The Spice Seekers

  1. Describe our modernideas about Columbus (what his voyage meant and its success) versus the reality of the time in which he sailed. Include a brief discussion on Columbus’s radical idea of how to reach “el picante.”
  2. What kinds of stories did Columbus make up to convince himself and his financiers that he had found the Indies? Discuss evidence from both voyages in the article (note the discussion of how indigenous desires to please the strange foreigners led to more confusion.)
  3. What was Pizzaro looking for on the expedition in which he conquered the Incas?
  4. What kinds of food exchanges were the conquistadores able to make in the Americas, even if they didn’t find the nutmeg, cloves, and pepper they were after?
  5. IN YOUR OWN WORDS, what is the thesis of the 2nd half of the reading, “Christians and Spices?”
  6. Describe the voyage of Vasco da Gama, carefully.
  7. What was the role of the degredado? What happened when he landed in the city of Calicut on the Malibar Coast?
  8. Describe Da Gama’s experience trying to trade with the zamorin of Calicut.
  9. Describe the consequences of the next voyage, by Cabral, and the differences it had from Da Gama’s.
  10. Describe the political changes caused in Europe by the voyages of the Portuguese to the East.

The Spice Seekers

  1. Describe our modern ideas about Columbus (what his voyage meant and its success) versus the reality of the time in which he sailed. Include a brief discussion on Columbus’s radical idea of how to reach “el picante.”
  2. What kinds of stories did Columbus make up to convince himself and his financiers that he had found the Indies? Discuss evidence from both voyages in the article (note the discussion of how indigenous desires to please the strange foreigners led to more confusion.)
  3. What was Pizzaro looking for on the expedition in which he conquered the Incas?
  4. What kinds of food exchanges were the conquistadores able to make in the Americas, even if they didn’t find the nutmeg, cloves, and pepper they were after?
  5. IN YOUR OWN WORDS, what is the thesis of the 2nd half of the reading, “Christians and Spices?”
  6. Describe the voyage of Vasco da Gama, carefully.
  7. What was the role of the degredado? What happened when he landed in the city of Calicut on the Malibar Coast?
  8. Describe Da Gama’s experience trying to trade with the zamorin of Calicut.
  9. Describe the consequences of the next voyage, by Cabral, and the differences it had from Da Gama’s.
  10. Describe the political changes caused in Europe by the voyages of the Portuguese to the East.