Cummings' History Classes



OVERVIEW: THE AGE OF EXPLORATIONIt’s hard to provide exact dates for the Age of Exploration, but this period is generally considered to have begun at the end of the Middle Ages, when Europeans were becoming increasingly interested in expanding their trade capabilities and pursuing scientific investigations. Countries began to see the value of exploration outside of Europe and the Mediterranean, and governments became more and more willing to finance expeditions to unknown or little-known parts of the world.Throughout the Age of Exploration, European navigators relied on increasingly sophisticated technology to help them explore the seas and land. Developments in shipbuilding and navigational equipment enabled voyages of exploration to reach places they would not previously have been able to go. Vessels such as the Portuguese caravel and navigational instruments such as the cross-staff and mariner’s astrolabe enabled sailors to venture further into the oceans and around the continents than they’d ever been able to before.Developments in mapmaking also helped Europeans explore and record their voyages.The translation of an ancient mapmaking guide (Ptolemy’s Geography) into Latin helped spark interest in cartography and exploration, and the invention of the printing press made it easier to publish and distribute maps.Vasco da Gama (c.1469–1524) was the first European to travel via the sea route to India.Europeans had been trading with India for centuries, but da Gama’s voyage began the era of overseas trade between Europe and Asia. His first voyage to India left Portugal in July of 1497. He stopped over in Africa before heading to India, then landed in Calicut in May of 1498. It was important for da Gama to offer gifts to the king there, but the same gifts that had been welcomed in Africa were rejected in India because the king thought them inferior and of little value. Da Gama was forced out of Calicut by local Moors (Muslims) who saw his attempts to trade as a threat to their own business, and he returned to Portugal with only a few samples of foreign goods. He went back to India in 1502, however, and established a powerful trade route, killing many Indians and Muslims in the effort.Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) believed that the world was round when he set off on his first voyage. He was trying to figure out how to reach Asia by sailing westward fromEurope. When he landed in the West Indies (in the Caribbean Sea), he initially thought he was on islands off the coast of Asia. Columbus made four voyages to the “New World” and learned that the islands had gold. He pressed for Spain to colonize the islands and take advantage of their gold, ignoring the wishes of the people who already lived there.Ferdinand Magellan (c.1480–1521) was the first person to lead a voyage that circumnavigated the globe. Although educated Europeans already believed the earth was round, Magellan’s 1519–1522 voyage provided definite proof. It also proved that theAmericas were completely separate from Asia, divided by the Pacific Ocean. Upon reaching the Philippines, Magellan converted a king and his subjects to Christianity, but was unable to convert the king’s rivals and their subjects, who rose up against him and killed him. Magellan’s party continued on the circumnavigation voyage and returned to Europe in 1522.All Web links for this lesson can be found at: .(Scroll down until you see The Age of Exploration.)Vasco da GamaVasco da Gama was the first European to travel via the sea route to India. Europeans had been trading with India for centuries, but da Gama’s voyage began the era of overseas trade between Europe and Asia.Da Gama’s first landing point in India was Calicut. There, the king angrily rejected daGama’s gifts, saying they were of little value, and the local Moors (Muslims) forced him out because they saw his attempts to trade as a threat to their own business. After a stop in Goa, north of Calicut, Da Gama returned to Portugal with only a few samples of trade goods.Vasco da Gama: Round Africa to India, 1497–1498 down until you see the paragraph that begins “1498. Calicut. [Arrival.],” about a quarter of the way down the page.Read this paragraph and the next one. The “captain-major” is da Gama.Vocabulary:? Moors: Arab merchants (Tunis was a trading city in North Africa and is now the capital of Tunisia)Answer the following questions:What was da Gama looking for, according to what the convict told the Moors in Calicut?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What did the Moor tell the people upon boarding one of da Gama’s ships? How do you think da Gama received this news?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Read the next paragraph.Vocabulary:? tawny: yellowish-brown? covetous: greedy, selfishDescribe da Gama’s first impressions of the personalities of the people of Calicut. Do you think he portrayed them favorably or unfavorably? Give evidence that supports your answer.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Scroll down to the paragraph that begins “And the captain-major told him he was the ambassador of a King of Portugal,” a little more than halfway down the page. This paragraph describes da Gama’s first meeting with the king in Calicut.Vocabulary:? induced: convinced? intrusted: entrusted (left in the care of)? ensuing: followingHow did da Gama (the captain-major) portray the king of Portugal?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What did da Gama claim the purpose of his expedition was?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Scroll down to the paragraph that begins “On Tuesday, May 29, the captain-major got ready the following things.” Read this paragraph.Vocabulary:? lambel: probably something put on a coat of arms? bale: a nobleman, a duke? depreciated: lowered the value of, downgradedHow did the Moor, his factor, and the bale react when they saw the items da Gama was planning to give to the king? Why did they react this way?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________How did da Gama react to the news about his intended gifts?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What examples of cultural misunderstanding or misjudgment are evident in the passages you’ve read? Cite at least two, and explain how they show cultural misunderstanding/misjudgment.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus completed four voyages to the “New World,” the most famous of which was his 1492 voyage that led him to “discover” the islands of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. He initially believed the West Indies to be islands off the coast of Asia, since he had been trying to figure out how to reach Asia by sailing westward from Europe. Contrary to what you may have heard, Columbus did believe that the world was round before he set out from Europe.Of course, Columbus didn’t actually discover the West Indies, which were already inhabited. Once he found out that the islands contained gold, however, he was determined\ that Spain should colonize the islands.Christopher Columbus: Extracts from Journal excerpts are from Columbus’s journal of his first voyage. The Admiral referred to in the journal is Columbus himself.Scroll down to “Thursday, 11 October.” Skim the second paragraph until you find the sentence that begins “At two o’clock in the morning the land was discovered….” Read this sentence and the next three sentences carefully, finishing with the sentence that ends “…making the requisite declarations, which are more at large set down here in writing.”This description concerns Columbus’s first landing in the New World, probably on Watling Island in the Bahamas.Vocabulary:? descried: noticed; saw? notary: a person who writes things down to make them official or who makes sure that written documents are official (notaries today put official stamps on documents such as wills)? sovereigns: leaders? requisite: necessaryAnswer the following questions:What was the first main activity that the newcomers did upon landing on the island? Why did they do this?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Continue reading to the end of the paragraph.Vocabulary:? “thos of the Canaries”: people from the Canary Islands, where Columbus had been at the beginning of his journey? endeavored: triedWhat were Columbus’s first impressions of the islanders? List at least six things he recorded in his journal.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What was the main thing the Spaniards hoped to change about the islanders?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Scroll down to “Saturday, October 13.” Read the first two-thirds of this paragraph, through the sentence that ends “and proceeded on to the southwest in search of gold and precious stones.”Vocabulary:? multitudes: large numbers? hitherto: before, until now? prominent: large, obvious? wrought: built, fashioned? calabashes: gourds that were used to carry things? thither: thereWhat did Columbus want to find out from the islanders? What was he hoping to obtain?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Columbus’s letter to the King and Queen of Spain, 1494 that this letter was probably written in 1494, nearly two years after the previous journal entries you just read. This letter refers to the islands that he “discovered” on his voyages, including the one you’ve already read about.Vocabulary:? aforesaid: mentioned earlier? abode: dwelling? whence: where? render account: to show the amount of gold they’ve collected? deputed: assigned? smelted: melted? consigned: given? per centum: percent? adorning: decorating? perforce: by necessity, force of circumstances? quantity: amount? be privy to: know about? liberality: open-mindednessRead the letter, then answer the following questions:Why do you think Columbus suggested that settlers should establish “three or four towns” rather than simply living on farms in the countryside?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What did Columbus presume would be the main economic interest of the colonists? How did he suggest this economic activity be regulated?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What did Columbus think about the idea of continuing voyages of exploration?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Based on what you’ve read in this lesson, what seem to have been the primary economic reasons that the Spanish were interested in the islands Columbus “discovered”?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Based on what you’ve read in this lesson, what seems to have been the overall attitude of Columbus toward the people who already lived on the islands? Did he take these people’s economic interests into account when planning the future of the colony? Why or why not?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Ferdinand MagellanFerdinand Magellan (c.1480–1521) was the first person to lead a voyage that circumnavigated the globe. Although educated Europeans already believed that the earth was round, Magellan’s 1519–1522 voyage provided definite proof.He first sailed from Portugal to South America, where he wintered and suppressed a mutiny by some of his men. That spring, he explored and sailed from the Atlantic to the Pacific by going around the tip of South America; the Strait of Magellan there is named after him. After crossing the Pacific, Magellan attempted to convert Philippine islanders to Christianity. He successfully converted the king and people of the island of Macangor, but when that king took Magellan to other islands ruled by rival kings, Magellan ran into trouble. The people of these islands didn’t convert willingly, and Magellan burned some of their villages and sent boats to fight the villages on the island of Matam. The people there rose up against him and killed him.Ferdinand Magellan’s Voyage Round the World, 1519–1522 down to the paragraph that begins “In this port three of the ships rose up against the Captain-major….” This paragraph describes what happened at the port of St. Julian (in modern-day Argentina), where Magellan and his ships spent the winter of 1520. The “Captain-major” mentioned in the paragraph is Magellan.Read the paragraph, then answer the following questions:What did the captains of the three ships do, and why?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________How did Magellan handle this situation?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What does this incident suggest about Magellan’s leadership style?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What does this incident suggest about the expectations a “Captain-major” might have had of the captains in his fleet?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Scroll down to the paragraph that begins “This king conducted them thence a matter of thirty leagues to another island named Cabo….” This paragraph describes Magellan’s exploration of the Philippine islands. The king who led him to these islands was a king he’d met on a previous island who he had successfully converted to Christianity. This king was not on friendly terms with the kings of the other islands—they were all rivals.Read the paragraph, then answer the following questions:What does it mean that Magellan “did what he pleased with the consent of the country”?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What did Magellan demand of the other kings, and how did they react to this demand?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What did Magellan do as a consequence of the other kings’ reaction to his demand?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What did Magellan demand of the people of Matam? Did they agree to this demand?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________How did Magellan react to the people of Matam’s decision? What happened as a result of his reaction?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Does the passage say how the king who led Magellan to Matam reacted to Magellan’s idea to fight against the people of Matam? Did he appear to object to Magellan’s idea, or do you think he supported it? (Remember, this king was a rival of the other kings.)__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What do these incidents (on Cabo and Matam) suggest about Magellan’s attitude toward the non-European peoples he encountered on his journey around the world?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Writing AssignmentImagine that you’re a journalist who has been assigned the task of reporting on the Age of Exploration. You will gather information for your article from the primary source documents you’ve seen in this unit, the answers you’ve provided on the worksheets, and possibly from additional sources as well. Use information from the sources mentioned above to find out answers to these journalistic questions:Who explored?Where did they go?When did they go?What did they do on their expeditions?Why did they explore?How did they accomplish their goals?How did they interact with the people they encountered?Compile your answers to the above questions in a two-page article. Support your points with specific quotes and evidence from the primary sources and other resources you’ve investigated.Type your article. Make sure to proofread it for spelling and grammatical errors!Cite your sources at the end of your article. This should be on a separate page and is not included in the page-count.Your paper should have 1” margins, be in 12 point font, and in either Arial, Times New Roman, or Georgia. ................
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