New Routes to Asia

New Routes to Asia

Fill in the Blanks

Multiple Choice

During which of the following events did European-Arab contact increase?

• The Black Death

• The Crusades

• The Age of Exploration

Multiple Choice

The motive for European explorers at this time was to get cheaper spices. What was the means?

• To grow their own spices

• To establish new sea routes to the Spice Islands

• To find a new land route to the Spice Islands

• To improve relations with the Turks to allow them to continue trading via the Silk Road

​Recap:

• In the previous lesson, we learned that:

• The motive for exploration was to find cheaper spices.

• We decided that the means that Europeans used to do this was sea voyages.

​The Means...

​In today's lesson, we are going to examine the sea voyages (the means) taken in more detail.

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​We must consider both the directions (routes) and vessels (ships) used during these sea voyages. In other words, how did the Europeans get to the Spice Islands?

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​Go to the blank map in your Schoology folder now, in order to complete your class task.

​Research the following:

Hint: ​You will need to Google Image Search 'where did Vasco Da Gama go?' and trace the same route on your map.

​Class Task: Sea Routes

​Your map should look similar to the one featured on this slide.

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​Here we can see that European explorers sailed west (Spain) and east (Portugal) in the hopes of finding a new sea route to the Spice Islands.

​Class Task: Sea Routes

​It's not by accident that the Portuguese explorers (Diaz & Da Gama) sailed east while the Spanish explorers (Columbus & Magellan) sailed west.

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​The Treaty of Tordesillas:

​While the Age of Exploration began with the country of Portugal sailing east (down the coast of Africa), soon limits were placed on where explorers could search.

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The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) was an agreement made between Spain & Portugal on what land they could explore and conquer.

​The Means used to get to the Spice Islands:

​So far, we have seen how the Europeans got to the Spice Islands by examining what sea routes (directions) they took.

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​Now, we need to turn our attention to the sea ships that they used to get them there.

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​Have you ever been on a ship?

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​Where did you go?

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​Did the ship move slowly or quickly?

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​How do ships move?

​During the Middle Ages...

• ​Traditionally, sailors kept their ships in sight of land.

  ​Ships relied on square sails which were powered by the wind.

  ​The square sails could only catch wind in one direction.

  ​As a result, the ships were slow and difficult to steer.

Multiple Choice

What was time period does the 'middle ages' refer to?

• The time period known as BCE

• The time period between ancient times and the Age of Exploration

• The 21st century

​The Age of Exploration would not have been possible without improvements in ships and equipment.

• ​​Around 1450, the Portuguese invented a new type of ship called the caravel.

• ​Caravels were small, fast & easy to steer.

• ​This was because they used triangular sails which could catch the wind in any direction. The sails were copied from Arab ships in the Mediterranean.

• ​Think about how you would get a paper airplane to fly...this is exactly how the caravels worked!

• ​Like ships building, progress was also made with the equipment sailors' used.

• ​During the Middle Ages, sailors observed the sun or stars, wind speed and currents when deciding which direction to take.

• Astrolabes and sand hourglass timers were invented while compasses were greatly improved!