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- Age of Exploration (Repaired)

The document outlines key concepts from the Age of Exploration, focusing on mercantilism, the Columbian Exchange, and the Triangular Trade. It explains how European nations sought wealth through colonies and trade, the exchange of goods and diseases between the Old and New Worlds, and the brutal transportation of enslaved Africans to the Americas. Additionally, it includes a quiz section to reinforce understanding of these concepts.

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3 views4 pages

- Age of Exploration (Repaired)

The document outlines key concepts from the Age of Exploration, focusing on mercantilism, the Columbian Exchange, and the Triangular Trade. It explains how European nations sought wealth through colonies and trade, the exchange of goods and diseases between the Old and New Worlds, and the brutal transportation of enslaved Africans to the Americas. Additionally, it includes a quiz section to reinforce understanding of these concepts.

Uploaded by

shaverjae794
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Key Concepts from the Age of Exploration

Mercantilism
● It is often said that Europe’s main motives for exploration from the 1400s through the 1700s were “God,
gold, and glory.” Both the “gold” and “glory” part of that can be explained by mercantilism.
● Mercantilism was the idea that the overall wealth and power of a nation was based on the amount of
gold and silver they had. The more gold, the more power.
● There were three ways for a nation to get more gold and silver:
○ Get some colonies and mine for gold or silver.
○ Become a manufacturing giant and sell lots of products to other nations. (This is much easier to
do with colonies.)
○ Get some colonies and establish a favorable balance of trade in order to make gold or silver.
● A favorable balance of trade means that a nation exports (sells) more than they import (buys/brings in
to the country), thereby making money. In the 1500-1600s, the best way to do this was to exploit (or
take advantage) some colonies. The mother country would take (or buy at a cheap price) raw materials
grown in the colony. They would then turn the raw materials into finished projects and sell those
products back to their colony.
● For this to work, the mother country must have manufacturing capability. It is also important to make
sure that the colony does not develop any of its own manufacturing, that way the colony is always
dependent on the mother country for finished goods.
● It is also important to prevent the colonies from trading with other manufacturing nations in order for this
to work.

The Columbian Exchange


● The voyages of Christopher Columbus began a vast exchange between the hemispheres- between the
“Old” world and the “New” world. This exchange involved culture, plants, people, livestock, and even
diseases. Because this exchange was started by Columbus’s voyages, it is often referred to as the
“Columbian Exchange.”
● The foods from the New world were probably the most important products brought to the Old world. The
two most important food products were corn and potatoes- both were easy and inexpensive to grow
and were very nutritious. The potato, in particular, became a staple food in many nations in Europe and
Asia. Many other very important foods came from the Americas, including vanilla, cacao (chocolate)
beans, tomatoes, squash, beans, avocados, peanuts, and turkey.
● Two drugs that came from the new world were tobacco and quinine. Quinine was later discovered to be
effective against malaria.
● A number of foods came from the Old world to the New, including: citrus fruits, peaches, pears, grapes,
bananas, olives, onions, sugar cane, coffee, wheat, rice, cows, and pigs.
● Europeans also brought horses to the Americas. Unfortunately, they brought many deadly diseases
with them as well, such as smallpox, influenza, typhus, measles, malaria, and whooping cough. Natives
had never been exposed to these diseases so they had no immunity. This led to mass death among
native populations and led to the collapse of both the Aztec and Inca empires.

The Triangular Trade


● Triangular trade was a key part of the Columbian Exchange. It was called triangular trade because the
series of voyages (or trade routes) made between the New World (the Americas), Europe, and Africa
roughly made a triangle.
● Typically, raw materials were sent from the Americas to Europe- things like sugar, cotton, and tobacco.
● The raw materials were then turned into finished products in Europe, and some of those products were
shipped to Africa- specifically guns and rum.
● In Africa, the guns and rum were traded for human beings… slaves. The slaves were then shipped
across the Atlantic for use on “New World” plantations. This long journey that slaves went on from
Africa to the Americas was called the Middle Passage. It was a grueling and traumatizing experience
that resulted in the death of countless slaves from brutal treatment, disease, and starvation.
Name: ________________________________________

Key Concepts from the Age of Exploration


1. The three goals for European exploration were:
a. _______________________
b. _______________________
c. _______________________
2. The ___________________________________________________ was the global transfer of plants,
animals, and diseases that occurred during the European colonization of the Americas.
3. The journey of enslaved persons from Africa to America is known as the ________________________
____________________________.
4. ___________________________________________________ refers to the transatlantic trade routes
along which slaves, goods, and raw materials were carried between Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
5. Nations sought to increase their wealth and power by growing their supplies of gold and silver through
increased trade. This is called __________________________________________.
Across Down
6. Cacao beans are used to make this yummy treat 1. Humans forced into captivity, sold like livestock,
7. Extremely important food brought from the and brought to the Americas on the Middle Passage
Americas to Europe and Asia 2. Mercantilism was about having a favorable
8. Drug brought from the Old World to the New balance of this, meaning a country would sell more
World, the South was known for having large than they would buy
plantations devoted to this crop 3. Animal brought from the Old World to the
9. Europeans brought many of these to the New Americas, without which we would never have had
World, devastating the native populations hamburgers
4. The Columbian Exchange is named after this
early explorer to the Americas
5. Animal brought to the Americas from Europe that
was very useful in the early days of transportation
6. Term used to describe an area or country
controlled by another larger, more powerful country

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