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DISCOVERY
Questions and Thinking Points

Note:  these terms and questions are for study purposes only--you do not need to submit them for a grade

Prince Henry the Navigator
reconquista
Columbian Exchange
conquistadors
Hernando Cortes
Treaty of Tordesillas
Henry VIII
Protestant Reformation
Martin Luther
Elizabeth I
Philip II of Spain
privateers
Spanish Armada
1.  Why was Portugal the first European country to begin voyages of exploration?
2.  What were the "preconditions" for exploration?
3.  What kind of governments existed in Europe during the Middle Ages?  What was society like?
4.  What role did religious conflict play in Europeans' desire to begin exploration?
5.  Referring to the Columbus Navigation web page:  What obstacles faced Columbus (and Europeans in general) in terms of navigating voyages of discovery?
6.  What was the Columbian Exchange, and what was its significance for both Old and New Worlds?
7.  Referring to Michael Wood's web site:  What advantages did Cortés have that enabled him to conquer the Aztec Empire?
8.  What effect did the Spanish conquests have back in Europe?
9.  What was the Protestant Reformation, and how was it related to the discovery of the New World?
10.  Why did England lag behind Portugal and Spain in the conquest of the New World?
11.  How and why did Elizabeth I establish an English presence in the New World?  What (if any) long term consequences resulted from these efforts?

This page last updated December 16, 2006.

© Kahne Parsons 2007-2008