Why Explore?
Explorers & Voyages
Conquest & Empires
People, Products, & Exchange
Colonies & New Routes
100

What religious wars increased European trade with and curiosity about Asia?

  • 100: The Crusades
100

Which Italian explorer sailing for Spain reached the Americas in 1492?

  • 100: Christopher Columbus
100

What was Spain's empire in the Americas called?

  • 100: New Spain
100

What famous exchange moved foods, animals, and diseases between the Americas and the rest of the world?

  • 100: The Columbian Exchange
100

What passage through North America did England, France, and the Netherlands search for as a possible route to Asia?

  • 100: The Northwest Passage
200

What goal motivated European countries to look for a faster and cheaper sea route to Asia?

  • 200: Finding a direct sea route to Asia
200

Which Portuguese explorer was the first European to round the southern tip of Africa?

  • 200: Bartolomeu Dias
200

Which Spanish conquistador conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico?

  • 200: Hernán Cortés
200

What crop was grown on large plantations in Portuguese Brazil?

  • 200: Sugarcane
200

What French colony developed in North America?

  • 200: New France
300

What two countries were among the first European nations to send explorers in search of new sea routes?

  • 300: Portugal and Spain
300

Which Italian explorer sailing for Spain reached South America and gave his name to the Americas?

  • 300: Amerigo Vespucci
300

Which Spanish conquistador conquered the Inca Empire?

  • 300: Francisco Pizarro
300

What Portuguese prince established a school for navigation and encouraged exploration?

  • 300: Prince Henry the Navigator
300

What Dutch colony developed in North America?

  • 300: New Netherland
400

What economic activity helped European nations gain economic power?

  • 400: Trade
400

Which Spanish explorer became the first European to step onto the mainland of North America in present-day Florida?

  • 400: Ponce de León
400

In what South American country was Portugal's empire centered?

  • 400: Brazil
400

Which Spanish priest spoke out against the mistreatment of Native peoples in New Spain?

  • 400: Bartolomé de Las Casas
400

What happened to Native peoples when many Europeans arrived with unfamiliar diseases?

  • 400: Many Native peoples died from European diseases
500
What two developments helped explorers navigate the oceans and create more accurate maps?
  • 500: Improved navigation technology and scientific understanding
500
Which English explorer, sailing for the Dutch, traveled up the river that now bears his name while searching for the Northwest Passage?
  • 500: Henry Hudson
500
What was one major religious goal of the Spanish in the Americas?
  • 500: To convert Native peoples to Christianity
500
What three things were exchanged between the Americas and Europe, Africa, and Asia during the Columbian Exchange?
  • 500: Foods, animals, and diseases.

500


As Native populations declined, what group became the primary source of labor in many European colonies?


  • 500: Enslaved Africans
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