Age of Exploration
What were the Three G's that motivated European exploration?
God, Gold, and Glory.
What were Spanish soldiers and explorers who conquered lands in the Americas called?
Conquistadors.
Name two foods introduced to Europe from the Americas.
Potatoes, corn, tomatoes, peppers, or peanuts.
When one country takes control of another land and establishes settlements there.
When one country takes control of another land and establishes settlements there.
What major event in 1492 helped increase sustained contact between Europe and the Americas?
Christopher Columbus's voyage across the Atlantic.
Which European country funded Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492?
Spain.
Which Spanish conquistador defeated the Aztec Empire?
Hernán Cortés.
What was the Columbian Exchange?
The movement of plants, animals, people, diseases, and ideas between the Old World and New World.
Which European country controlled Brazil and developed large sugar plantations?
Portugal.
What European technology helped ships sail more effectively against the wind?
The lateen sail.
Name two technologies that helped make long-distance ocean exploration possible.
Compass, caravel, lateen sail, or improved maps.
Which Spanish conquistador conquered the Inca Empire?
Francisco Pizarro.
Name two animals Europeans introduced to the Americas.
Horses, cattle, pigs, or sheep.
Name three major consequences of European colonization for Indigenous peoples.
Loss of land, forced labor, disease, loss of political independence, or changes to traditional religion and culture.
What two major problems had weakened the Inca Empire before Francisco Pizarro's conquest?
Civil war and disease.
How did Prince Henry the Navigator, Bartolomeu Dias, and Vasco da Gama contribute to Portuguese exploration?
Prince Henry supported exploration and navigation, Dias sailed around the southern tip of Africa, and da Gama reached India by sea.
Name three advantages that helped the Spanish defeat powerful Indigenous empires.
Weapons and armor, horses, Indigenous allies, European diseases, or political divisions
Why were diseases such as smallpox especially devastating to Indigenous populations?
Indigenous peoples had little or no previous exposure to many European diseases, which spread rapidly and killed millions.
Why did European colonies increasingly rely on enslaved Africans for labor?
Colonies needed large numbers of workers for farms, mines, and plantations. As Indigenous populations declined, Europeans increasingly relied on the forced labor of enslaved Africans.
How did the introduction of horses change life for some Indigenous peoples in the Americas?
Horses made travel, hunting, and transportation easier for some Indigenous communities.
Why were European countries interested in finding new sea routes to Asia, and how did this motivation lead to exploration?
Asian goods like spices and silk were valuable, but existing trade routes were expensive. Europeans explored the oceans to establish more direct trade routes and increase profits.
How were Cortés's conquest of the Aztec Empire and Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire similar?
Both conquered powerful Indigenous empires despite having relatively small Spanish forces. They benefited from diseases and divisions within Indigenous societies, along with military advantages.
Explain one positive and one negative consequence of the Columbian Exchange.
New crops increased food supplies, while European diseases devastated Indigenous populations. Other supported examples include changes to farming and transportation or the forced movement of enslaved Africans.
How did European colonization contribute to the growth of a global economy?
Colonization connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas through trade. Colonies supplied resources such as sugar, tobacco, cotton, gold, and silver, increasing European wealth and trade.
How did European exploration eventually lead to the loss of political independence for many Indigenous peoples?
Exploration increased contact with the Americas, leading to conquest and colonization. European powers took control of Indigenous lands, established colonies, and replaced or weakened existing political authority.