Age of Explorers Computer Lab Activity

Bell Ringer Who were the first people to visit North and South America?

Assignment After visiting this website you will create baseball cards for 6 historical explorers. On the front you will draw a picture of the explorer, put his job title, and his home country. (Like a baseball card) On the back you provide important information about the explorer such as: Dates of life, purpose for exploring, accomplishments, and legacy.

Bell Ringer – 9/9 What were 3 motivations for exploration? Think about the explorers you studied.

Gold, God, and Glory Gold – Europeans wanted to find quicker, easier, and safer trade routes to India and China. o Avoid the Muslim Empires between. God – Europeans wanted to spread Christianity to the “heathens” of the world. o It was their duty as Godly white men. Glory – Fueled by the Spirit of the Renaissance, explorers hoped to bring glory and land to their country. Technology makes it possible. Better ship – Caravel – Smaller and sturdier Better navigation – astrolabe – accurate longitude and latitude.

Bell Ringer 9/10 Which European country was the first to sail to India?

Portugal Leads the Way Portugal – first to setup trading outposts on West Coast of Africa. Portugal – First to sail around Africa into Indian Ocean Prince Henry – Enthusiastic monarch who dreamed of overseas exploration. o Provided lots of money. Prince Henry built a navigation school in Portugal. o Set up Slave Trading posts in Africa Bartolomeu Dias – First to sail around tip of Africa Vasco da Gama – First to reach India by sea o His cargo was worth 60x the cost his 27,000 mile voyage.

Spain makes a claim. Spain wanted a piece of the overseas profits – Christopher Columbus convinces the Spanish monarch to allow him to sail West to find a new route to India – Columbus reached the Caribbean Sea in North America. Portugal became jealous. They thought he had found a route to India. Treaty of Tordesillas – Agreement between Spain and Portugal to divide America between themselves.

Trading Companies British East India Company AND Dutch East India Company. Companies that would pay for explorers to settle new land and colonize areas to make money. Example – A person could buy 1% stock on the company. When the colony or trading post starts making money, they will receive 1% of the profits.

Map Activity Da Gama’s Journey Magellan’s Journey Aztec Empire Incan Empire Ottoman Empire Cortes’s Journey Treaty of Tordesillas Line Create a Key and label the World Map with these items. (Date is 1600) Portuguese Colonies Spanish Colonies French Colonies English Colonies Dutch Colonies Columbus’s Journey Dias’s Journey