The Three G's
This "G" represents the desire of European monarchs to expand their empires and gain international prestige.
What is Glory?
This invention used a magnetized needle to help sailors determine the direction of North.
What is the Magnetic Compass?
This Italian explorer, sailing for Spain, landed in the Caribbean in 1492 while searching for a route to Asia.
Who is Christopher Columbus?
This unintentional "export" from Europe caused a massive population decline among Native Americans.
What is Disease (Smallpox/Measles)?
This term describes the forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas.
What is the Middle Passage?
This economic system encouraged nations to export more than they import to increase their supply of precious metals.
What is Mercantilism?
This fast, lightweight ship used triangular sails to sail effectively against the wind.
What is the Caravel?
He was the first European to reach India by sea, traveling around the tip of Africa.
Who is Vasco da Gama?
This high-calorie crop from the Americas became a staple in the European diet, leading to population growth.
What is the Potato (or Corn/Maize)?
This religious group settled in New England to escape persecution and practice their faith freely.
Who are the Puritans (or Pilgrims)?
This "G" refers to the motive of spreading Christianity to indigenous populations in the New World.
What is God?
Sailors used this tool to measure the angle of the sun or stars to determine their latitude.
What is the Astrolabe?
Though he died in the Philippines, his crew was the first to successfully sail all the way around the world.
Who is Ferdinand Magellan?
This animal, brought by Europeans, revolutionized the way many Native American tribes hunted and traveled.
What is the Horse?
This religious order was known for traveling with explorers to establish schools and convert people to Catholicism.
Who are the Jesuits?
Explorers sought this "G" specifically to bypass the high prices set by Italian and Muslim traders for Asian spices.
What is Gold (or Wealth/Economy)?
These triangular sails, borrowed from Arabic designs, allowed ships to "tack" or sail into the wind.
What are Lateen sails?
This French explorer claimed parts of Canada for France after exploring the St. Lawrence River.
Who is Jacques Cartier?
The "Old World" refers to these three continents involved in the exchange.
What are Europe, Africa, and Asia?
Because of the death of native populations from disease, Europeans turned to this continent to provide a labor force.
What is Africa?
This was the primary reason the Spanish established the "Mission System" in the Americas.
What is to convert Native Americans to Catholicism and teach them Spanish culture?
This Portuguese leader never explored himself, but he funded the school that perfected these new technologies.
Who is Prince Henry the Navigator?
This Portuguese explorer was the first to reach the southern tip of Africa (the Cape of Good Hope) in 1488.
Who is Bartolomeu Dias?
This specific cash crop, grown on large plantations in the Caribbean, drove the massive demand for enslaved labor.
What is Sugar (or Sugarcane)?
This is the term for sailing completely around the world.
What is Circumnavigation?