Name: ____________________ #: _____
Social Studies: Unit 2 Study Guide – Age of Exploration
Directions:
1. Complete all work in your Social Studies notebook.
2. Use and underline the lesson vocabulary words in sentences to show that you understand
their meanings. DO NOT just copy the definition.
3. Answer the lesson questions in complete sentences.
(do not start sentences with it, they, so, or because – rephrase the question as an answer.)
Lesson 1:
Vocabulary: navigation expedition entrepreneur
Questions:
1. What caused more Europeans to become interested in Asia?
2. How did travel by sea change in the 1400s?
3. Name two tools that improved sailing and explain why they were important.
4. Who sponsored the expeditions, and what were they hoping to gain?
Lesson 2:
Vocabulary: colony reform circumnavigate
Questions:
1. What was Christopher Columbus hoping to find, and where did he actually land?
2. Which explorer first called the Americas the “New World” and how was he recognized for
his discovery?
3. Besides finding new routes to Asia, what were two other goals of exploration in the 1500s?
4. Describe the conquests of Hernando Cortes and Francisco Pizarro – what areas and empires
did they conquer?
5. What was the Northwest Passage and why was it important?
6. Why was Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition important? (what was accomplished)
Lesson 3:
Vocabulary: trading post tributary
Questions:
1. What were Spanish explorers searching for in North America? Did they find it? If not, what did they find instead?
2. What areas of the New World were explored and claimed by the French?
3. What area did the Netherlands explore?
4. What was the purpose of the triangular trade routes across the Atlantic Ocean?
Lesson 4:
Vocabulary: charter settlement
Questions:
1. Why did settlers in the New World need charters, and what did the charters include?
2. Why did colonists often build settlements near the sea or along rivers?
3. Which geographic area of the New World was settled by Spain?
4. Which geographic area of the New World was settled by France?
5. Which geographic area of the New World was settled by Portugal?
6. How was the English language we speak today influenced by early settlers?
NOTES FOR UNIT 2 TEST: