.
1.
Why did Christopher Columbus want to sail
the Atlantic Ocean?
2.
How did Europeans respond to news of
Columbus’s first voyage?
3.
Do you think Columbus’s voyages were a
success or a failure? Explain your answer.
Why did Christopher Columbus want to sail the Atlantic Ocean?
1.

He wanted to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to find a sea route to Asia.
Would become Governor of any lands discovered and would keep ten
percent of all wealth discovered.
How did Europeans respond to news of Columbus’s first
2.
voyage?

Ferdinand and Isabella were excited and pleased.
Do you think Columbus’s voyages were a success or a failure?
3.
Explain your answer.

Student answers will vary.
Video- Columbus Day
Reading Activity- Eyewitness to History 18

The promise of wealth,
knowledge, and adventure
lured other explorers like
Columbus to take to the seas.

Like Columbus, they explored
for foreign countries
searching for a western water
route to Asia

Started his main voyage in 1519 leaving from
Portugal.

Attempted to become the first person to
circumnavigate the world.

In 1521 while in the Philippines, Magellan was killed
while trying to circumnavigate the world.

His crew still completed the voyage around the
world.
Key Term
CircumnavigateTo go completely
around the world.
Key Term
Ferdinand MagellanA Portuguese
navigator in the
service of Spain,
attempted to
circumnavigate the
world.
Video-Ballad of Magellan

As a young man, Magellan fought as a soldier while
Portugal seized different colonies in India and Africa.

Magellan believed he could make it to the Spice Islands
by finding a water route around South America.

He convinced the King of Spain to support him by telling
him that part of the Spice Islands were in Spanish
territory.

In 1519, he set sail from,
Spain in an effort to sail
around the world.

After Magellan and his 260
men and five ships reached
South America, they began
looking for a way through the
continent to the other side.

As Magellan traveled
through the Pacific
Ocean, one of his ships
became separated and
was forced to return to
Spain. Another ship
crashed on a rocky
island.

By the time Magellan and his ships
reached the Philippines in Asia, the
sailors had spent 18 long months at
sea.

Then, during a battle there, Magellan
and several crew members were killed.

Only one boat and 18 crew members
succeeded in sailing completely
around, the world.

Magellan’s crew was the first
to circumnavigate the world.

They proved once and for all
that what Columbus had
discovered was indeed a new
world.

They also discovered just
how large the Earth really
was.
Reading Activity- Eyewitness to History 19
1.
Where is the passage way known as the Strait of
Magellan?
2.
Imagine that you are a survivors of Magellan’s
voyage. Write five questions that you will ask about
the importance of their journey. Then write answers
that you imagine the crew would give, using
information found in the PowerPoint.
Where is the passage way known as the Strait of Magellan?
1.

It lies near the southern tip of South America.
Imagine that you are a survivors of Magellan’s voyage.
2.
Write five questions that you will ask about the importance
of their journey. Then write answers that you imagine the
crew would give, using information found in the
PowerPoint.

Student answers will vary.

What has been the
“muddiest” point so far in
this lesson? That is, what
topic remains the least
clear to you? (4 minutes)

Work with a
neighbor and
compare your
muddiest point with
theirs. Compare
what things are the
same and what
things are different?
(3 minutes)