Trade & Globalization
This major trade network connected China with Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
Silk Road
This motivation represented the search for wealth and valuable resources.
Gold
Columbus reached the Americas in this year.
1492
This European colony relied heavily on gold and silver mining and sugar plantations.
New Spain
This system involved trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
Triangular Trade
This term means the spread of ideas, beliefs, technology, and customs between cultures.
Cultural diffusion
This motivation involved spreading Christianity.
God
Columbus originally believed he could reach this region by sailing west.
The Indies / Asia
This colony relied heavily on the fur trade and had a relatively small population.
New France
This was the forced journey of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic.
Middle Passage
This Venetian traveler became famous for accounts of his travels in Asia.
Marco Polo
This motivation represented national power, competition, territory, and fame.
Glory
In 1492, Spain had just defeated the last Muslim-controlled city in its territory before supporting Columbus's voyage. What major change had occurred in Spain?
Spain had become newly unified under Christian rule / defeated the last Muslim city in Spanish territory
Tobacco plantations were especially important to this part of British North America.
The Southern colonies / Virginia
This economic idea said colonies should provide resources and wealth for the mother country.
Mercantilism
This Moroccan traveler journeyed across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East and recorded his travels.
Ibn Battuta
Spain's desire for gold and other resources contributed to this major effect on Indigenous societies.
Conflict, exploitation, and major population loss
Historians call 1492 a turning point because it began lasting contact between these two previously separated regions.
Europe and the Americas
These British settlements were built around family farms, towns, religion, and family life rather than large plantations.
New England colonies
This Spanish labor system forced many Indigenous people to work for Spanish colonists.
Encomienda system
This Chinese admiral commanded large treasure fleets that traveled through the Indian Ocean.
Zheng He
European countries competed for land, trade routes, precious metals, and other resources. This competition often caused this between European powers.
Conflict and rivalry
Columbus's journal is useful because it gives historians evidence about his motivations and this — the way he viewed events.
Point of view / perspective
Of Spain, France, and Britain, this country generally depended most heavily on trade and cooperation with Indigenous peoples in North America.
France
By extracting wealth and resources from the Americas for Spanish benefit, systems such as encomienda created this type of relationship between colonies and Spain.
Economic dependency