LESSON TITLE EUROPEAN EXPLORATION

OBJECTIVES:

1. The students will describe how the Crusades changed
Europe.

2. The student will study the European arguments for
an all water route to Asia.

3. The students will debate the question over societal
and technological changes.

LESSON SUMMARY:

In this lesson the students will look at two main areas of study: The general social structure of Europe, and the reasons for the Crusades, and the legacy of those crusades.

ASSIGNMENTS:

1. possible quiz over European social structure

2. Discuss the Crusades. Perhaps research into some of
the different Crusades, or people that went on them.

NOTES

CREATED NOVEMBER 1993

REVISED

I. The Crusades 1096 - late 1200s

A. Long series of religious wars to free Jerusalem from Moslem control

1. Moslems gained the holyland after 600 A.D.

2. Seljuk Turks cut off Christian pilgrimage
to Jerusalem in the 1,000s.

B. Crusades begun by Pope Urban II

1. asked Christian kings of Europe to wage
holy war for Jerusalem

2. at least 7 major Crusades launched

a. 300 year period

b. Children's Crusade 1212 most tragic

C. From Religious standpoint the Crusades were
failures

1. Jerusalem freed only for a short time

2. thousands died on each side

a. brutality was the norm

3. Crusades helped foster hatred between
Moslem & Christian

a. consequence apparent today

b. 1,000 year legacy of hatred

D. Unexpected benefits of the Crusades

1. stimulated European curiosity for foreign
lands

a. thousands did travel to fight

2. helped Europe catch up to the more civilized East

a. exposed to new science, math, & technology

3. greatly increased demand for spices,

silks, perfumes, jewels, and medicines

a. greatest consequence of the Crusades

II. Crusades, Luxury Goods, and Economics

A. Goods Europeans desired came from long

distances

1. handled by many middlemen

a. escalated the costs

2. transportation also a large cost

3. risk, speculative venture

a. theft, natural disaster, fraud

B. Unfavorable trade balance

1. gold & silver flowed from Europe to the

East

2. mostly enriched middle eastern traders

C. Rush to find ways to cut costs

III. Social Structure of Europe 1,000 to 1500

A. The Roman Catholic Church

1. headed by the papacy

2. powerful in both religious & political
matters

3. gradually lose political power to nation-

states

B. The Monarchies

1. Royal families that controlled states

2. gained increasing powers in this time span

3. rivals often other noble families

a. long period of noble subjugation

b. Nobles became loyal subjects

C. The Nobility

1. wealthy families with large landholdings

2. gave their allegiance to the King

3. trained warriors, led the king's armies

D. The Clergy

1. Roman Catholic Church

2. Bishops - served advised the monarchy &
nobility

3. parish priests - worked among the
illiterate mass

4. Church had a powerful influence

E. Serfs and Peasants

1. largest class of people

2. both were poor and uneducated

3. Serfs very similar to slaves

a. legally tied to a manor

b. most freed by the 1400s

c. change slower in Eastern Europe

4. Peasants

a. most rented land from Church or
Nobility

b. some owned small plots

F. The Middle Class

1. totally new class of people

2. consisted of merchants, bankers, lawyers,

traders

a. lived in cities

b. educated, earned money with their
intelligence

3. class grew in importance, wealth, & power
from 1400s on

IV. The Rise of the Nation-State

A. Most significant political change

1. modern countries came into being

2. the Church lost political power

3. the nobility allied with the monarchy

a. part of the ruling class

4. monarchy common form of govt

a. kings held most political power

B. Characteristics of the Nation State

1. new political structure

2. dominates world politics today

a. U.S., Japan, Russia, France

3. has a unified geographic territory

4. controlled by a single ethnic group

a. has a unified language

b. most also have minorities

LESSON TITLE EUROPEAN EXPLORATION

OBJECTIVES:

1. The students will analyze and draw conclusions about
the exploration of the Vikings.

2. The students will also study the later voyages of
the Portuguese and the Spanish.

3. The students will describe and explain the four
voyages of Columbus

LESSON SUMMARY:

This lesson traces early European exploration from the Vikings to Columbus. Factors about what led to these explorations will also be discussed.

ASSIGNMENTS:

1. map work

2. essays on exploration. debate the pros and cons of
Columbus

NOTES

CREATED NOVEMBER 1993

REVISED

I. The Vikings 900 to 1000 A.D.

A. Vikings were warlike peoples from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark

1. not civilized, or Christianized

2. explorations taking place around Crusades

B. Expert Sailors

1. sailed long distances in small boats

2. feared along Europe's coasts

a. raiders and plunderers

3. invaded northeastern Russia

4. some reached the Mediterranean

C. Others reached Iceland and Greenland

1. Erik the Red

2. sailed across treacherous North Atlantic

3. established settlements

D. Leif Ericson

1. son of Erik the Red

2. credited with reaching North America in
1000

E. Vikings established settlements on

Newfoundland

1. called it Vinland

2. became enemies with the local Indians

3. settlements were abandoned due to war

with the Indians

F. Success of the Vikings was forgotten

II. Portuguese Exploration

A. Prince Henry the Navigator

1. mainly responsible for Portugal's success

2. Established a school to study navigation

a. applied science to sailing

b. drew better maps

c. made technical improvements

3. His ships explored the west coast of

Africa

B. Henry's successes

1. helped enrich Portugal

2. first to reach India by sea

3. Henry not an explorer

C. Goals of Portuguese exploration

1. spread Christianity

a. done by all Europeans

b. sometimes not taken seriously

2. find a legendary African Christian

kingdom

3. searching for gold and riches

4. wanted a water route to Asia

D. Geographic location of Portugal

1. extreme SW Europe

2. paid highest prices for luxuries

3. incentive to explore

E. Portuguese explorers

1. Bartholomeu Dias, 1488 reached sth tip

of Africa

a. named it Cape of Storms

b. blown off course by storms

c. King changed negative name

d. Cape of Good Hope

2. Vasco da Gama, 1498 reached India

a. most of his crew died on voyage

b. made a huge profit

c. increased demand for more trips

F. Portugal became center for Eastern trade

1. broke monopoly of Italian city-states

a. Venice and Genoa

2. made Portugal Europe's richest nation

3. inspired others to compete

III. Spanish Exploration

A. Pursuit of wealth draw to exploration

1. neighbor & rival of Portugal

2. saw Portuguese growing wealthy

B. Political turmoil in Spain, the Reconquest

1. 700 year civil war, Moslems conquered

Spain in 700s

a. prolonged struggle to remove Moors

2. 1492 last Moor stronghold fell

3. Ferdinand and Isabella united Spain

a. consider this a nation state

b. first powerful monarches

4. Spain clearly behind Portugal late 1400s

C. Columbus

1. from Genoa Italy

a. very common to work for other govt

2. seasoned ship's captain

a. much sailing experience

3. Idea reach the East by sailing West

a. seriously underestimated world's

size

b. Idea is an ironic failure

4. Columbus rejected by England, France,

Portugal, and Spain

a. voyage called too risky

b. Columbus perceivered

D. 1492 Ferdinand & Isabella agreed to sponsor
Columbus

1. given 3 ships & crew

a. Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria

b. Santa Maria later wrecked

2. voyage lasted 90 days

a. crew threatened mutiny

b. new world saved them

3. reached the islands of the Caribbean

a. Bahamas, Hispaniola, & Cuba

4. Columbus called the Arawaks Indians

5. returned with slaves, tobacco, some

gold

E. Results of the first voyage

1. claimed lands for Spain

a. thought near Asia

2. found no spices or silver

a. find small amounts of gold

b. introduced to tobacco

3. introduced slavery to the new world

4. began the onslaught on Indian populations

a. judgement - horrendous destruction

F. Columbus made four voyages

1. 1492, 1493, 1497, 1502

2. Never believed he had found new continent

3. died out of favor in Spain 1507

4. Was arrested briefly after 3rd voyage

LESSON TITLE EUROPEAN EXPLORATION

OBJECTIVES:

1. The students will be able to judge the growing
competition between Spain and Portugal.

2. The students well assess the compromise or Line of
Demarcation

3. The students will look at the voyages of Amerigo
Vespucci, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, and Ferdinand Magellan

LESSON SUMMARY:

The lesson will concentrate on Vespucci, Balboa, and Magellan

ASSIGNMENTS:

1. map work

2. role of the church and governments

NOTES

CREATED NOVEMBER 1993

REVISED

I. Voyages of Vespucci and Balboa

A. Amerigo Vespucci 1499-1501

1. an Italian

2. master of propaganda

a. new world bears his name

3. sailed for Spain & Portugal

4. did reach the coast of North America

B. Balboa

1. lived in the new world

2. 1513 arrived in Panama

a. cut his way through the jungle

3. first to site the western Pacific

a. named that ocean

4. originally looking for gold

5. beheaded for treason in 1519

a. falsely accused

II. Ferdinand Magellan 1519-1522

A. Portuguese that sailed for Spain

B. Given five ships

a. 287 men

C. Explored Tierra Del Fuego - land of fires

1. sth tip of South America

2. named for the great fires they saw

3. discovered the Strait of Magellan

D. First European to cross the Pacific

1. reached Indonesia

a. Spice Islands

b. took on a valuable cargo

2. later killed in the Philippines

E. Results of Magellan's voyage

1. first to circumnavigate the globe

2. true size of the world

3. proved Columbus's theory impractical

4. 18 men survived the voyage

IV. Line of Demarcation 1493 and 1494

A. Growing trade and exploration rivalry between
Spain & Portugal

1. threatens potential war

2. mediated by the Vatican

a. avoid war between Catholic countries

B. Actually two Papal declarations

1. solved Spain & Portugal's disputed land

claims

C. Pope Alexander VI

1. Set a line at 38⁰ west longitude

2. Spain given lands to the west

3. Portugal given lands to the east

4. exclusive rights to explore, colonize, &
Christianize

D. 1494 Portugal unhappy with the original line

1. thought Spain given too much

2. Alexander reset the line at 40⁰ west

3. gave Portugal Brazil

a. Portuguese main language of Brazil

E. Other nations did not recognize the line

1. England, France, Denmark

2. showed weakening power of the Church

LESSON TITLE EUROPEAN EXPLORATION

OBJECTIVES: