Age of Exploration Study Guide

Push factors

Things that draw you away from an area.

Pull factors

Things that draw you into an area.

Three G’s of Exploration

Gold (wealth), God (spreading Christianity), Glory (fame and status).

Gold

Signifies wealth and fortune sought during exploration.

God

Represents the desire for colonization and spreading Christianity.

Glory

Indicates the pursuit of fame and status from exploration.

Zheng He

Chinese explorer who sailed for the Ming Dynasty and explored many areas in the Pacific.

Caravel

Small, maneuverable ships used by European explorers in the age of exploration, known for their triangle sails.

Prince Henry the Navigator

Portuguese prince who encouraged exploration and sailed as far as the Gold Coast of West Africa.

Marco Polo & Zheng He

Explorers who inspired Christopher Columbus to explore.

Columbus’ theory about sailing to Asia

Europeans could sail west instead of going around Africa.

Columbus’ ships

Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria.

Area discovered by Columbus

The Caribbean.

Vasco Da Gama

Portuguese explorer who was the first European to navigate around the tip of Africa and find a route to India.

Ferdinand Magellan

First credited with circumnavigating the world, though he died before completing the voyage.

Columbian Exchange

Period of cultural exchanges between the Old and New World.

Animal that transformed Native American lives

Horse

Impact of the Columbian Exchange on diets

American foods altered diets drastically and increased population.

Conquistador who conquered the Aztecs

Hernan Cortes.

Leader of the Aztecs when conquered

Montezuma.

What killed most of the Aztecs and indigenous populations

Disease and warfare.

Areas of the New World conquered by Spain

South America, Florida, Mexico, Central America.

Where France colonized in the New World

Central North America, Louisiana.

Atlantic Slave Trade

Transport of African Americans across the Atlantic; indigenous populations were not used as slaves for profit reasons.

Triangular Trade

Pattern of trade that connected Europe, the Americas, and Africa.

Middle Passage

Leg of the triangle that brought Africans to America.

Impact of slave trade on the Americas and Africa

Effects on bloodlines, population depletion, spread of disease, and social stigma.