Basic Facts about the

Age of Exploration:

• Period of time during which Europeans explored the world

• 1450’s-about 1700

• Why Europeans?

They had:

Ability

Motivation

Technology

made it

possible!

1. The Caravel

A ship that used lateens

(triangular sails)

And a rudder

2. The Astrolabe

An instrument that helped sailors find their latitude

3. The Magnetic Compass

Points to the North

Wanted to

spread their

religion

(Christianity)

Wanted to bring back riches

from Asia such as:

Silk

And

Spices

Vasco Da Gama

sails around

Africa to Asia

That’s where Christopher Columbus comes in!

The World of

Columbus 1492

Get to Asia by sailing

WEST

• Established lasting contact between the Old World and the

New World

• Increased knowledge about the world

Amerigo Vespucci figured out that this was a “New World”

Francisco Pizarro

Hernando Cortez

Ferdinand Magellan

• Inspired other explorers

Henry Hudson

• Europeans started colonies in the New World

Colony-

A

settlement

in a distant

land ruled

by a

mother

country

• The Columbian Exchange

1. What motivated Europeans to explore the world and establish colonies in the Americas? 2. What was Columbus's impact on the Age of Exploration and the history of the world? 3. What were the positive and negative effects of the Columbian Exchange?

Answer the following questions in full sentences using the map above: