World History: Age of Exploration Test Study Guide

China and Japan during the Age of Exploration: What were some of their policies?

• China (Ming/Qing Dynasties): Limited foreign trade to specific ports, restricted European access, and emphasized tribute over open commerce.

• Japan (Tokugawa Shogunate): Practiced sakoku (“closed country”), banning most foreign trade and forbidding Japanese citizens from leaving.

China and Japan during the Age of Exploration: Why were those policies in place?

• China wanted to maintain stability, prevent outside cultural influence, and limit European missionary activity.

• Japan feared European influence (especially Christianity) and wanted to prevent internal conflict and foreign control.

China and Japan during the Age of Exploration: How did Europeans react to those policies?

• Europeans were frustrated and tried to force trade, often using diplomacy or missionary work to gain access.

• Limited access pushed Europeans to focus more on Southeast Asia, India, and the Americas instead.

European Explorers (origin, destination, and purpose): Zheng He

• Origin: China (Ming Dynasty)

• Destination: Indian Ocean, East Africa, Southeast Asia

• Purpose: Show Chinese power, collect tribute, expand trade connections.

European Explorers (origin, destination, and purpose): Ferdinand Magellan

• Origin: Portugal (sailed for Spain)

• Destination: Circumnavigated the globe (via South America to the Pacific)

• Purpose: Find a western route to Asia and spices.

European Explorers (origin, destination, and purpose): Christopher Columbus

• Origin: Italy (sailed for Spain)

• Destination: Caribbean / Americas

• Purpose: Reach Asia by sailing west to find new trade routes.

European Explorers (origin, destination, and purpose): Francisco Pizarro

• Origin: Spain

• Destination: South America (Peru)

• Purpose: Conquer the Inca Empire and gain wealth (gold/silver).

European Explorers (origin, destination, and purpose): Hernán Cortés

• Origin: Spain

• Destination: Mexico

• Purpose: Conquer the Aztec Empire and claim land/resources.

European Explorers (origin, destination, and purpose): Vasco da Gama

• Origin: Portugal

• Destination: India

• Purpose: Establish a direct sea trade route to Asia for spices.

Spanish Colonies in the New World

Geographic location?

• Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and much of South America.

Motivations?

• Spread Christianity, gain wealth (gold, silver, sugar), and expand Spanish power.

Specific Spanish explorers?

• Cortés (Aztecs), Pizarro (Incas), Columbus (Caribbean), de Soto and Coronado (North America).

Treatment of the Natives and impacts on society?

• Many Indigenous people were forced into labor systems like encomienda, exposed to deadly diseases, and saw their cultures suppressed.

• Led to massive population loss and the rise of a mixed-race society (mestizo) in Latin America.

English Colonies in the New World

Geographic Location

• Settled along the East Coast of North America (13 Colonies), including Virginia, Massachusetts, and New England.

Motivations

• Permanent settlement, farming, religious freedom (Puritans/Pilgrims), and economic opportunity.

• Wanted land for agriculture and to build stable communities.

Specific Explorers

• John Cabot (explored the coast of North America for England).

• Later figures like James Cook contributed to exploration, though outside the Americas.

Treatment of Natives & Impacts on Society

• Often pushed Native Americans off their land, leading to conflicts such as King Philip’s War.

• English colonization resulted in more permanent towns, large-scale farming, and population growth.

French Colonies in the New World

Geographic Location

• Canada (Quebec), the Great Lakes region, and the Mississippi River Valley down to Louisiana.

Motivations

• Mainly the fur trade, especially beaver pelts.

• Wanted alliances with Native groups to support trade networks.

Specific Explorers

• Jacques Cartier (mapped the St. Lawrence River).

• Samuel de Champlain (founded Quebec).

• La Salle (explored the Mississippi River).

Treatment of Natives & Impacts on Society

• Generally cooperative and friendly, forming alliances with groups like the Huron.

• French society in North America remained smaller and trade-based, with fewer permanent settlers.

Dutch Colonies in the New World

Geographic Location

• New Amsterdam (modern-day New York City) and parts of the Caribbean.

Motivations

• Focused on trade, profit, and building a commercial empire, not on creating large settlements.

Specific Explorers

• Henry Hudson, who explored the Hudson River region for the Dutch.

Treatment of Natives & Impacts on Society

• Mostly trade-focused relationships, less interested in converting or conquering Native peoples.

• Their influence stayed strongest in economics and trade before the English took over New Amsterdam.

Motivations of European Explorers

• God: Spread Christianity.

• Gold: Gain wealth through trade, gold, spices, or resources.

• Glory: Fame, national power, competition between European empires.

• Technology: Improved ships, maps, and navigation tools encouraged exploration.

Columbian Exchange: Effect on global history

• It connected the Eastern and Western hemispheres, spreading crops, animals, ideas, and technology.

• New crops like potatoes increased world population, while new animals and farming methods changed societies globally.

Columbian Exchange: Effect of European diseases

• Diseases like smallpox, measles, and influenza killed up to 90% of Indigenous populations.

• Massive population loss allowed Europeans to conquer land more easily and transformed the social and political structure of the Americas.