Exploration+Changes+the+World

=Unit 6: Exploration Changes the World=

Key Words

 * conquistador:** "Conqueror" in Spanish; Spanish soldiers who conquered native people in Latin America in the early sixteenth century
 * cochineal:** a red dye obtained from the dried bodies of cochineal insects
 * creoles:** people of Spanish descent born and raised in the Americas; socially, creoles ranked behind peninsulares
 * encomendero:** a colonist who had authority over Indians who were forced to farm the land or work in mines; the encomendero was expected to protect and Christianize the Indians in exchange for tribute (such as a share of crops)
 * mestizos:** people of mixed Spanish and Indian descent; socially, mestizos ranked beneath creoles
 * peninsulares:** a person born and raised in Spain; peninsulares formed the highest social class in colonial Latin America
 * viceroy:** means "in place of the king": one who watches over the lands and subjects claimed by the king
 * hemisphere:** one half of the Earth
 * Middle Passage:** the middle leg of the three-way transatlantic slave trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas, during which slaves suffered and often died due to terrible conditions on overcrowded ships

Lesson 1: Clash of Civilizations, Day 1
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Gold, glory, and God. The Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors went to the New World to search for wealth and glory and to spread their religion. Guns and germs helped them defeat great empires. but the conquerors could not have predicted the long-term and often unintended consequences of their actions. Farming changed on three continents. Diets changed. Thousands of people willingly crossed the oceans to start new lives. Millions died of disease and abuse and millions were kidnapped and forced to cross the oceans as slaves. We still feel the consequences today.

in the early sixteenth century, Spain was the most powerful country in Europe. In the Americas, the Aztec and Inca Empires were flourishing. What would happen when Spanish conquistadors went to the Americas searching for gold, empire, and a chance to spread Christianity? The Spanish could never have imagined the quantities of gold the New World offered. The Aztecs and Incas had never seen horses or guns. When the Spanish crossed the Atlantic Ocean, the world began to change in ways no one could have predicted.

Lesson Objectives

 * Define conquistador
 * Describe the characteristics of the Aztec and Inca Empires that contributed to their decline
 * Identify Francisco Pizarro and summarize the events that led to the decline of the Inca Empire
 * Identify Hernan Cortes and summarize the events that led to the decline of the Aztec Empire
 * Identify Moctezuma

Difference Between the Aztecs and the Incas Aztec, Maya, and Incas


 * 1) Read Chapter 4, from the beginning to "Pizarro Ventures South," pages 238-247, and complete Day 1 of the Reading Guide.
 * 2) Examine a primary source document and complete the Consider the Source sheet.
 * 3) Examine the differences between the Spanish and Aztec civilizations by reviewing the website above. When you have finished, write a short paper to explain what, if anything, the Aztecs could have done to make things turn out differently.

Lesson 1: Clash of Civilizations, Day 2
media type="youtube" key="31I3-lJpva8" width="420" height="315" Fall of the Inca Empire Ten Facts About the Conquest of the Inca Empire


 * 1) Read Chapter 4, from "Pizarro Ventures South" to the end of the chapter, pages 247-249, and complete Day 2 of the Reading Guide.
 * 2) Examine the differences between the Spanish and Inca civilizations. When you have finished, write a short paper to explain what, if anything, the Incas could have done to make things turn out differently.
 * 3) If you had to be a member of one of the three groups (conquistadors, Aztecs, or Incas), which one would you choose. Provide your answer and explain why you would choose that group.

Lesson 2: The Spanish and Portuguese Empires, Day 1
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The goal of the Spanish and Portuguese in the Americas was to bring colonial wealth--not only sugar and other crops, but gold and silver--back to Europe. The Spanish and Portuguese organized their new colonies to be sure they achieved their goal. But at what cost?

In his mural, twentieth-century artist Diego Rivera shows how native peoples suffered under colonialism. Not all Spanish or Portuguese colonists approved of what was happening in the Americas. Some, mostly priests and friars like Bartolome de Las Casas, spoke out against what they saw. Unfortunately, their protests were not enough to save the people.

Lesson Objectives

 * Give examples of goods that Europeans wanted from the Americas
 * Define peninsulare, creole, and mestizo and describe their places in the social structure of the colonies
 * Describe the lives of the native peoples under the encomienda system
 * Describe the system for governing the Spanish colonies
 * Explain why friars and Jesuits went to the colonies and describe the methods they used to achieve their goals
 * Explain why the native population declined so rapidly and describe how the Spanish government responded to the decline
 * Recognize that many missionaries like Las Casas protested to their government about the treatment of the Indians


 * 1) Read Chapter 5, from the beginning to "Toil and Disease Take Their Toll," pages 250-258, and complete Day 1 of the Reading Guide.
 * 2) Read Chapter 5, from "Toil and Disease Take Their Toll" to the end of the chapter, pages 258-261, and complete Day 2 of the Reading Guide.

Lesson 3: The Colombian Exchange
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When Europeans began sailing to the Americas, they carried people, plants, animals, and diseases back and forth. and so began the Columbian Exchange, the effects of which changed the world forever.

Lesson Objectives

 * Describe the Columbian Exchange
 * Define hemisphere
 * Distinguish between intentional and unintentional consequences
 * Recognize animals that were introduced to the New World from the Old World and describe their impact
 * Recognize significant plants that were introduced to the New World from the Old World and describe their impact
 * Recognize significant plants that were introduced to the Old World from the New World and describe their impact
 * Use maps to gain information on the Columbian Exchange

Lesson 4: Songhai, Benin, and the New Slave Trade, Day 1
media type="youtube" key="dnV_MTFEGIY" width="560" height="315" Powerful trading kingdoms had thrived in western Africa for centuries before the Portuguese arrived in the late fifteenth century. The kingdoms of Songhai and Benin had grown prosperous by selling gold, copper, kola nuts--and slaves to merchants from north of the Sahara. When Europeans arrived, the slave trade increased. Europeans were eager to ship slaves across the Atlantic to replace the declining native populations in the Americas. Over the course of 300 years, millions of enslaved Africans made the so-called Middle Passage to the Americas, suffering terrible deprivation, abuse, overwork, and humiliation.

Lesson Objectives

 * Recognize that slavery had existed for thousands of years in many parts of the world before the 1500s
 * Describe the change that took place in the African slave trade in the 1500s
 * Describe the culture and government of Benin
 * Describe the Middle Passage and the toll it took on people
 * Describe the savanna and the rain forest
 * Explain the origins and nature of the Portuguese slave trade
 * Identify on a map the major cities and geographical features of Songhai and Benin
 * Identify the major events and people in the history of Songhai
 * Recognize that the people in the African kingdoms identified themselves with members of their own tribe, not with the inhabitants of the entire continent


 * 1) Read Chapter 6, from the beginning to "The Portuguese Come to Benin," pages 262-269, and complete Day 1 of the Reading Guide.
 * 2) Complete the Mapping Out Africa worksheet

**Lesson 4: Songhai, Benin, and the New Slave Trade, Day 2**
 * 1) Read Chapter 6 from "The Portuguese Come to Benin" to the end of the chapter, pages 269-271, and complete Day 2 of the Reading Guide.
 * 2) Compare the slave trade in Africa with slavery in other times and places by reading and filling out the Slavery Through the Centuries sheet.

Lesson 5: Unit Review and Assessment

 * 1) Review your information from this unit
 * 2) Complete Assessment