Exploration & Motives
Name one economic reason European states sought new routes and access to goods in the early 1400s.
Strong demand for Asian goods; pursuing profit; or seeking direct access to goods.
What term describes the transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres?
The Columbian Exchange
What was humanism, a major idea associated with the Renaissance?
Humanism emphasized human potential.
What does the heliocentric theory say about the universe?
The Sun is at the center, and Earth revolves around it.
Which Enlightenment thinker argued that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property?
John Locke.
What are the “Three G’s” often used to describe European exploration’s motivations?
Gold, God, and Glory.
Name one crop that moved from the Americas to Afro-Eurasia and one animal that Europeans brought to the Americas.
American crops include tomatoes, potatoes, corn, or cocoa; introduced animals include horses, cattle, or pigs.
Name the reformer who posted the Ninety-Five Theses in 1517.
Martin Luther.
Which astronomer used telescope observations to support the heliocentric theory?
Galileo Galilei.
Which thinker promoted religious tolerance and free speech?
Voltaire
Identify one way Spain gained wealth in the Americas and one region where Portugal established a settlement.
Spain gained wealth through silver mining or sugar cultivation; Portugal settled Brazil.
What was mercantilism?
Mercantilism favored economic self-sufficiency, encouraging exports and discouraging imports.
How did the Reformation change Christian religious authority in Europe?
New Protestant churches formed, and many reformers emphasized the Bible as religious authority
What approach to testing ideas became important during the Scientific Revolution?
Testing ideas through observation and experimentation.
What political principle did Montesquieu argue could help protect liberty?
Separation of powers.
Explain how controlling important sea routes and trade could increase a European nation’s power.
Control of routes could provide wealth from trade, strengthen a country’s influence, and give it an advantage over rivals.
Explain how epidemic disease affected Indigenous American populations and European settlers’ labor systems.
Diseases caused millions of deaths and major population shifts among Indigenous peoples. Population loss contributed to labor shortages, which settlers addressed through systems including the forced enslavement of Africans.
Identify one Renaissance figure from the materials and describe a contribution in art, literature, leadership, or invention.
Examples: Michelangelo created major sculptures and painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling;
Shakespeare wrote influential plays and sonnets;
Elizabeth I supported arts and education;
Leonardo da Vinci was an artist and inventor.
Why did Galileo’s observations challenge established beliefs?
Galileo’s telescope observations supported a Sun-centered model that challenged Church teaching and long-held views.
Explain Locke’s idea of a social contract between people and government.
Locke argued that government is an agreement with the people and should protect their natural rights.
Exploration could bring trade and wealth while also causing harm. Give one potential benefit and one harmful consequence described in the materials.
Benefits included expanded trade or access to new goods.
Harms included disease outbreaks, forced labor, enslavement, or the displacement and population loss of Indigenous communities.
How did American crops such as potatoes and maize affect populations and food systems in Afro-Eurasia?
Crops such as potatoes and maize could grow successfully in varied conditions and feed many people, contributing in some places to population growth and changing diets and agriculture.
Explain how Renaissance humanism and realism reflected changing views of human potential and artistic expression.
Renaissance artists valued realism and individuality, while humanism emphasized human potential and classical learning.
Explain how using observation and experimentation transformed the study of nature compared with relying on traditional beliefs.
Observation and experimentation provided ways to test claims with evidence rather than relying only on inherited authority or traditional explanations.
Compare one idea from Locke, Montesquieu, or Voltaire with a political principle used in modern democratic government
Examples: Locke’s natural rights influenced rights-based government;
Montesquieu’s separation of powers influenced divided government;
Voltaire’s defense of free speech and religious tolerance influenced protections for individual freedoms. Accept a comparison supported with a clear explanation.