Presentation / Critical Thinking Pepper & Politics Presentation / Critical Thinking M. Wagner

Prior to 1500, Europe was made up of small areas led by nobles. Eventually, these small areas joined together to form nations (countries).

Some of the reasons were political. There were multiple reasons for European Sea Exploration. Some of the reasons were political.

What is one political issue facing our nation today? Pair Think Share

These nations were led by Great Connection! Yes, it was very much like what happened in West Africa! Isn’t that a lot like what happened in West Africa? These nations were led by Kings and Queens.

These countries were better organized; Spain France Hey! That’s one of those amazing transitional words I learned about in ELA class! England These countries were better organized; thus, they were able to pay for sea voyages.

What is this? Peppercorns

Peppercorn Grinder Today’s Cost: $4.69

Life in a Medieval City. Read the following quote from a book titled, What can you infer about pepper, in Medieval times, from this quote? Active Reading: Look for clues that tell you if pepper was more or less valuable than it is today.

“Pepper merchants sell their product individually, by the peppercorn; because of its expense, a housewife was able to buy just one peppercorn if she wished. The popularity and costliness of pepper resulted in its being guarded like diamonds.” Source: Joseph and Frances Gies, Life in a Medieval City. New York: Harper & Row, 1969. p. 281.

Why do you think pepper was so expensive during the Middle Ages? Where do you think pepper came from? What might pepper have to do with sea explorations of the Europeans?

Pepper was important because it was used to season and preserve meats.

Pepper was also believed to have medicinal value. Word Study: What is the root word of medicinal? medicinal Medicine

pepper and other spices, Europeans wanted pepper and other spices, But they came from faraway places in Asia

The problem was that Asia was very far away! By land, this was a very long trip. So, the Europeans started looking for faster ways to get to Asia (over water)…