Packet: Exploration and Columbian Exchange
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A Module: Causes of European Exploration
Objective 1: Why did Europeans want to explore the world in the late 1400s?
Cause #1: Interest in the East
1 Why were Europeans interested in exploring Asia? (p.1)
Cause #2: Ottoman Influence and Pricey Spices
2. In the Middle Ages, why was the relationship with the Byzantine Empire important for Western
Europeans? (p.2)
3. What effect did the expansion of the Ottoman Empire have on trade between Western Europe and
Asia? (p.3)
4. Why were spices so expensive in Western Europe? (p.4)
5. If you lived Western Europe and wanted spices for less money, what would you do? (p.4)
Cause #3: Religious Zeal
6. Why was “religious zeal” one of the causes for European exploration? (p.5)
Cause #4: Mercantilism
7. If you were an absolute monarch who followed the theory of mercantilism, what steps would you take
to make your kingdom wealthier and more powerful? (p.6)
8. Why did the theory mercantilism motivate European monarchs to sponsor explorers? (p.6)
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9. Short Answer: Causes of Exploration
A. In 5-7 sentences explain the most important cause of European exploration.
B. In 5-7 sentences explain in your own words why another cause is less important.
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Objective 2: How did new technological advances impact European exploration and transoceanic trade
routes?
10. What technology and knowledge did the Spanish need to get to Tenochtitlan? (p.8)
11. Based on the image to the left, what technology and knowledge did the Spanish need to defeat the
Aztecs? (p.8)
12. What is a caravel? How did it impact European exploration and transoceanic trade routes? (p.9)
13. What is a compass? How did it impact European exploration and transoceanic trade routes? (p.10)
14. How did portolani impact European exploration and transoceanic trade routes? (p.11)
15. Complete the following short answer question on the next page:
The astrolabe was the most important innovation that impacted European exploration.
A. Give evidence to support this statement.
B. Give evidence to refute this statement.
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B. Document: Conquest of the Oceans
Answer the questions as you read each document on pages 37-53
Document A: Zheng He
1 Who authorized the voyage?
2. What is the purpose of the voyage?
3. How was the voyage paid for?
4. What human and material resources did the voyage have?
5. What were the voyagers attitudes towards the people they met?
6. What human and other problems did they meet?
7. Who benefited the most from the voyage?
Document B: Prince Henry the Navigator
1 Who authorized the voyage?
2. What is the purpose of the voyage?
3. How was the voyage paid for?
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4. What human and material resources did the voyage have?
5. What were the voyagers attitudes towards the people they met?
6. What human and other problems did they meet?
7. Who benefited the most from the voyage?
Document C: Columbus
1 Who authorized the voyage?
2. What is the purpose of the voyage?
3. How was the voyage paid for?
4. What human and material resources did the voyage have?
5. What were the voyagers attitudes towards the people they met?
6. What human and other problems did they meet?
7. Who benefited the most from the voyage?
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Document D: Vasco da Gama
1 Who authorized the voyage?
2. What is the purpose of the voyage?
3. How was the voyage paid for?
4. What human and material resources did the voyage have?
5. What were the voyagers attitudes towards the people they met?
6. What human and other problems did they meet?
7. Who benefited the most from the voyage?
Document E: Magellan
1 Who authorized the voyage?
2. What is the purpose of the voyage?
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3. How was the voyage paid for?
4. What human and material resources did the voyage have?
5. What were the voyagers attitudes towards the people they met?
6. What human and other problems did they meet?
7. Who benefited the most from the voyage?
C: Module: Exploration in the Eastern Hemisphere
Objective 1: How did transoceanic trade routes impact trade networks in the Eastern Hemisphere?
1 What do you remember about the Indian Ocean Trade Network? (p. 1)
2. How did Portugal’s location contribute to its exploration in the 15th century? (p. 2)
3. Although he wasn’t an explorer, how did Prince Henry the Navigator contribute to Portuguese
exploration? (p.3)
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4. How did Dias and de Gama contribute to achieving the Portuguese goal of directly entering the Indian
Ocean Trade Network? (p.4)
5. Read the journal excerpt on p.6 and answer the following questions:
A Based on this excerpt, who was part of da Gama’s crew?
B. According to this document, why did da Gama and his crew come to Calicut?
C. Why did the “the Moor” describe the Portuguese voyage as “a lucy venture?”
D. What gifts did da Gama want to give the king?
6. Read the excerpt on p.7 and answer the following questions:
A How did “the Moor, his factor, and the bale” react to the gifts? Why did they react in that
way?
B. According to the document, what questions did the king ask da Gama?
C. What do these questions suggest about the king’s motivations for meeting with the
Portuguese?
D. Is this a reliable account? Why or why not?
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Watch the Crash Course link and read the excerpt on p.8 to answer the following questions:
7. Why did the Portuguese not create colonies in the Indian Ocean region?
8. Why were the Portuguese able to conquer and control coastal cities?
9. What was the “cartaz strategy?”
10. What effect did the Portuguese have on Indian Ocean Trade?
Watch the video that is linked on p.9 and answer the following questions:
11. Why would it have been risky for one person to finance the establishment of a whole colony?
12. In your own words, explain what a joint-stock company is.
13. What were the advantages of financing a colony through a joint-stock company over one individual
funding the whole thing?
Watch the video link and read the excerpt on p.10 to answer the following questions:
14. What goods were the Dutch interested in from the East Indies?
15. What did the Dutch build in the cities they controlled in Asia?
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16. Where did the Dutch have control in Asia?
17. What methods did the Dutch East India Company use to control trade in Indonesia?
Watch the video and read the excerpt on p.11-12 to answer the following questions:
18. What was the original purpose of the British East India Company?
19. How did the British gain the favor of the Mughal emperor, Jahangir?
20. How did the powers granted by King Charles II differ from the original purpose of the British East
India Company?
21. Based on what you have watched and read, predict what might happen between the British and the
Indians in the future.
D. Crash Course Video: The Columbian Exchange - Answer the following questions as you watch
the video:
1 Why could we not talk about “world history” before 1492?
2. Describe the impacts that occurred due to the exchanges of disease on both the Americas and Europe.
Packet: Exploration and Columbian Exchange
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3. Describe the impacts that occurred due to the exchanges of animals on both the Americas and Europe.
4. Describe the impacts that occurred due to the exchange of plants on both the Americas and Europe.
5. Explain the impacts on population that occurred worldwide due to the Columbian Exchange.
Packet: Exploration and Columbian Exchange
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E. Document Set: Impact of the Columbian Exchange
Fill out the following chart as you read the documents. To receive full credit you must cite the document
after you put the information in.
What was the worldwide impact of the Columbian Exchange?
Impact on the Americas
Impact on Europe
Impact on Asia
Impact on Africa
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