Age of Exploration Vocabulary

The exchange of valuable spices like pepper, cloves, and cinnamon, primarily between Europe, Asia, and Africa. These goods were in high demand for their ability to preserve food and add flavor, motivating European exploration for new trade routes.

• Silk Road

• Spice Trade

• Cotton Exchange

• Tea Route

The activity of buying and selling goods and services, especially on a large scale, such as the global trade networks established during the Age of Exploration.

• Commerce

• Trade

• Economics

• Industry

The ability to understand and share the feelings of others, important when learning about the impact of exploration on different cultures and peoples.

• Compassion

• Empathy

• Sympathy

• Apathy

A territory ruled or governed by a distant country, often settled by colonists and exploited for its resources.

• Territory

• Colony

• Protectorate

• Dominion

A supply of valuable materials or commodities, such as spices, precious metals, or natural goods.

• Resource

• Asset

• Commodity

• Product

The widespread exchange of plants, animals, culture, human populations, and diseases between the Americas and Europe following Columbus's voyages.

• Columbian Exchange

• Transatlantic Trade

• Cultural Diffusion

• Globalization

A network of overland trade routes that connected China, India, and the Middle East to Europe, facilitating the exchange of goods like silk, spices, and ideas before sea exploration expanded.

• Silk Road

• Spice Route

• Maritime Silk Route

• Trans-Saharan Trade Route

A sea route through the Arctic Ocean along the northern coast of North America, sought by explorers as a direct route from Europe to Asia.

• Northwest Passage

• Northeast Passage

• Suez Canal

• Panama Canal