World History & Geography
Era 5: The Emergence of the First Global Age
WH1103
Eleventh Grade: World History and Geography
Unit 3: Era 5 - The Emergence of the First Global Age,
15th - 18th Centuries
Big Picture Graphic
Overarching Question:
How and to what effect did networks of exchange transform human societies?
Previous Unit:
Era 4: Expanding and
Intensified Hemispheric
Interactions,
300 to 1500 C.E.
This Unit:
Era 5: The Emergence of the
First Global Age,
15th to 18th Centuries
Next Unit:
Era 6: An Age of Global
Revolutions,
18th Century - 1914
Questions to Focus Assessment and Instruction:
1. How do the Eurasian empires in this era compare to those in earlier eras (e.g., China, Rome,
Mongol) in their systems of governance and capacity to unify their territories politically,
economically, and culturally?
2. How influential were internal factors (e.g., Renaissance, Reformation, demographic, economic,
and social changes) and factors external to Europe (e.g., decline of the Mughal empire and the
decreasing engagement of China and Japan) in increasing Europe’s global power?
3. How did growing trade, the spread of ideas, and technological developments result in the First
Global Age?
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Unit Abstract and Historical Overview
Essentially, historians see five significant developments during this era: (1) growth of trans-oceanic
contact by all major regions leading to global transformations; (2) expansion and consolidation of
Eurasian empires - “gunpowder empires” – that unified large areas of Afro-Eurasia; (3) growth of
new European state system and Atlantic-based economy; (4) the development of the Scientific
Revolution and the Enlightenment in Europe and the diffusion of their ideas to other parts of the
world; and (5) the increase of Europe’s political and economic power in relation to the rest of the
world.
This era marked the first truly global age in history because it initiated and organized ongoing
contact between all the hemispheres on the earth. Where before we could talk about “many
worlds” (i.e., Chinese, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, European, American), by the mid-18th
century it made sense to talk about a single world. The Iberian voyages across the Atlantic linking
Europe to the Americas and the voyages across the Pacific linking China to the Americas ushered
in an era of global interdependence with new zones of cultural and commercial exchange. These
new connections led to global exchanges of goods, ideas, foods, peoples, and germs. It is a
period when new scientific, philosophical, and cultural developments taking place in one part of the
world moved relatively quickly to other parts of the world. Central to these new links were the
expansion into and conquest of large sections of the Americas by European powers.
A second development during this era was the continued growth of empires throughout Eurasia
(e.g., Russia, China) and the simultaneous growth of a new system of nation-states in Europe.
Across the “old” world, five empires expanded and consolidated their power over the continent:
China, Russia, Mughal India, Safavid Iran, and the Ottoman Empire essentially controlled all of
Eurasia but the far western areas of Europe. In Western Europe, an emerging nation-state system
was marked by struggles between the states (e.g. France and Britain) and within states (e.g.
Glorious Revolution, revolts in Japan). The creation and expansion of this state system is
important in understanding both the changes within this era, and the subsequent growth of nationstates into the empires. Initially, European state building rested strongly on the idea of a divine
right of kings. Slowly the European Enlightenment called into question this foundational idea for
state legitimacy, replacing it with republican ideas that played important role in transforming the
governance structure of European states (England in this era, France in the next era). The
emerging ideas of nationalism, nation-state, and democratic citizenship played and continue to
play important roles.
Tightly tied to these major developments was the construction of an Atlantic economic system
developed initially on exchange of sugar, slaves and silver. Economic systems such as
mercantilism shaped policies and relationships with far reaching consequences. For example, by
the end of the era, a new set of global relationships had emerged as European states grew in
wealth and power, shifted foundational ideas from religion to science and reason, and significantly
expanded their global influence. Additionally, China continued to exert tremendous power –
resisting, for example, European incursions well into the 19th century. Conversely, Mughal India
was declining and by the end of the era was losing autonomy. While Europe’s growth was
dramatic during this era, China and other Asian economies remained influential. For example,
some historians estimate that at the end of the 18th century Asians were producing over threefourths of the world’s products. The sudden European wealth emerging from the new world
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Era 5: The Emergence of the First Global Age
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economy, conquest, and new political and economic ideas enabled Europe to move forcefully into
the world’s markets.
Suggested Organization for Era 5
Topics
Content Expectations
Duration
“Gunpowder” Empires
5.1.2; 5.3.1; 5.3.2; 5.3.3; 5.3.4
2 weeks
Europe in Transition
5.3.5; 6.1.5
2 weeks
A Growing Global Economy
5.1.1; 5.2.1; 5.2.2; 5.3.5; 5.3.6
2 weeks
Unit Assessment
Write a thesis paper using evidence from this era to formulate a response to the question: How did
growing trade, the spread of ideas, and technological developments result in the First Global Age?
Students should support their thesis with evidence based on the unit of study.
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Topic 1: “Gunpowder” Empires
Topic Abstract:
It is during this era that new large, land-based empires emerged and grew. They are referred to as
“gunpowder” empires because artillery and other firearms had wide social, political, and economic
consequences. Acquiring and maintaining such weapons required a highly developed government
and extensive wealth. These empires created a new system of trade, a new way of understanding
political structures, and also had a profound impact on the spread and synthesis of religions.
Students build upon their understanding of empires from previous units to develop more
sophisticated comparisons. By studying and comparing Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Ottoman,
Safavid, and Mughal empires, students examine the world one last time before the start of
European hegemony in this era. This is a critical point in the course as students see these empires
first unite groups of people, some of whom were nomadic groups, and then weaken and fall to
European dominance. By looking at each empire individually, then comparing them with each other
and with empires from previous eras, students speculate as to why these empires, like those
before them, could not last.
Focus Questions
1. Why do historians refer to the empires in this era as “gunpowder empires”?
2. How do the Eurasian empires in this era compare to those in earlier eras (e.g., China, Rome,
Mongol) in their systems of governance and capacity to unify their territories politically,
economically, and culturally?
3. Why did the “gunpowder” empires weaken?
Content Expectations
WHG 5.1.2: World Religions - Use historical and modern maps to analyze major territorial
transformations and movements of world religions including the expulsion of Muslims
and Jews from Spain, Christianity to the Americas, and Islam to Southeast Asia, and
evaluate the impact of these transformations/movements on the respective human
systems.
WHG 5.3.1: Ottoman Empire through the 18th Century - Analyze the major political, religious,
economic, and cultural transformations in the Ottoman Empire by
• using historical and modern maps to describe the empire’s origins (Turkic
migrations), geographic expansion, and contraction
• analyzing the impact of the Ottoman rule.
WHG 5.3.2: East Asia through the 18th Century - Analyze the major political, religious, economic,
and cultural transformations in East Asia by
• analyzing the major reasons for the continuity of Chinese society under the Ming
and Qing dynasties, including the role of Confucianism, the civil service, and
Chinese oceanic exploration
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analyzing the changes in Japanese society by describing the role of geography in
the development of Japan, the policies of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the
influence of China on Japanese society.
WHG 5.3.3: South Asia/India through the 18th Century - Analyze the global economic significance
of India and the role of foreign influence in the political, religious, cultural, and
economic transformations in India and South Asia including the Mughal Empire and
the beginnings of European contact.
WHG 5.3.4: Russia through the 18th Century - Analyze the major political, religious, economic,
and cultural transformations in Russia including
• Russian imperial expansion and top-down westernization/modernization
• the impact of its unique location relative to Europe and Asia
• the political and cultural influence (e.g., written language) of Byzantine Empire,
Mongol Empire, and Orthodox Christianity.
Key Concepts
empire
“gunpowder” empires
Duration
2 weeks
Lesson Sequence
Lesson 1: The Big Picture
Lesson 2: The Comparing Gunpowder Empires
Lesson 3: Comparing Empires
Lesson 4: An Emerging Japan
Assessment
Selected Response Items
Constructed Response Items
Extended Response Items
WHG 5.1.2
WHG 5.3.1
WHG 5.3.2
WHG 5.3.3
WHG 5.3.4
Write a 2-3 page analysis of the similarities and differences between
empires in this era and empires of previous eras (e.g., previous Chinese
dynasties, Rome, Mongol). After defining general characteristics of empires
from each era, students choose two empires (one from each era) to
compare and contrast by focusing on the political and military structures,
boundaries and geographical features, political and social structures, and
economic systems.
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Performance Assessments
WHG 5.1.2
WHG 5.3.1
WHG 5.3.2
WHG 5.3.3
WHG 5.3.4
Create a storyboard that includes visuals, maps, and a script for a
documentary about a gunpowder empire. The storyboard must include a
comparison of at least one aspect for each the other four empires in this era.
Additionally, each storyboard must describe the effects of religions on each
of the five empires.
Resources
Equipment/Manipulative
Chart paper
Computer with graphic organizer software such as Inspiration (optional)
Markers
Poster boards
World maps
Student Resource
Religion and Ethics – Islam: The Ottoman Empire. BBC Religion and Ethics. 10 Jan. 2008
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/ottomanempire_1.shtml>.
Religion and Ethics – Islam: The Mughal Empire. BBC Religion and Ethics. 10 Jan. 2008
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/mughalempire_1.shtml>.
World History for Us All, Big Era 6, Panoramic Unit. 10 January 2008
<http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/dev/units/six/panorama/Era06_pan.htm>. Click on
PowerPoint.
Teacher Resource
World History for Us All. Era 6. 2005. 22 January 2008
<http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/dev/eras/era6.htm>.
Resources for Further Professional Knowledge
Eastman, Lloyd. Family, Fields and Ancestors. NY: Oxford University Press. 1988.
Hodgson, Marshall G.S. The Venture of Islam, Conscience and History in a World Civilization
Volume 3, The Gunpowder Empires and Modern Times. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1975.
McNeill, William H. The Age of Gunpowder Empires 1450-1800. Washington, D.C.: American
Historical Association, 1989.
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Instructional Organization
Lesson 1: The Big Picture
Content Expectations: WHG 5.1.2; WHG 5.3.1; WHG 5.3.2; WHG5.3.3; WHG5.3.4
Key Concepts: empire, “gunpowder” empires
Abstract: Using copies of slides 30-35 from the PowerPoint to “Big Era 6, Panoramic Unit” at the
World History for Us All website,
http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/dev/units/six/panorama/Era06_pan.htm, introduce students to
this era. Then, have students work to add geographical features to the maps of the different time
periods. Working in small groups students document the changes to empires depicted on the
maps by creating a group timeline that includes the years of each empire’s existence. Next, explain
to students that historians sometimes refer to these empires as “gunpowder empires”. Ask
students to hypothesize what this might mean through a quick write. Discuss students’ responses
and then have them read a description of this terminology. Have students return to their groups to
add major religions to their maps indicating major territorial transformations and movements of
world religions. (Note: This should include the expulsion of Muslims and Jews from Spain,
Christianity to the Americas, and Islam to Southeast Asia.) Throughout the following lessons,
students will evaluate the impact of these transformations/movements on the respective human
systems.
Lesson 2: The Gunpowder Empires
Content Expectations: WHG 5.1.2; WHG 5.3.1; WHG 5.3.2; WHG5.3.3; WHG5.3.4
Key Concepts: empire, “gunpowder” empires
Abstract: In this lesson, students research a particular empire. Begin the lesson by constructing a
class questionnaire about the political and military structures, the boundaries and geography of the
empire, as well as religious and other social structures and economic systems. Divide students
into small groups and assign each group one of the five empires to research (e.g., Russian,
Chinese, Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal). The groups use the questionnaire to guide the research
on their empire. Students should be able to identify and explain important figures and events for
their empire during this era, including a comparison of the strength of the empire early in the era
compared with its relative power towards the end of the era.
Lesson 3: Comparing Empires
Content Expectations: WHG 5.1.2; WHG 5.3.1; WHG 5.3.2; WHG 5.3.3; WHG 5.3.4:
Key Concepts: empire, “gunpowder” empires
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Abstract: Using their research from Lesson 2, students share their findings with the class. During
the presentations, students should then take notes on each empire using the questionnaire created
in the previous lesson. Students then return to their “empire” group and create a graphic organizer
on large chart paper (or using technology such as Inspiration) to compare and contrast the empires
to post in the classroom or on the school website.
Lesson 4: An Emerging Japan
Content Expectations: WHG 5.3.2
Key Concepts: empire, “gunpowder” empires
Abstract: In this lesson students examine Japan’s emergence into the “modern” world. As a
homework assignment prior to this lesson, students answer the questionnaire developed in Lesson
2 for Japan. Students then engage in small group discussions comparing Japan to the other
empires studied in Lessons 2 and 3. It would be help to have each group consist of students who
investigated different empires (jigsaw the groups from Lessons 2 and 3). The lesson culminates
with a class discussion of the following questions: Why is Japan not considered one of the
gunpowder empires? Why do you think it developed differently than the other empires?
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Topic 2: Europe in Transition
Topic Abstract:
In this topic, students focus more closely on Europe. Few transitions are as critical to understand in
world history as the transformation Europe went through during this era. Students examine the
Renaissance, Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment, as well as the beginnings of
European exploration. By exploring primary sources such as the art and architecture of the
Renaissance, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, and the writings of Enlightenment thinkers, students
analyze Europe as a growing political, military, and intellectual force in the world. Students
consider conflicting historical arguments about the significance of internal and external factors on
European transformations. Some historians argue that the distinct character of the European
people produced a “European miracle,” whereas other historians argue that other world events
enabled Europe to step forward and expand. Internally, students consider the Renaissance, the
Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and development of Enlightenment ideas. They also
consider the external factors that may have contributed to Europe’s rise as a global power such as
the decline of the Mughal and Ottoman Empires and the self-isolation of Japan and China.
Throughout the topic, students gather evidence by identifying the major changes that occurred in
Europe, analyzing why these changes happened, and evaluating Europe’s changing role in the
world from the previous era. They use this evidence to construct and support an argument in this
authentic historical debate.
Focus Questions
1. How did secularism change the way many Europeans thought about themselves and the
world around them?
2. How influential were internal factors (e.g., Renaissance, Reformation, demographic,
economic, and social changes) and factors external to Europe (e.g., decline of the Mughal
empire and the decreasing engagement of China and Japan) in increasing Europe’s global
power?
Content Expectations
WHG 5.3.5: Europe through the 18th Century - Analyze the major political, religious, cultural, and
economic transformations in Europe by
• analyzing transformations in Europe’s state structure, including the rising military,
bureaucratic, and nationalist power of European states including absolutism
• analyzing how the Renaissance, Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and the
Enlightenment contributed to transformations in European society
(portions omitted).
WHG 6.1.5: Interpreting Europe’s Increasing Global Power – Describe Europe’s increasing global
power between 1500 and 1900, and evaluate the merits of the argument that this rise
was caused by factors internal to Europe (e.g., Renaissance, Reformation,
demographic, economic, and social change) or factors external to Europe (e.g.,
decline of the Mughal and Ottoman empires and the decreasing engagement of
China and Japan in global interactions).
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Key Concepts
absolutism
divine rights of kings
Enlightenment
“European miracle”
nation-state
Protestant Reformation/ Counter Reformation
Renaissance
revolution
science
Duration
2 weeks
Lesson Sequence
Lesson 1: Introducing the Topic Problem
Lesson 2: The Renaissance
Lesson 3: The Reformation and Counter-Reformation
Lesson 4: The Scientific Revolution
Lesson 5: Enlightenment Ideas and Absolute Governments
Assessment
Selected Response Items
Constructed Response Items
Extended Response Items
Performance Assessments
WHG 5.3.5
Students engage in a debate about which event studied in this topic had the
largest impact locally, regionally and globally.
WHG 5.3.5
WHG 6.1.5
Students write an analytical essay in which they compare two historians’
perspectives on Europe’s growth of power (“European miracle” or external
influences) and develop a reasoned answer to the question: How influential
were internal factors (e.g., Renaissance, Reformation, demographic,
economic, and social changes) and factors external to Europe (e.g., decline
of the Mughal empire and the decreasing engagement of China and Japan)
in increasing Europe’s global power? (Note: students return to this essay
and revise it in Topic 3.)
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Resources
Equipment/Manipulative
butcher or chart paper
markers
Student Resource
Renaissance: What Inspired this Age of Balance and Order? Annenberg Media. 10 January 2008
<http://www.learner.org/interactives/renaissance/index.html>.
Teacher Resource
Absolutism. The Internet History Sourcebooks Project. History Department Fordham University,
New York. 10 January 2008 <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook05.html>
Buck, David. "Was It Pluck or Luck that Made the West Grow Rich?" Journal of World History 10,
no. 2 (Fall 1999): 413–30. 22 January 2008
<http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/worldhistory/support/reading_18_3.pdf>.
Enlightenment. The Internet History Sourcebooks Project. History Department Fordham
University, New York. 10 January 2008
<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook10.html>.
The European Enlightenment. World Civilizations. 1999. 22 January 2008
<http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ENLIGHT/PREPHIL.HTM>.
Goucher, Candice, Charles LeGuin, and Linda Walton, In the Balance: Themes in World History
(Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1998). Selections from chapter 12, "Commerce and Change: The
Creation of a Global Economy and the Expansion of Europe." 22 January 2008
<http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/worldhistory/support/reading_18_1.pdf>.
Indulgences, Medieval Sourcebook, Paul Halsall, Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies.
22 January 2008 <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/lutherltr-indulgences.html>.
Luther’s letter to Pope Leo X criticizing indulgencies, Project Wittenberg. 22 January 2008
<http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/nine5-pope.txt>.
Martin Luther, The Pope Excommunicates Martin Luther, Papal Encyclicals Online. 22 January
2008 <http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Leo10/l10exdom.htm>.
Reformation Europe. The Internet History Sourcebooks Project. History Department Fordham
University, New York. 10 January 2008
<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook02.html>.
Ringmar, Erik. Audience for a Giraffe: European Expansionism and the Quest for the Exotic.
Journal of World History. 2006. 22 January 2008
<http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jwh/17.4/ringmar.html#FOOT2>.
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Scientific Revolution. The Internet History Sourcebooks Project. History Department Fordham
University, New York. 10 January 2008
<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook09.html>.
Selected Works of Martin Luther, Project Wittenberg. 22 January 2008
<http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-luther.html>.
Unit Content Overview. Unit 18: Rethinking the Rise of the West. Bridging World History.
Annenburg Media. 2005. 22 January 2008
<http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/worldhistory/unit_overview_18.html>.
World History for Us All. Landscape Teaching Unit 6.7. 22 January 2007
http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/dev/units/six/landscape/06_landscape7.pdf>.
World History for Us All. Landscape Teaching Unit 6.6. 22 January 2007
<http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/dev/units/six/landscape/06_landscape6.pdf>.
Resources for Further Professional Knowledge
Carlson, A.J. “Teaching the Reformation as World History.” in Heidi Roupp, ed. Teaching World
History: A Resource Book. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, pp. 125-128.
Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. NY: W.W. Norton &
Company, 1997. Provides an argument against European exceptionalism.
Frank, Andre Gunder. ReORIENT: Global Economy in the Asian Age. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1998. Provides an argument against the “European miracle.”
Johnston, Deborah Smith. "World History Makeover: The European Renaissance," World History
Connected. May 2004. 10 January 2008
<http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/whc/1.2/johnston.html>.
Jones, Eric. The European Miracle: Environments, Economies and Geopolitics in the History of
Europe and Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981.
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Instructional Organization
Lesson 1: Introducing the Topic Problem
Content Expectations: WHG 5.3.5; WHG 6.1.5
Key Concepts: “European miracle”
Abstract: Give students at least two excerpts of arguments for and against the “European
miracle” theory (see resources section). (Note: This is a good opportunity to present students with
challenging reading similar to that which they would find on an ACT test. Teachers should time the
reading and ask students to answer questions about the readings using the type of stems for
questions that are used on the ACT. The class should discuss the answers to ensure student
understanding.) After students have read the excerpts ask them to discuss their initial impressions
and how that relates to what they have learned in past history lessons. Present students with one
of the focus questions from the topic: Was Europe’s increasing global power in this era caused by
factors internal to Europe (e.g., Renaissance, Reformation, demographic, economic, and social
changes) or external to Europe (e.g., decline of the Mughal empire and the decreasing
engagement of China and Japan)? Have students engage in a five-minute quick write
summarizing their answer to the question thus far. Tell students that they will return to this
problem at the end of each lesson, and then construct a response at the end of the topic (see the
second performance assessment). Students return to this problem in the next unit (see Unit WH04,
Era 6).
Lesson 2: The Renaissance
Content Expectations: WHG 5.3.5
Key Concepts: Renaissance, revolution
Abstract: This lesson begins an overview of factors that influenced the Renaissance such as the
Crusades and the Byzantine Empire. Students then define the Renaissance by comparing the art
and architecture of the Middle Ages with that of the Renaissance. Divide the room into art
“exhibits” with each piece of art paired with chart paper and markers. Have students walk around
the room identifying the major focus and message of each piece of art and recording their thoughts
on the chart paper. For each subsequent piece of art, students respond to the previous student’s
statement as well as the art. After about four or five pieces, engage students in a class discussion
of what they noticed. Through class discussion, students explore how changes in the art and
architecture reflect changes in how Europeans viewed the world and their role in it. They also
discuss and evaluate the major changes in style and content and the possible societal
connections. The lesson concludes with students reevaluating the arguments about the “European
miracle” from the previous lesson. Encourage students to use their understandings from this lesson
support, contest or add to their argument.
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Lesson 3: The Reformation and Counter-Reformation
Content Expectations: WHG 5.3.5
Key Concepts: Reformation/Counter-Reformation
Abstract: In this lesson students use primary and secondary sources to research the political,
social, economic, and religious motives leading to the disintegration of Christian unity that resulted
in the Protestant Reformation. Their inquiry should include documents from the Catholic Church,
as well as documents such as Martin Luther’s 95 Theses. Students should analyze these
documents to determine why some people began to question the Church. Working with a partner,
students construct a graphic organizer identifying the political, social, economic, and religious
factors of the Reformation and share their results with the class. Next, students examine how the
Church responded (Counter-Reformation). They then discuss whether the information learned in
this lesson supports, contests or adds to the arguments about the “European miracle” and
reevaluate their conclusions from the previous lessons.
Lesson 4: The Scientific Revolution
Content Expectations: WHG 5.3.5
Key Concepts: science
Abstract: Using World History for US All Landscape unit 6.6 (available at
http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/dev/units/six/landscape/06_landscape6.pdf), have students
compare the documents in Lesson 1 from those in Lesson 2. Students then construct
generalizations about medieval science and early modern science. Have students revisit the issue
of the “European miracle” and explain how the scientific revolution supports, contests, or adds to
their conclusions from the previous lessons.
Lesson 5: Enlightenment Ideas and Absolute Governments
Content Expectations: WHG 5.3.5; WHG 6.1.5
Key Concepts: absolutism, divine rights of kings, Enlightenment, nation-state, revolution
Abstract: In this lesson, explore how the scientific revolution was part of the Age of
Enlightenment. Students read and interpret the theories of the Enlightenment thinkers such as
Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, and Voltaire. They compare these writings to explore divergent views
of human nature. Through class discussion, they examine how Enlightenment ideas challenged
absolute governments and rulers in Europe. They also predict how Enlightenment thinkers might
have reacted to the global spread of European power in this and following eras. At the end of the
lesson, students should revise and finalize their argument about the “European miracle”.
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Topic 3: A Growing Global Economy
Topic Abstract:
This topic focuses on the development of the first global system that gives the era its name. While
the previous topic allowed students to explore Europe’s internal changes during this era, this topic
allows students to examine the world external to Europe, including the new complex relationships
that formed. Students examine transoceanic voyages, conquests, and new commercial systems
that essentially linked all major regions of the world and created a new form of global
interdependence. In particular, students explore the Columbian Exchange, the Atlantic Trade
System, the Great Dying, and the rise of a global economy. While Europe and the Atlantic world
are central to this study, it is also important for students to understand how events in these parts of
the world had global consequences. By considering the impact of New World discoveries, the
Atlantic economy, and policies of Empires such as China (e.g. Chinese ending voyages of ChengHe), students can more fully understand Europe’s place in the new global economy and the growth
of military and political power in Europe.
Focus Questions
1. How did the nature of slavery and servitude change during this era?
2. How did economic gains lead to political and militaristic power for Europe?
3. How did growing trade, the spread of ideas, and technological developments result in the
First Global Age?
Content Expectations
WHG 5.1.1: Emerging Global System - Analyze the impact of increased oceanic travel including
changes in the global system of trade, migration, and political power as compared to
the previous era.
WHG 5.2.1: European Exploration/Conquest and Colombian Exchange - Analyze the
demographic, environmental, and political consequences of European oceanic travel
and conquest and of the Columbian Exchange in the late 15th and 16th centuries by
• describing the geographic routes used in the exchange of plants, animals, and
pathogens among the continents in the late 15th and the 16th centuries
• explaining how forced and free migrations of peoples (push/pull factors) and the
exchange of plants, animals, and pathogens impacted the natural environments,
political institutions, societies, and commerce of European, Asian, African, and the
American societies.
WHG 5.2.2: Trans-African and Trans-Atlantic Slave Systems - Analyze the emerging transAtlantic slave system and compare it to other systems of labor existing during this era
by
• using historical and modern maps and other data to analyze the causes and
development of the Atlantic trade system, including economic exchanges, the
diffusion of Africans in the Americas (including the Caribbean and South
America), and the Middle Passage
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comparing and contrasting the trans-Atlantic slave system with the African slave
system and another system of labor existing during this era (e.g., serfdom,
indentured servitude, corvee labor, wage labor).
WHG 5.3.5: Europe through the 18th Century - Analyze the major political, religious, cultural, and
economic transformations in Europe by
• explaining the origins, growth, and consequences of European overseas
expansion, including the development and impact of maritime power in Asia and
land control in the Americas
• analyzing transformations in Europe’s state structure, including the rising military,
bureaucratic, and nationalist power of European states including absolutism
• analyzing the transformation of the European economies including mercantilism,
capitalism, and wage labor.
WHG 5.3.6: Latin America through the 18th Century – Analyze colonial transformations in Latin
America, including
• the near-elimination of American Indian civilizations and peoples
• social stratifications of the population (e.g., peninsulares, creoles, mestizos)
• the regional and global role of silver and sugar
• resource extraction and the emerging system of labor (e.g., mita, slavery).
Key Concepts
capitalism
coerced labor
Columbian Exchange
Great Dying
global interdependence
mercantilism
Duration
2 weeks
Lesson Sequence
Lesson 1: Global Convergence
Lesson 2: A Whole New World: Understanding Exploration
Lesson 3: The Columbian Exchange
Lesson 4: Coerced Labor
Lesson 5: What is a Global Age?
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Assessment
Selected Response Items
Constructed Response Items
Extended Response Items
WHG 5.1.1
WHG 5.3.5
WHG 5.3.6
Construct a response to the question: How were Europe’s views of
exploration different than those of China, as well as those of the people
they “discovered”?
Performance Assessments
WHG 5.1.1
WHG 5.2.2
WHG 5.3.5
WHG 5.3.6
Use evidence from primary and secondary sources as support in a
persuasive research paper about the roots and immediate impacts of
slavery in this era. The paper should include a comparison of different
types of coerced labor around the world.
Resources
Equipment/ Manipulative
Chart paper
Internet connection and computers
Markers
Red pens
Student Resource
Slavery in America. 22 January 2008 <http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/overview.htm>.
Site contains primary resources, historical essays and lesson plans.
World Map. Eduplace. 24 January 2008 <http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/world_cont.pdf>.
Teacher Resource
Capitalism. The European Enlightenment Glossary. 1999. 24 January 2008
<www.wsu.edu/~dee/GLOSSARY/CAPITAL.HTM>
Fagan, Brian M. Clash of Cultures. Online text. See pages 113-122
<http://books.google.com/books?id=AQ00e6bMGYC&pg=PA113&lpg=PA113&dq=%22great+dying%22+central+america&source=
web&ots=HxZsdPUuAO&sig=I4HbAHwBWgudcHq8X4TzfVUeKJI#PPA113,M1>.
The Great Age of Exploration (1400 to 1550). United Learning. 1998. United Streaming. 24
January 2008
<http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/search/assetDetail.cfm?guidAssetID=4C8D132C0EAE-49DC-A61D-86E488ECA7F5>.
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Slavery in America. 22 January 2008 <http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/overview.htm>.
Site contains primary resources, historical essays and lesson plans.
World History for US All. Panorama PowerPoint. Unit 6. 22 January 2008
<http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/dev/eras/era6.htm#pan>.
Resources for Further Professional Knowledge
Crosby, Alfred. The Colombian Exchange. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 1972.
Manning, Patrick. “Migrations of Africans to the Americas: The Impact on Africans, Africa, and the
New World.” The History Teacher, Vol. 26, No 3 (May 1993), pp. 279-296.
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Instructional Organization
Lesson 1: Global Convergence
Content Expectations: WHG 5.1.1
Key Concepts: global interdependence
Abstract: To introduce this unit, show students part or all of the World History for US All
panorama PowerPoint for the time period of this era (available:
http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/dev/eras/era6.htm#pan). This PowerPoint serves to review
material in the two previous units as well as introduce students to what they will learn in this unit.
Throughout the presentation, ask students to focus on the questions: Why do historians refer to
this era as the “first global age”? How was the world in this era different from that of the last era?
Alternatively, use several slides from the World History for US All PowerPoints for Eras 5 and 6
(see Era 5 slides 3, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 43, and 45 and Era 6 slides 11, 16, 17, 27, 32-36, 38,
and 39), for students to compare and contrast the types interactions occurring in each era. Have
students engage in small group discussions identifying and prioritizing the most significant
differences between the eras. Groups then share and defend their rankings to the whole class.
Lesson 2: A Whole New World - Understanding Exploration
Content Expectations: WHG 5.1.1; WHG 5.3.5; WHG 5.3.6
Key Concepts: capitalism, Great Dying, global interdependence, mercantilism
Abstract: In this lesson students learn the basic who, what, where, when, and why of exploration.
Divide students into “explorer” teams representing a particular country involved in exploration
(Spain, Portugal, England, France, and China). As a team, they prepare a report about their
explorations for the leader of their country that includes who they are, where they went, their
motivations, when they went there, and what they found. Encourage students to use primary
sources to construct their reports, as well as come up with several generalizations about their
journeys. After constructing these reports, have students share them with the class. After all the
presentations, construct class generalizations about exploration. Next, using a case study of
colonial transformations in Latin America, have students work with a partner to construct a graphic
organizer detailing the consequences of exploration for the indigenous population. Consequences
for examination include the Great Dying, the social stratifications of the population (e.g.,
peninsulares, creoles, mestizos), the regional and global role of silver and sugar, and the emerging
system of labor. Student will use the charts in lessons 3 and 4.
Lesson 3: The Columbian Exchange
Content Expectations: WHG 5.1.1; WHG 5.2.1; WHG 5.3.5; WHG 5.3.6
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Key Concepts: Columbian Exchange
Abstract: In this lesson students define, give examples, and list positive and negative impacts of
the Colombian exchange. After adding this information to their chart from lesson 2, students use a
blank world map to denote the movement of goods, people, diseases, and ideas from east to west,
and west to east. It is important that students can identify the two-way contacts and exchanges.
They then use their maps to compare the movement of goods, people, and ideas from the previous
era. The lesson concludes with a class discussion of the exchanges that surprised them and what
they noticed in terms of large-scale changes over time.
Lesson 4: Coerced Labor
Content Expectations: WHG 5.1.1; WHG 5.2.1; WHG 5.3.5; WHG 5.3.6
Key Concepts: coerced labor, capitalism
Abstract: In this lesson, students more closely examine the movement of people across the
Atlantic in the triangular slave trade. First, students engage in a quick write describing their
knowledge of slavery. Students then examine the slave experience from a more local level,
examining primary documents during this era that would allow them to “see” slavery from at least
three different regions (including Latin America). They then construct a graphic organizers
comparing the characteristics of labor systems (e.g., serfdom, indentured servitude, corvee labor,
mita, wage labor). Students then read about the triangular slave trade. Using their graphic
organizers, students engage in a class discussion comparing the African system with other
existing systems of labor. Through the discussion, students analyze the causes of slavery during
this era using the following questions: Who wanted the slaves? Where were they going? Who was
benefiting the most from this? Who was getting hurt the most? This should allow students to begin
to understand the long-term effects of slavery, and how those effects may play out differently in
different regions. Have students return to the charts from lessons 2 and 3 to add more information
about the consequences of exploration.
Lesson 5: What is a Global Age?
Content Expectations: WHG 5.1.1
Key Concepts: global interdependence
Abstract: In this lesson students use the charts and graphic organizers created in this unit (era) to
answer the question: How did growing trade, the spread of ideas, and technological developments
result in the First Global Age? After students have written a draft of their essay, they work in
groups of three to peer edit as a group. Students then use the edits to revise their essays.
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