Age of Exploration and the Columbian Exchange

What was the Reconquista?

The effort by Christian kingdoms to reclaim Iberia from Muslim rule.

Why was 1492 important?

Spain completed the Reconquista and sponsored Columbus's voyage.

Why were Europeans searching for new trade routes?

To gain direct access to Asian goods such as spices and silk.

What role did Portugal play in exploration?

Portugal led early exploration along Africa's coast.

What did Columbus hope to find?

A western route to Asia.

Where did Columbus actually land?

The Bahamas.

Why did Europeans become interested in the Americas?

Gold, land, resources, and fishing opportunities.

How did Native Americans initially respond to Europeans?

Many welcomed them as trading partners.

Why did Native Americans and Europeans misunderstand each other?

Different ideas about land ownership and trade.

What is the Columbian Exchange?

The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, people, and ideas.

What was the most devastating part of the Columbian Exchange for Native Americans?

Disease.

How much of the Native population may have died from disease?

Over 90% in some areas.

Why did the Atlantic slave trade expand?

Europeans needed labor for plantations and mines.

What was the triangular trade?

A trade network connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Who united Portugal?

King John I.

Which Spanish kingdoms united through Ferdinand and Isabella's marriage?

Aragon and Castile.

What ended the Wars of the Roses?

Henry Tudor's victory.

What was the Silk Road?

A trade route connecting Europe and Asia.

Why was Timbuktu important?

It was a major African trade center.

Which Italian city-states dominated Mediterranean trade?

Venice and Genoa.

Why did Portugal establish a navigation school?

To improve exploration and maritime trade.

What African empire traded with Portugal?

The Songhai Empire.

Why were the Azores and Canary Islands important?

They became early agricultural colonies.

What did John Cabot accomplish?

He explored North America's Atlantic coast for England.

What did Amerigo Vespucci help Europeans realize?

The Americas were separate continents.

What did Verrazzano explore?

Much of North America's Atlantic coastline.

Why did Native Americans form alliances such as the Iroquois League?

Protection during increasing warfare.

Why did some Native Americans view Europeans as spiritual figures?

They believed Europeans possessed powerful spiritual knowledge.

What misunderstanding arose from European trade goods?

Native Americans saw exchanges as relationships, Europeans saw business transactions.

What climate change affected Native Americans before European arrival?

A period of cooling known as the Little Ice Age.