Geography Practice: European Exploration

In the 1400s, Western Europeans looked for new trade routes to Asia. In this lesson, you'll map some of the early
routes they took.
Some of the place names used in these instructions are not shown on the atlas maps. To locate them,

use the Internet or the atlas index.

(Adapted from
Mapping World History
, Nystrom)

Examine
pages 68-69
of the Atlas of World History and a
world map
.
PART A:
Routes to Indies
1.

Give your map a title:

European Exploration

2.

In the atlas, on page 68, look at map A. With your finger, point to goods available from the Indies.

3.

Europeans called all of India and southeast Asia the Indies. On your map, label Asia east of Pakistan
INDIES
.

PART B:
Eastern Route (Silk Road)
4.

Spices, silks, and other goods available in the Indies were rare in Europe. Many Europeans wanted these
goods. For centuries, Europe and Asia had traded goods along the Silk Road.
a. Draw the Silk Road
from Constantinople to China.

5.

The Silk Road had several drawbacks. Since merchants traveled overland, carrying everything on the backs
of camels and horses, goods had to be light.
a. Above the Silk Road, write
LIGHT GOODS
.

6.

As the Mongol empire collapsed and Pax Mongolica ended, thieves often raided caravans.
a. Above LIGHT GOODS, write
BANDITS
.

7.

Another route to the Indies crossed the Indian Ocean. In the atlas, on page 69, with your finger, trace the
shortest
water
route from China to Alexandria. (Where is Alexandria?)
a. On your map,
Draw this Indian Ocean Trade Route
.

8.

The Ottoman Empire and Italian city-states controlled the western end of the Asian trade routes.
a. Much of the Middle East was controlled by the Ottoman Empire. At the eastern end of the
Mediterranean Sea, write
OTTOMANS
.
b. The Ottomans charged high taxes on goods travelling through their empire. Below OTTOMANS,
draw a money symbol
$$
.
c.

The only Europeans trading in the Ottoman Empire were merchants from the Italian city-states
especially Venice and Genoa. West of OTTOMANS, write
ITALIANS
.

d. These Italian merchants also added to the price of Asian goods. South of Italy, add a money symbol
$$
.
9.

Asian goods were so expensive in Europe that pepper was worth its weight in gold. Many European
countries wanted to find their own trade routes to the Indies.
a. On pages 68-69, look at the large map. With your finger, outline the lands known by Europeans in
1490.
b. Europeans had two geographic mysteries. One was how far south Africa went. In 1420 Europeans

knew little about Africa south of the Sahara. On your map, across southern Africa,
draw a large
question mark
.
c.

The other geographic mystery was how far west the Atlantic Ocean went. In the Atlantic,
draw a
question mark
.

PART C:
The Southern Route
10. The Portuguese began to look for ways to make money-including a new route to the Indies.
11. In 1420 Prince Henry founded a center for navigation and mapmaking in southwestern Portugal.
a. At the southwestern tip of the Iberian Peninsula,
draw a boat symbol
. (Where is the Iberian
Peninsula?)
b. Prince Henry sent ships south along the coast of Africa. From the boat symbol to the Cape Verde
Islands,
draw a dotted arrow
.
c.

In 1460 Diego Gomes found what he hoped was the southern coast of Africa because the coastline
turns east.
Put a dot at 15N latitude, 25 W longitude
.

d. From the Cape Verde Islands to the dot,

draw a dotted arrow
. (Where are the Cape Verde Islands?)
e.

At the end of that arrow, write

GOMES 1460
.

12. Gomes did not discover the southern coast of Africa. The Portuguese continued their search for the way
around Africa.
a. From GOMES 1460 to the southern tip of Africa,
draw a dotted arrow
.
b. Bartolomeu Dias reached the southern coast of Africa. Below the Cape of Good Hope, write
DIAS
1488
.
13. The Portuguese continued to explore the coast of Africa.
a. From the Cape of Good Hope to Malindi (on the coast just east of Mt. Kilimanjaro),
draw a dotted
arrow
.
b. In Malindi, the Portuguese found a guide who would take them to India. From Malindi to
southwestern India,
draw a dotted arrow
.
c.

Portuguese captain Vasco da Gama, reached India in 1498. He was able to get only a few samples of
goods from India-Muslims still controlled the trade. In India, write
DA GAMA 1498
.

PART D:
The Western Route
14. A Genoese (an Italian city) captain, Christopher Columbus, wanted to try a different route to the Indies.
Columbus believed that the Atlantic Ocean was about 4,000 miles wide -- much shorter than the length of
Africa.
15. Portuguese navigators thought Columbus was wrong. From what they already knew about the world,
Columbus's calculations would mean the world was egg-shaped, not round. They refused to finance his
voyage.
a. Columbus was able to convince Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, the new rulers of Spain, to fund
his expedition. From Spain towards China (Florida, actually) draw a
dashed arrow
.
b. Above the arrow, write
COLUMBUS 1492
.
c.

It turned out that Columbus was half-right. There was land 4,000 miles from the Canary Islands it

just wasn't China.

d. Columbus never admitted that he was wrong and insisted he was in the Indies. He named the
islands he explored the West Indies. In the Caribbean Sea, write
WEST INDIES
.
e.

The Spanish soon realized that they were not in Asia. They called the area the New World. On the
Americas, write
NEW WORLD
.

PART E:
The Northwestern Route
16. The Portuguese were able to control the trade route around Africa. However, other countries continued to
try to reach the Indies by going around or through the New World.
a. In 1497 the English king hired a Venetian navigator, John Cabot, to find a northwestern route to the
Indies. Instead, Cabot reached Newfoundland. From the British Isles to Newfoundland,
draw an
arrow
.
b. Above the arrow, write
CABOT 1497
.
c.

Like Columbus, Cabot believed he had reached the Indies. However, Cabot's greatest discovery was
an important region for fishing. Off the coast of Newfoundland,
draw a fish symbol
.

PART F:
Spain & Portugal Conflict
17. As the Portuguese and Spanish began exploring the Atlantic, they often came into conflict over the lands
they found. The two countries asked the pope to prevent a conflict.
a. In the Treaty of Tordesillas, the pope set a boundary on Portuguese and Spanish exploration, land
claims and trade. At about 48 west longitude,
draw a line
from the North Pole to the South Pole.
Label it
TORDESILLAS LINE
.
18. The pope gave Portugal the right to all non-Christian lands east of the boundary. East of the line, write
PORTUGAL
.
19. Spain had the same rights west of the boundary. West of the line, write
SPAIN
.
20. Much of the land that Spain and Portugal received was unknown to Europeans at the time. In the areas of
the Americas and Africa, write
UNKNOWN
.
21. As more land was explored, the Spanish and Portuguese set up trading posts and colonies.
a. The Portuguese continued their trade with Africa, especially in slaves. In Africa, write
SLAVERY
.
b. The Spanish colonies in the Caribbean produced wealth from silver mines and sugar plantations. In
the Caribbean, write
SILVER
and
SUGAR
.
22. Other European countries did not accept the Treaty of Tordesillas. England, France and the Netherlands
raided Spanish and Portuguese ships. The three counties also explored the Americas and set up their own
colonies.
a. West of England,
draw a warship
.
b. Francis Drake was one of the most important sea captains in English history. In 1577, Queen
Elizabeth secretly gave Drake permission to raid Spanish settlements in the Pacific.
c.

In the
Pacific Ocean
, write
ENGLAND RAIDS SPAIN
.