European Exploration after 1400Grade 7 Social Studies

Lesson 4Modified from Jefferson County VLA

By Terri Hatch, Wilmington City Schools

Early Exploration After the end of the Roman Empire, the

Arabs expanded their relationships with the East.

The Chinese also made many explorations in the period.

One of the best known Chinese travelers is Hsuan-tsang.

Early Exploration by Europeans

European knowledge of Asia gained during the Crusades was extended by the journey across Asia made by missionaries and by Marco Polo.

Marco Polo

The European “Age of Discovery”

Three things started the European “age of discovery”The search for new trade routesThe rise of merchant capitalismThe desire to expand the potential of a global

economy

Henry the Navigator

Henry the Navigator promoted voyages along the coast of Africa that helped change the superstitions and misinformation that had stopped previous attempts to sail there.

Mapping the Globe The extent of the globe was revealed by

Bartholomew Diaz’s rounding of the Cape of Good Hope in 1486-87, Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India in 1497-98, Christopher Columbus’s first voyage to America in 1492, and the circumnavigation of the globe by Ferdinand Magellan from 1519-22.

Statue of Diaz in Cape Town.

Christopher Columbus

Africa

Africa is a large continent. It’s largest rivers are the Nile (the world’s

longest river), the Congo, the Niger, the Samzezi, the Orange, the Limpopo, and the Senegal.

African People

African people account for over 12% of the world’s population. They live in 54 nations.

Africa has the longest human history of anywhere in the world.

Economy Most of Africa’s population is rural. They

live in small villages rather than big cities.

Except for cash crops, such as cacao and peanuts, however, agricultural production is low by world standards.

Cocoa treePeanut plant

Important Explorers Hernando Cortes – Conquered Mexico Vasco Da Gama – First European to reach

India by sea. Sir Francis Drake – First English explorer

to sail around the world. Francisco Pizarro – Conquered Peru and

founded Lima Juan Ponce de Leon – Explored Florida

Christopher Columbus Columbus achieved fame by sailing west

across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a sea route to Asia.

He didn’t accomplish this goal. He found islands in the Caribbean Sea instead.

During his four voyages westward – between 1492 and 1504 – Columbus explored the West Indies and the coasts of Central and South America.

John Cabot John Cabot made the first English voyage

to North America. This gave England a claim to the mainland of North America.

This led to the founding of English colonies in America.

When Cabot returned to England he was called “The Great Admiral”.

Amerigo Vespucci

Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian-born explorer for whom America was named.

Martin Waldseemuller, a

German mapmaker, believed

that Vespucci was the first

European to reach the New World.

Vasco Nunez de Balboa

Vasco Nunez de Balboa was the first European to see the eastern shore of the Pacific Ocean.

He saw it from a mountaintop in what is now Panama.

After a later exploration, Balboa and four friends were accused of treason by Governor Pedrarias and were beheaded.

Hernando Cortes Hernando Cortes was a Spanish explorer

who conquered what is now central and southern Mexico.

He conquered the Aztec Indians in 1521. Cortes took the Aztec emperor, Montezuma

II hostage and tried to rule the empire through him.

King Charles I of Spain appointed Cortes Governor and captain general of the newly conquered territory.

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conqueror. His conquest of the Inca empire in Peru opened the

way for Spain’s colonization of most of South America.

In 1535, Pizarro founded the city of Lima and made it Peru’s capital.

PeruPizarro

Juan Ponce de Leon Ponce de Leon was a Spanish explorer

that led the first recorded European expedition to reach what is now Florida.

According to a popular story, Ponce de Leon came to Florida to find a spring called the Fountain of Youth.

Florida

Ponce de Leon

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese sea

captain and explorer. Da Gama sailed around the Cape of Good

Hope to India in the late 1490’s. His voyage opened the first all-water trade

route between Europe and Asia.

Cape of Good Hope

Vasco da Gama

The Admiral of the Sea of India

On May 20, 1498, da Gama reached Calicut, India.

Da Gama arrived back in Lisbon in 1499. King Manuel rewarded him and gave him

the title of Admiral of the Sea of India.

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese sea

captain who led the first expedition that sailed around the world.

His voyage provided the first positive proof that the earth is round.

Magellan discovered the passage to the Pacific that is known as the Strait of Magellan.

He named the ocean the Pacific, which means peaceful.

Strait of Magellan

End of Lesson 4

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