The Explorers

7 th grade Standards Students analyze political and economic change in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries (the Age of Exploration, the Enlightenment, and the Age of Reason). 4 Know the great voyages of discovery, the locations of the routes, and the influence of cartography in the development of a new European worldview.

Why did Explorers in the 1400’s risk their lives to explore unknown parts of the World? 4 GOD - to spread Christianity (missionaries) 4 GOLD - wealth from selling rare, luxury goods such as spices, silks, cottons, dyes and gems to people back home and new markets to sell home-grown goods 4 GLORY - a life of adventure (Marco Polo)

The World in Ptolemy

Ptolemy’s Map of the World 4 The Explorers were using the map based on a woodcut carved in 127 a.d. by Claudius Ptolemy, a Greek scientist. It was over 1500 years old! 4 Latitude could be calculated accurately and easily from the position of the sun using an Astrolabe 4 No method existed for properly calculating longitude because of the Earths rotation of the sun

Map Time... 4 Label the Equator and Prime Meridian 4 Label all 7 continents 4 Draw a Compass Rose 4 What continent is located at 60˚W and 30˚S? 4 135˚E and 30˚S? 4 What country led the way in Exploration? –Find it on your map and shade it in.

Key of Voyages 4 Create a key, anywhere on your map, that lists the following explorers –Gil Eanes, –Christopher Columbus –Ferdinand Magellan –Vasco da Gama –Bartholomeu Dias 4 Choose a different color to represent each route

The Portugese Explorers 4 The Portugese began exploring the western coast of Africa, attempting to get beyond Cape Bojador. Gil Eanes 1434 Bartholomeu Dias 1488 Vasco da Gama

Map Time... 4 Label Spain, Italy and Britain 4 Label the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean 4 Label the Cape of Good Hope

Christopher Columbus 4 Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy and studied at Prince Henry’s Center for Navigation 4 He planned to travel WEST from Europe to reach the “Indies” (Asia) 4 Sponsored by Spain

What lies beyond...

Christopher Columbus’s Voyage

“I have reached the Indies”—Not! 4 On October 12 th, Columbus landed on San Salvador, an island in the Bahamas 4 He believed that this island was in Asia, off the coast of Japan or China. Why? 4 He called the inhabitants of these islands, “Indians” after the Asian islands “East Indies” 4 Columbus made 4 more voyages to the Caribbean Sea and the coasts of South and Central America.

Did Columbus “discover” America? 4 In the past, why did history textbooks claim that Christopher Columbus had “discovered” America? What credit does he deserve? 4 When learning about history through a textbook or documents, always consider the source. Be a critical reader and ask yourself: Who wrote this? When was this written? Is there a bias or slant here?

Magellan’s Circumnavigation 4 In , Ferdinand Magellan led the first circumnavigation around the Earth 4 Of the 200 men who began the journey, only 18 survived 4 Spent 7 weeks at the Cape of Good Hope battling cross-winds

Magellan’s Circumnavigation

Balboa’s Route