Sailing Uncharted Seas

Section Review Question

1. Marco (Polo!)'s tales of China amazed Europeans. Using coal instead of wood for fires (gasp!) and paper money (ingenious!) and thousands of vendors selling every possible ware.

2. Prince Henry of Portugal knew that a sailor needed training before going out on the open seas. So he set up a navigation school to do that.

3. Two sources kept a sailor smart and ready for the seas: Arabian advice; albeit the Arabs used it for the deserts; and Renaissance inventions. For example, the compass was indispensable for navigation. So was the astrolabe.

4. Most early seamen navigated by dead reckoning; they took an educated guess at their speed and latitude, and calculated the rest.

5. A couple of important breezes around the equator were known as the trade winds.

6. The Arabs offered some good advice about the sea, even though they were used to the desert sands. They knew the desert well; they didn't have tales about monsters lunging out of the sand to eat them. The Arabs didn't have to worry about sand currents or winds to move them about. They didn't have to worry about drowning. But sea goers did. And though Arab advice helped, you had to know these things by experience.

New Regions and Routes

A group of penguins are hiding somewhere! Can you see them?

Section Review Questions

1. The first European explorer to reach India was Bartholomew Dias. He went south, got caught in a storm, and was carried around the tip of Africa without even knowing it. He decided to turn around, and spotted land now known as the Cape of Good Hope.

2. Christopher Columbus had a plan to reach the East: Sail west! (Yeah! Wait, what?)

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3. Native Americans are called Indians because when Columbus found America he thought he found India.

4. Vasco da Gama traveled around the Cape of Good Hope and found the port of Calicut. He was amazed at India's vast riches.

5. "Da Gama went east. Columbus went west. Why not go all the way around the whole dang WORLD while you're at it?" "Why not?" decided Ferdinand Magellan. He would go sail around the world, circumnavigate it. It took a lot longer than 80 days, mind you; the voyage lasted 3 years, and Magellan didn't even make it back.

6. A short time later, Sir Francis Drake attempted the same feat, and lucky him; he didn't die! He sailed around the globe for about 3 years, exploring everywhere he could get to. While crossing the Pacific, (named by Magellan; Latin for "peaceful) a storm threatened them. But God saved their lives ande they made it to the East Indies, their destination.

7. Every country had their own ports and outposts. For trade, this let them have goods from every corner of the globe. In case of war, this let them be able to respond to any situation, anywhere.

Bonus: If you found the penguins, +1.

Exploring the Eastern Hemisphere

Here there be ninjas! (You've been warned!)

Section Review Questions

1. Three groups of people traveled to foreign lands: traders, government officials, and missionaries.

2. Now, when Europeans went to America, they didn't bring any farmers or craftsmen. No, they brought fat lazy rich people who couldn't raise a finger to do work. They tried using Indians as slaves, but the brutal work and conditions killed of the Indians too quickly to be effective. So they had Africans come in for slaves. They had doing it for years, so that was nothing new.

3. During this time, Japan was known as the "Country at War." For example, the instant a boy becomes 15, rich or poor, he carried a sword and dagger at their sides at all times. Also, any man was the ruler of his household. If he needed, for any reason, to kill his servants and steal their possessions, they could with no hesitation. In those times, you could kill a man on an excuse flimsier than a twig! ("You stole my Tic-Tac! Die!" "But I didn't... Ack!)

4. The heroes of Japanese society were the samurai. (Not ninjas, they don't exist! ;)

5. At around 1640-ish, the shoguns united Japan. One shogun, fearing foreign influence, sealed off Japan from the rest of the world. It remained sealed-off for 200 years.

6. A monk who traveled to Japan, Francis Xavier, described Japan as having low regard for life. The Japanese even preferred suicide over death by the hands of an enemy. All they have ever learned was war, honor, and death. Such traits continued from generation to generation.

Exploring the Western Hemisphere

Section Review Questions

1. The conquerers of South America were the Spanish conquistadors.

2. While searching what is now Mexico for gold, the conquistadors discovered the Mayan empire. Apparently, gold was unimportant to the Mayans.

3. The Aztecs spent plenty of time at war. Their god demanded human hearts for sacrifice. So they stole other peoples hearts to sacrifice.

4. A few years after Cortes conquered Mexico, Francisco Pizarro went down to modern Peru. There he discovered the Incas, living among the Andes Mountains. They too were packed with gold. So of course he killed them, got their gold, and took control.

5. The Incas covered their roofs with gold sheeting, and when the sunlight reflected off the sheeting, it reminded them of their sun god.

6. The Spanish plundered the Incas for all the gold they had and were willing to give away. but they still wanted more. The Incas refused. So the conquistadors brought down yet another empire.

7. It must have been difficult accepting a religion from someone who beat the crap out of you. The Incas and Mayans, once conquered, were forced to accept Catholicism from the Spaniards. But after about a thousand years of one religion, you kind of stick with the old one when offered a new one.

Chapter 6 Chapter Review

1. (a) water (b) compass (c) astrolabe

2. (a) conquistador (b) Aztecs (c) Francisco Pizarro (d) Mayans

3. Discovered (and reached) the Cape of Good Hope.

4. Discovered Japan.

5. A small Japanese dagger, used for suicide by slicing out intestines.

6. Capital of the Aztec empire.

7. Drake: Sir Francis Drake, Spanish explorer who circumnavigated the world in three years.

8. da Gama: Vasco da Gama, Portugese explorer, went around the tip of Africa and visited India.

9. Columbus: Christopher Columbus / sailed the ocean blue / in Fourteen-Hundred / Ninety-Two and reached America.

10. Magellan: Ferdinand Magellan, tried to go around the world; he didn't make it. His crew did, though.

11. (a)

12. (c)

13. (b)

14. (d)

15. Spain, West

16. Portugal, Africa

17. Portugal, India

18. Aztecs, Mexico

19. Europe, Japan

20. Andes Mountains, Peru

21. India

22. India, the Bahamas.

23. The explorers of the early world shared common traits. A drive to explore; to go out and see what's over the hill and beyond. Intelligence; a wisdom to plan ahead and expect the unexpected. Leadership; a good planner and explorer cannot man a ship by himself. These traits continue into the modern world. Scientists must have the curiosity to do something that hasn't been done before. Astronauts must plan ahead; in space, no one can help you except the men with you. If something breaks down, they must improvise. Missionaries must know how to lead men and women to Christ. Military leaders must be an example to those below them.

Chapter 6 Key Words

Prince Henry: Known as Prince Henry the Navigator, he opened a school for aquatic navigation.

compass: a familiar instrument, it kept sailors straight and true; they just had to know where they were going.

astrolabe: measured the angle from the horizon to the sun or star to figure out the latitude. Eventually replaced by the sextant.

dead reckoning: when a sailor took an educated guess to their speed and heading, looked at the map, and went out.

trade winds: a breeze along the equator: aided traveling hither and thither.

doldrums: an area of calm, fluctuating winds.

horse latitudes: where the trade winds and prevailing winds meet.

caravel: a type of ship sturdy enough for sea travel and big enough to carry a large cargo.

Bartholomew Dias: Portugese explorer who first reached the Cape of Good Hope.

the Cape of Storms: what Bartholomew first called the Cape of Good Hope.

the Cape of Good Hope: the southern tip of Africa.

Christopher Columbus: Portugese explorer who discovered the Bahamas. (But he thought he reached India.)

King Ferdinand: King of Spain in 1492; funded Columbus's journey

Queen Isabella: Queen of Spain in 1492; funded Columbus's journey

Vikings: men of the fjords, Scandinavians, and early explorers.

Erik the Red: famous Viking; discovered Greenland.

Leif Erikson: discovered Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Labrador.

skraelings: the Viking name for Native Americans (means war-whooper).

Ferdinand Magellan: first man to circumnavigate the world, died on the way.

Sir Francis Drake: English explorer who went around the world, exploring everything.

Francis Xavier: monk who reached Japan and wrote home about it.

Samurai: Japanese warrior; natural enemy of the ninja

seppuku: Japanese suicide ceremony; death by intestinal evisceration.

shogun: Japanese leader

conquistadors: Spanish explorers; a gold-hungry lot

Hernando Cortez: discovered the Aztecs and conquered them.

Aztec empire: Massive empire in modern Mexico

Tenochtitlan: hard-to-pronounce Aztec capital city in the middle of a lake; modern Mexico City

Montezuma: Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan; had plenty of gold

Toltecs: earlier empire in the Aztec area; borrowed from the Olmecs

Olmecs: earlier empire in the Aztec area

Mayans: empire in the Yucatan Penninsula

Francisco Pizarro: conquistador who discovered the Incas and later conquered them over gold

Cuzco: Inca capital in what is now southern Peru