1. The Age of Exploration
Belly/DeGraw

3. Major Concepts
Europeans risked dangerous ocean voyages to discover new sea routes. 
Early European explorers sought gold in Africa, then began to trade slaves. 
Trade increased in Southeast Asia, and the Dutch built a trade empire based on spices in the Indonesian Archipelago.

5. How The Past Impacts Today
European trade was a factor in producing a new age of commercial capitalism that was one of the first steps toward today’s world economy. 
The consequences of slavery continue to impact our lives today. 
The Age of Exploration led to a transfer of ideas and products, many of which are still important in our lives today.

7. Europeans and Asia
Many people, including Christopher Columbus, were fascinated by Marco Polo’s account of his travels to the court of Kublai Khan and the exotic East. 
Fourteenth-century conquests by the Ottoman Empire made traveling to the East by land difficult. 
Europeans wanted a route by sea.

8. Desire for Wealth
Merchants, adventurers, and government officials hoped to find precious metals in and expand trade with the East, especially trade in spices. 
Another motive was religious, the desire to spread the Catholic faith to native peoples.

9. Clip