Age of Exploration

In the 1200s, explorer Marco Polo returned to Italy after adventuring in China. He brought back silks, teas and spices, and, perhaps most importantly, stories as fantastic as fairy tales. After tasting the exotic wonders of the East, Europeans wanted more. Asian spices also helped make rotting food taste better and keep longer, which made them valuable because refrigerators did not yet exist.

Since the time of Marco Polo's travels, the Ottoman Turks had gained control of land between Europe and China. The Turks prevented people from passing through their land and were violently protective of the territory because if Europeans could get Asian goods for themselves, the Turks couldn't make any money. The Europeans knew there had to be another way around, and thus the search for new trade routes began.

Because Ottoman Turks were protective of their territory,

• Europeans set out to find new trade routes.

• Europeans stopped trading with Asia.

• China stopped producing fancy silks, teas and spices.

• Marco Polo returned to Italy after visiting China.

The first great supporter of naval exploration was Prince Henry of Portugal, called Prince Henry the Navigator. Because of Prince Henry's influence, Portugal aggressively explored the open sea before other nations caught on. Each wave of the high seas brought new challenges. But the undiscovered lands lured him with enticing mysteries. Henry funded expeditions to the islands off the Portuguese coast and to the west coast of Africa, where he began to trade in slaves and gold.

Prince Henry’s influence inspired many men to pack their belongings into a trunk and sail to unknown lands. But a true explorer does not just travel to already discovered lands; explorers now had to sail to distant, uncharted lands to gain credibility.

With which of these statements would Prince Henry most likely agree?

• There is enough to explore without leaving one's own country.

• Sea travel is not worth the many risks.

• Portugal is far behind other nations in terms of sea exploration.

• Undiscovered wealth waits for those brave enough to find it.

Bartolomeu Dias was an explorer who journeyed around the southern tip of Africa. While many ignorant people at the time thought the world was flat, explorers who kept up with the science of the times knew that the world was round.

Italian explorer Christopher Columbus had heard about Dias’s trip. Columbus wasn't excited about sailing south on the stormy seas to India, so he thought he would try a different approach—sail west instead! He thought it would be a quick trip. But because accurate maps did not exist, Columbus seriously underestimated the distance around the world. When his boat hit ground in 1492, Columbus believed that he had landed on the eastern shores of India. Actually, he had just made it to the Caribbean. He landed on the island that is now the Dominican Republic. This landing was the spark that forever changed the Western Hemisphere.

Why did Christopher Columbus land on the island of the Dominican Republic?

• because his boat hit ground, and he was forced to stop sailing early to repair the damage

• because he wanted to follow the route taken by Bartolomeu Dias

• because there was no map he could use to accurately estimate the distance around the world

• because India had already been discovered, and he wanted to discover new land

Vasco da Gama figured he could sail even farther than Bartolomeu Dias had. He sailed past the Cape of Good Hope and landed in Calicut, India. Nearly 300 years after Marco Polo's eastern travels, Europeans had found a way to get back to the East. When da Gama returned to Portugal with a ship full of delicious Indian spices, he became a celebrity.

Another famous explorer, Ferdinand Magellan led the first crew that sailed from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. People often celebrate Magellan for being the first person to circumnavigate, or sail all the way around, the globe. But the truth is, Magellan made it only most of the way. Natives of the Philippine Islands killed him before he could make it back to Spain. Some of his crew members did successfully circumnavigate Earth, though. Still, Magellan's voyage proved for all doubters that the world was round.

With which of these statements would Magellan’s crew members most likely agree?

• There is no route between Europe and India.

• It is impossible for humans to circumnavigate the globe.

• The world is most definitely flat.

• The world is most definitely round.

In the beginning of the Age of Exploration, no country could rival Spain or Portugal's seafaring prowess. They built the best ships, had the most experienced sailors and relied on celestial navigation, which is the use of the position of the sun, moon and stars for directions. These two countries wanted more than just the glory of exploration, however. They wanted land. But how would Spain and Portugal divide the land between them? The two countries signed a treaty that essentially drew an imaginary line down the center of the Atlantic Ocean and part of South America, the Line of Demarcation. Portugal would be able to claim any land found east of the line, and Spain would have everything west of it. In South America, Brazil was the only major country east of the Line of Demarcation, so it came under the rule of Portugal. This is why Portugal is the official language in Brazil, and Spanish is the official language in most other countries in South America.

What was the Line of Demarcation?

• an imaginary line that divided land in Brazil into a Spanish nation and a Portuguese nation

• an imaginary line in the Atlantic Ocean and South America that divided new land between Spain and Portugal

• a real line on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean first discovered by Spanish explorers

• a part of a treaty between the Spanish and Portuguese that said Portugal would own all the land found by either country

Ships operated as mini societies that were similar to those on land, with social classes that each contributed different skills for daily life. However, whether you were the highest ranking official—the captain—leading the way or the lowly page scrubbing the deck, traveling on these ships was no pleasure cruise. You still had to scratch the lice in your hair and sleep with bedbugs and cockroaches. And forget about sleeping a full night—sailors had to work to keep the ship afloat at all hours.

When food started running out, everyone had to ration, or eat small amounts. Otherwise, they'd starve together. Because sailors ate lots of old food, they didn't get enough vitamin C. Lack of fresh fruit caused the disease scurvy, which commonly made sailors' teeth fall out.

Which of these best describes life on ships?

• effortless

• relaxing

• unpleasant

• clean

Columbus's landing in the New World marked the beginning of a fraught relationship between Europeans and Native Americans. They exchanged food, animals, plants and cultures in what was called the Columbian exchange. Europe and the "old world" tasted chocolate, potatoes, tomatoes and tobacco for the first time. The people of the New World got to try coffee, tea and lemons and see horses, cows, cats and other domestic animals for the first time.

In addition to bringing goods, the Europeans also brought disease. European diseases like measles and smallpox ravaged the Native American population. The diseases would end up killing up to 90 percent of the Native Americans, who didn't have natural defenses against these potent ailments.

According to the passage, which is a disadvantage of Columbus landing in the New World?

• People from Europe and the "old world" tasted chocolate, potatoes, tomatoes and tobacco.

• People of the New World tried coffee, tea and lemons for the first time.

• Americans got to see horses, cows, cats and other domestic animals for the first time.

• Deadly diseases were exchanged from explorers to Native Americans.

When early explorers like Christopher Columbus landed in what is now South America, they returned home to brag. But the conquistadors wanted to stay. Conquistador is related to the words conquer and conquest, which are used when someone takes something over with threats or violence. So the conquistadors didn't care that people were already living in the newly discovered countries. They did not respect the authority of the advanced civilizations that had developed in those lands over thousands of years. Instead, they saw the current citizens as standing in their way. The conquistadors wanted land. They wanted gold. And they didn't mind killing to get it.

Which of these best describes the conquistadors?

• polite

• intrusive

• appreciative

• humble

When Hernán Cortés arrived in the Americas, he thought he might have to conquer unorganized, undeveloped tribes. He was not ready for the fully formed civilization of the Aztecs. His awe at the wonders of Tenochtitlán, the major city of the Aztec empire, quickly gave way to desire for ownership of this advanced city on a lake.

Cortés met his match in Montezuma, the leader of the Aztec empire. Montezuma lived in a palace, wore gold sandals and was generally treated like a God. He was a feared warlord in what became Latin America. But when Cortés arrived, Montezuma treated him well. Only afterward did the Aztecs realize that Cortés had bad intentions. Suddenly, the Aztecs didn't want these outsiders around anymore. So the Aztecs drove the Spanish out.

But Cortés would not be stopped. Cortés returned with thousands of soldiers and destroyed the city in two years of bloody war. He killed Montezuma. He brought down the empire. Spain violently won control over the Aztecs.

Which of the following best describes the relationship between Cortés and Montezuma?

• Cortés and Montezuma became friends, and Montezuma eventually invited Cortés to live in Tenochtitlán.

• Cortés feared Montezuma, and Montezuma ultimately used his thousands of soldiers to kill Cortés.

• Montezuma treated Cortés like a friend, but Cortés turned on Montezuma and eventually killed him.

• When Cortés surprised Montezuma with his invasion, Montezuma surrendered, giving up the city of Tenochtitlán to the Spanish.

Even though conquistadors such as Cortés and Pizarro rode in on horses and shot with guns, bullets ultimately did not kill most of the Aztecs, Incas and other Native Americans. In addition to the supplies that the explorers carried with them on their ships, secret passengers also sailed the choppy seas of the Atlantic: germs. The Native Americans had never been exposed to germs from smallpox, measles and influenza, so their bodies had not learned to fight them off. Disease killed thousands of Native Americans in only a few years.

To understand how powerful of a weapon these diseases were, look at these population numbers: When Columbus arrived in Haiti in 1492, approximately 100,000 people lived there. By 1570 there were only 300 people left! Before the conquistadors arrived, 25 million people lived in Mexico. Within a hundred years, there were only 3 million people left.

Most of the Aztecs, Incas and other Native Americans were killed by the

• guns and bullets of Cortés and Pizarro.

• ships that brought the explorers to the New World.

• conquistadors and their armies.

• diseases that the explorers carried over on their ships.