Introduction to the Age of Exploration

Introduction to the Age of Exploration

Why did Europe start to colonize the New World?​

Christopher Columbus Video

What was going on in Europe prior to the Age of Exploration?

​European countries were competing for dominance amongst themselves in the years prior to 1492. What would fighting for dominance look like? How would establishing colonies help a country in this regard? On top of this some European countries were dealing with overcrowding issues, diminishing natural resources and a newfound desire to learn and achieve relevance due to the Renaissance which had pulled Europe out of the Middle Ages.

Age of Exploration

Start of the Age of Exploration Video

Multiple Choice

In what year did Christopher Columbus first make landfall in what is now the Bahamas?

• 1470

• 1492

• 1607

• 1670

Multiple Choice

Which of the following things would attract Europeans to the Americas?

• Raw Materials

• Bringing Power to their Mother Country

• Wealth

• All of the Above

Multiple Choice

What larger time period was the Age of Exploration a part of and made possible by?

• Middle Ages

• Renaissance

• Reconstruction

• Antebellum

Multiple Choice

What invention from the Renaissance helped with the production of books as well as maps used to transverse the Atlantic?

• Lattice

• Ink

• Printing Press

• Papyrus

3 G's of Exploration

God, Gold and Glory

God

​Have the desire to spread their religious beliefs to indigenous peoples or in search of a place where they would not suffer social or legal persecution for what they believe.

Subject | Subject

Reasons for Settlement

​Gold

​Came in search of literal gold or the possibilities for economic success that the New World may offer. Some of these later possibilities of economic growth for the mother country includes the growth of cash crops, fur trade, and the acquisition of other raw materials. Once contact with natives was made trade became very lucrative as well. For some settlers the New World offered a possibility at a new economic life that wouldn't be available to them back in Europe.

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Mercantilism: an economic policy designed to increase a nations wealth through exports ​

Subject | Subject

Reasons for Settlement

Glory

​The fame associated with being an explorer or the political power you could gain from helping your mother country upstart a colony. Also Kings and Queens desired to gain fame and historical relevance for their countries and their reigns through adding new found territories.

Subject | Subject

Reasons for Settlement

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is not one of the 3 G's of exploration?

• God

• Gold

• Game

• Glory

Multiple Choice

True or False: Mercantilism highly values the economic growth of the mother country and follows the belief that colonies function as an economic investment meant to bring back wealth to the mother country.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

True or False: In triangular trade West Africa sends manufactured goods to the Americas.

• True

• False