First Period: 10:35am to 11:12am
Second Period: 11:15am to 11:52am
Third Period: 11:55am to 12:32pm
Early Modern Europe Readings & Checkpoints
Over the course of the unit, we will be going through different sections of the textbook in class. Whenever we start a reading, the questions will be due the next day and there will be a reading checkpoint made available after school for homework (unless there are other instructions). The Google Forms online correspond to a specific topic/lesson in the textbook.
Voyages of Discovery
Merchants had traded with Asia since ancient times. During the Crusades, Europeans brought back silks and jewels from Asia. For a time, the Black Death and the Mongol invasions had interrupted this trade. By the 1500s, traders were eager to return to Asia. At the same time, strong European states were emerging. Rulers of centralized states such as Spain, Portugal, England, and France saw world trade as the key to increasing their own power and prosperity.
Iberian Empires
At the time the Spanish explorers arrived, the Aztec leader Moctezuma ruled an empire that extended throughout Mexico. In South America, the Incan emperor Atahualpa (ah tuh WAHL puh) ruled more than 10 million people. These two empires were large and complex, but they were no match for the Spanish forces.
A flood of Spanish settlers and missionaries followed Cortés and the conquistadors to Spain’s new empire. In time, a new culture emerged that reflected a mix of European, Native American, and African traditions. Portugal, on the other hand, led the way in worldwide exploration. With its advanced navigational tools and maps, Portugal eagerly sought to expand its global empire just as its neighbor Spain had begun to do.