1. Europe
Of the seven continents, is Europe the LARGEST or SMALLEST?
SMALLEST
Did chocolate go TO or come FROM the Americas?
Chocolate came FROM the Americas.
(The cocoa bean made a bitter drink for Aztec kings)
The Niger River was (and is) important to the nations of West Africa because they are nearby the world’s largest __________, known as the Sahara.
Desert
Name ONE of the three major American empires before the arrival of Columbus.
Aztec, Maya, Inca
Which country in southern North America is named for the native Mexica tribe, first conquered by the Aztec?
MEXICO, of course!
Prince Henry the Navigator of __________ sponsored expeditions south to West Africa & learning about astronomy during the Renaissance.
PORTUGAL or GERMANY ?
Portugal
Did smallpox go TO or come FROM the Americas?
Smallpox went TO the Americas from Europe!
(and caused a devastating epidemic in the Native American populations that helped Europeans defeat their empires)
Which transaction made Ghana, Mali, and Songhai rich enough to afford armies and libraries?
Trade! along the Niger River
TRUE or FALSE: Spanish conquistadors gave the leaders of the Aztec & Inca empires comfortable retirements in the Bahamas.
FALSE - the Aztec & Inca emperors were killed by Cortes & Pizarro respectively
Native American peoples developed many kinds of food, including THIS GRAIN (known as maize), used to make tortillas & polenta among other foods.
CORN
FUN FACT: Corn has been so domesticated that it cannot grow on its own!
Name ONE of the three main motivations behind European exploration of the rest of the world.
(Naming all three earns triple Extra Credit points, but you have to get all three, not just two)
god, gold, & glory
The Columbian Exchange, the country of Colombia in South America, and the city of Columbus, Ohio are all named after which Italian explorer?
Christopher Columbus
The ancient kingdom of Ghana was eventually taken over by followers of which religion, begun by the prophet Muhammad?
This religion later became the dominant faith of West Africa, including later kingdoms of Mali & Songhai.
Islam
(Muslims are followers of Islam, Islam is the name of the religion itself)
Spain named their new expansion into the Americas _______________ after the ‘mother country’ in Europe.
New Spain
Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incan Empire in the early 1500s, located along the Andes Mountains in North or South America?
SOUTH AMERICA
The ___________, from Scandinavia in northern Europe, were the first Europeans to arrive in the Americas in 1000 but did NOT stay for long.
HINT: There is an NFL team named for them.
Vikings
How many expeditions did Christopher Columbus himself make to the Islands of Hispaniola?
FOUR trips
King Mansa Musa of Mali
The Line of Demarcation was established by the head of the Catholic Church, known as the _________.
POPE.
NOTE: This religious leader in 1492 happened to be Spanish in nationality, and helped the Spanish queen acquire the New World to pay her back for helping him get elected.
Among their many inventions, the Mayans created a complex ___________ to manage their yearly planting and harvesting of crops.
CALENDAR
The Mayan calendar reset in 2012, which supposedly predicted the end of the world.
Europe’s exploration and inventions were inspired by new ideas during the Renaissance, a word that means _______________.
‘rebirth’
Which ocean, on the east coast of the Americas and west coast of Europe, did Columbus sail across to complete his journey(s)?
Atlantic Ocean
Vasco de Gama, a Portuguese explorer, is famous for his expedition AROUND the Cape of Good Hope in _____________ Africa to India.
(looking for a cardinal direction)
southern
Queen Isabela of Castile married King Ferdinand of Aragon to create the European kingdom of __________, which sent Columbus on his wild expedition to the New World.
Spain
The continents of North and South America were named for America Vespucci, whose birth country was…
Italy