Exploration basics
What were the three G's that motivated European exploration?
Gold, God, and Glory.
Which European country sponsored Christopher Columbus's first voyage in 1492?
Spain.
Which group of European sailors reached North America hundreds of years before Columbus?
The Vikings (Norse explorers).
Which country sponsored John Cabot's voyage in 1497?
England.
Who were the first Europeans to reach North America?
What was the name of the trade route that connected Europe and Asia and helped spread valuable goods and ideas?
The Silk Road.
Which Portuguese explorer sailed around the southern tip of Africa in 1488?
Bartolomeu Dias.
Which explorer's voyages helped Europeans recognize that the lands across the Atlantic were not Asia?
Amerigo Vespucci.
Which river did Jacques Cartier explore that later became important to French settlement and trade?
The St. Lawrence River.
Why did Indigenous knowledge and assistance matter to European explorers?
Indigenous peoples shared knowledge of waterways, geography, food, trade networks, and survival techniques.
What was the Northwest Passage?
A hoped-for water route through North America to Asia.
How did Vasco da Gama's voyage build on Bartolomeu Dias's earlier expedition?
Dias rounded southern Africa; da Gama continued around Africa and reached India by sea.
What was the major difference between the expeditions of Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro?
Cortés conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico; Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire in South America.
What did John Cabot, and Henry Hudson have in common?
They both explored for England and contributed to English efforts to find routes or opportunities in the North Atlantic, including searches for a passage toward Asia.
How did European exploration eventually contribute to the creation of the 13 English colonies?
Exploration gave England geographic knowledge and territorial claims that helped encourage later settlement and colonization.
How did the compass, astrolabe, and caravel make exploration easier?
They helped sailors navigate, determine position, and travel more effectively across oceans.
How were Columbus's and da Gama's goals similar, and how were their results different?
Both sought sea routes to Asian trade. Da Gama reached India by sailing around Africa; Columbus crossed the Atlantic and reached the Caribbean.
How did the expeditions of Coronado and de Soto expand Spanish knowledge of North America?
Coronado traveled through the Southwest and saw the Grand Canyon; de Soto explored the Southeast and crossed the Mississippi River.
How did the expeditions of Marquette and Jolliet and La Salle help expand French claims in North America?
Marquette and Jolliet explored part of the Mississippi in 1673; La Salle traveled to its mouth in 1682 and claimed the Mississippi basin for France.
How could an expedition fail to achieve its original goal but still benefit its sponsoring country?
Explorers might fail to reach Asia but identify new trade opportunities, waterways, resources, fishing grounds, or lands for future claims.
Why did European kingdoms compete to explore and claim overseas territories?
To gain wealth, trade routes, resources, religious influence, and political power over rival kingdoms.
Why did Portugal focus on sailing around Africa while Spain supported Columbus's westward route?
Both wanted access to Asian trade, but Portugal developed the route around Africa while Spain pursued a competing westward route.
Why did Spanish conquistadors succeed in conquering powerful Indigenous empires despite often having fewer soldiers?
They benefited from trickery, weapons and horses, political divisions, and devastating diseases.
How did France's approach to North America differ from Spain's conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires?
France emphasized waterways, fur trade, alliances, and settlements, while Spain's conquests focused heavily on controlling territory, people, and wealth. Both also sought power and religious influence.
Which had a greater long-term impact on North America: the search for Asian trade routes or the competition among European countries? Defend your answer with two historical examples.
Answers vary. Strong responses might use Cabot's English claims, French expansion along the Mississippi, Spanish conquests, or the growth of colonies to support an argument.