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Stories from HistoryRenaissance and ExplorationD2.His.14.3-5

The Age of Exploration

Sailors crossed the oceans: Zheng He sailed from China to Africa, Columbus crossed the Atlantic in 1492, and Magellan's crew sailed all the way around the world. Plants, animals and diseases crossed with them.

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Between 1405 and 1433, the Chinese admiral Zheng He led seven great voyages across the Indian Ocean. His biggest ships were among the largest wooden ships ever built, and his fleets carried thousands of sailors to India, Arabia and the east coast of Africa. Then China's rulers ended the voyages and turned inward.

Key idea

In the 1400s and 1500s, European sailors searched for sea routes to the spices and silks of Asia. Bartolomeu Dias sailed around the southern tip of Africa (1488). Christopher Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic and reached islands in the Caribbean (1492). Vasco da Gama reached India by sea (1498). Ferdinand Magellan's crew sailed all the way around the world (1519 to 1522).
Three famous voyages: Columbus (1492), da Gama (1498) and Zheng He (1405 to 1433), roughly.
Explorers sought spices like pepper and cinnamon, which sold for high prices in Europe.

The voyages joined the two halves of the world. Plants, animals and people crossed the ocean in both directions: the Columbian Exchange. Europe, Africa and Asia got corn, potatoes, tomatoes and chocolate; the Americas got horses, cattle, wheat and sugarcane. But Europeans also brought sicknesses such as smallpox, which killed a great many of the people of the Americas.

From the AmericasTo the Americas
corn, potatoes, tomatoeswheat, rice, sugarcane
peppers, peanuts, chocolatehorses, cattle, pigs, sheep
turkeysdiseases such as smallpox and measles

Worked example: Around the world

Magellan's fleet left Spain in 1519 with five ships. One ship came home in 1522. Did Magellan himself finish the voyage?
  1. Magellan was killed in a battle in the Philippines in 1521.
  2. Juan Sebastián Elcano led the last ship home.

Answer: No. His crew, led by Elcano, finished it.

Common mistake

Thinking Columbus proved the Earth was round. Educated people had known it was round since ancient Greek times. Columbus thought the Earth was smaller than it is and that Asia was close; he did not know the Americas were in the way.

Try it at home

  • On a globe, use a piece of string to trace Columbus's route from Spain to the Caribbean, and da Gama's from Portugal around Africa to India. Which is longer?
  • Find three foods in your kitchen that came from the Americas, and three that came to the Americas.
Going further. Explorers (Young Learners); for older students, European Exploration and The Columbian Exchange (U.S. History I). Map skills in Latitude.

Practice

Pass with 3 right answers, the last 2 in a row. Each right answer earns 2 XP.

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