Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4 & 10

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Why Explore?

I t’s a scary thing to strike out into regions

unknown, but people will go to great lengths to

acquire luxurious things to sell. Profit seems to

be the motivating factor in many discoveries

down through the ages, and no less a factor in the

1400s when expeditions were financed to China for

spices and silks and India for spices and medicines.

Although, there were many who wanted to spread

the Christianity to new worlds, and others were

curious about new lands, people, and creatures that

were just over the horizon.

Technology aided exploration

Without advances in technology, the explorers would

have gotten lost. During Medieval times, Muslims

navigated vast deserts using the astrolabe, an

instrument that measures the height of astronomical

objects from the horizon. The Greeks are credited

with inventing it, but desert travelers perfected it. It

wasn’t too long before the astrolabe and the compass

were the preferred tools for navigating the seas.

Before the compass was invented by the Chinese,

sailors primarily navigated by landmarks , sun

positions, and stars, or dead reckoning. The compass

enabled more accurate headings for sailors. Around

1300, the dry compass was invented so that the

magnetized needle and direction card could freely

spin toward the proper direction while the ship’s deck

pitched in rough water.

Another technological improvement that furthered

exploration was the Caravel (KER-uh-vel) ship

designed by the Portuguese. Prince Henry the

Navigator had sailors explore the coast of West Africa

sailing in one because the hull’s shape sliced through

heavy seas easily and the triangular sails allowed

sailing directly into the wind. The Portuguese also

improved steering with a huge aft rudder that

replaced oars. The hourglass helped in calculating

speed and distance traveled.

As a result, explorers discovered new trade routes,

knowledge of new peoples and land as well as great

wealth for their respective countries. This led to the

era being called the age of discovery.

Uncharted waters for the Portuguese

The Duke of Viseu, known as Prince Henry the

Navigator, built a school to teach navigation to

sailors. As they sailed further south along the African

coast, they set up trading posts building a network of

support. They learned that the lack of fresh food

caused great sickness in sailors that lost hair and

fingernails, and caused sores. Today we call it scurvy.

In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias opened the sea route to the

East by sailing around the tip of Africa without even

seeing it. His officers, knowing the bedraggled state of

their sailors, convinced Dias to turn back toward

home. On their way back, they saw the tip, and Dias

named it the Cape of Storms. King John II renamed it

the Cape of Good Hope.

Historical Snapshot An Age of Exploration Close Reading Investigation

Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4 & 10

Copyright © 2016, 2019 Instructomania

Another Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, not only

rounded the Cape of Good Hope, but was the first

European to reach India by a sea route. Portugal now

had the premier trade route through the Indian Ocean,

and the country dominated the region because of that

and their trading outposts along the coast of Africa.

In 1520, Ferdinand Magellan (ma-GEL-an), a Portuguese

sailor who sailed for Spain, led a voyage around the tip

of South America. Although he was killed before they

made it back to Spain, his was the first expedition to

circumnavigate, or to go around, the globe.

Spain takes the lead west

An Italian, Christopher Columbus, was rejected twice by

Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain to sail west

to India and on to China. With some help from the

Spanish treasurer and the Franciscan friars, Columbus

convinced the king and queen the best route was west.

The Catholic monarchs had a genuine desire to spread

the Christianity, an intense desire to quash the spread

of Islam, and Spain needed a reliable trade route to

acquire spices and medicines. The emperor of Cathay

(China), whom Europeans called the Great Khan of the

Golden Horde, had expressed an interest in Christianity,

therefore Columbus carried a letter of friendship to

him from the Catholic monarchs.

Columbus loaded three ships, Santa María, Pinta, and

Niña, with supplies and goods and set sail westward in

August of 1492. In October of 1492, they landed in the

Bahama Islands. We know from his journal he briefly

scouted the island, but anxious to find Japan, he set sail

westward. He was convinced he’d found it when he

landed on Cuba, but by November 1, he was convinced

it was the mainland of China although there were no

great cities found anywhere.

When the group landed on Haiti, Columbus renamed it

Hispaniola. There he found enough gold to take back to

Spain to pay for their trip and them some. He brought

back gold, parrots, spices, and human captives. The

spoil was so satisfactory to the monarchs, a second

voyage was quickly planned.

Columbus made three more journeys across the

Atlantic, intent on bringing back more riches to Spain.

He died on May 20, 1506 denying the New World,

totally convinced he had found Cathay (China).

Later, Hernan Cortes was sent by Spain to convert more

Indians to Catholicism and find more riches in the

Americas. He landed in Mexico in 1541 to be welcomed

by the Aztec. After jailing the Aztec leader Montezuma,

Cortes was kicked out of the Aztec Capital city of

Tenochtitlan. Still, the damage had been done with

deadly smallpox already taking hold. By the time Cortes

returned, he was able to easily take over the

devastated population, claiming Mexico for the

Spanish. Similarly, Francisco Pizarro arrived in South

America with a thirst for gold. He arrived during a civil

war among the Inca. Pizarro captured and murdered

the Inca king Atahualpa, conquering the Inca who

resided along a 2000 mile stretch of Andes Mountains

for the Spanish.

England floats her boats west

The Italians produced some amazing navigators and

sailors who explored for other nations. John Cabot

was one. In 1497 he sailed to Canada, but thought he

had reached China. Cabot claimed the land for

England. Another explorer, Jacques Cartier (zjock kar

-tee-ay) landed in Canada in 1535 sailing up the Saint

Lawrence River and claimed that part of Canada for

France. It is why some Canadians speak French and

some English.

Spain controlled the gold and silver formerly owned

by the Incas and Aztecs in South America. England

wanted some of that wealth, but it seemed none was

to be found in the regions England claimed. Then, Sir

Francis Drake was hired.

Queen Elizabeth I sent Drake and other sailors out to

steal gold and silver from the Spanish ships. They

were called Elizabeth’s Sea Dogs, essentially a

military branch born in 1560 to help the British Navy

drastically reduce the size of the Spanish Navy called

the Spanish Armada.

King Philip II of Spain was furious with England and

the Sea Dogs. He took his full fleet of 130 ships to the

English Channel determined to defeat England.

However, a huge storm sank nearly half the galleon

fleet called the Spanish Armada, and they turned

back home not reaching the Channel.

By the early 1600s, England was colonizing the

eastern coastline of America, but the early settlers

were those hungry for religious freedom. Jamestown

was one of the earliest settlements in 1620. The Age

of Discovery closed with Europeans being able to

travel to almost anywhere on the globe with more

accurate maps and valuable experience.

Complete the following questions by using the reading, Historical Snapshot: Age of Exploration Close Reading Investigation.

1. List the section subheading(s) where you can find the following key concepts for social science:

Geography: ______________________________ Religion: _______________________________________

Achievements: ______________________________________________________________________________

Economy: __________________________________________________________________________________

Leadership: _________________________________________________________________________________

2. Achievements: Write an excerpt from the reading that explains why this time period was labeled the “The Age of Discovery .” ____________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Achievements: List four technologies that helped navigation.

______________________

______________________

______________________

______________________

4. Leadership: What did the Duke of Viseu do to ensure accurate navigation for Portuguese ships?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Geography: What major trade route did Christopher Columbus seek for Spain? Why?

____________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Religion: Why did so many English colonists move to the New World?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Achievements: What was so special about the dry compass and how did it help with navigation?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Geography: Who was the first to sail around the world? What happened to the leader of the expedition?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Vocabulary: What is the definition of circumnavigate? Restate the sentence where the word is used here.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Vocabulary: What was the Spanish Armada? Who did it belong to, and what happened to it?____________________________________________________________________________________________

Common Core Writing 6-8.1, Common Core Literacy 6-8.2,4 &

Copyright © 2016, 2019 Instructo-

Historical Snapshot An age of discovery Close Reading Investigation Analysis

Use the map to draw the paths of explorers from Portugal, Spain, France, and England. Make a key in the space provided.

Name__________________________ Period__

European Exploration Map

Reasons to Explore : Explain three.

1.

2.

3.

Technology and Exploration : List three.

1.

2.

3.

Uncharted Waters for the Portuguese

1. What did Henry the Navigator do?

2. Describe the voyage of Vasco da Gama.

3. Detail a success of Ferdinand Magellan.

Spain Takes the Lead West: Columbus

1. Who was he?

2. Describe his voyage.

3. Through his death, where did Columbus think

he landed?

England Floats Her Boats West: Describe two English explorers and state either where they landed or their purpose.

1.

2.

Spain Takes the Lead West

1. Where did Cortes land?

2. Cortes and Pizarro conquered

which groups?

Cortes-

Pizarro-

Use the Explorers Snapshot to fill in the following:

Key Portugal

Da Gama

Spain

Columbus

Magellan

France

Cartier

England

Cabot

Europe Asia

Voyages of Discovery

Copyright © 2016, 2019 Instructomania

Copyright © 2016, 2019 Instructomania

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