If you were Jeremy, what would you do? Hop the fence and keep cutting through the yard Take the street and confront Mitchell & his friends Take the street after Mitchell and his friends have gone in for the evening Explain Why? Read the brief story about Jeremy and Mitchell.

There were many different cultures and societies living in Europe around 1450. As Europe was starting to exit the Middle Ages, and enter the Renaissance, they were growing wealthy. Kingdoms started trading with Asian cultures to gain new wealth and knowledge.

Silk Road The Silk Road was the route taken by the European to the far east. They traded as far east as China. This was a great tool for cultural diffusion.

Ottoman Empire The Silk Road was the most heavily used trade route, until the rise of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans controlled much territory, including a large portion of the Silk Road. The Europeans had no way of trading east any longer, unless they wanted to confront the Ottomans.

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama was one of the earliest men to first explore a trade route via the water. Much of the water was unexplored, at least by the southern Europeans. Many historians believed the Vikings of the north had been exploring the seas and oceans for many hundred years before this period.

Vasco da Gama is given credit for sailing completely around the southern tip of Africa. From there, Western Europeans learned how to trade with the East without having to confront the Ottomans. This would spark many more explorations of the waterways.