European Exploration and Renaissance: Shaping the World's History

1. Chapters 1 & 2

2. The first European explorers to reach the shores of North America were Scandinavian Vikings led by Leif Eriksson.

3. During the mid- and late Middle Ages, nobles lost power as monarchs expanded their control over vast areas. • Tenants, serfs, and slaves were peasants who farmed land that belonged to a lord.

4. One of the first documents to help protect the rights of free individuals was the Magna Carta of 1215

5. The Christians who embarked on the Crusades were urged to do so by Pope Urban II.

6. A common European name for the lands of Asia was the Indies. • Columbus’s 1492 voyage across the unknown waters of the Atlantic reached the Bahamas. • As a result of Columbus’s discovery of lands he believed to be Asia, Spain persuaded the pope to create a Line of Demarcation securing its right to lands west of the line.

7. The European trade in African slaves who had been captured through war or raiding was begun by the Portuguese. • Trade networks in Africa were built around gold, ivory, salt, and slaves. • A consequence of Portuguese exploration of Africa was more warfare among West African kingdoms.

8. Merchants who invested in a joint-stock company were able to raise money for new ventures and reduce the individual risk of starting a business.

9. The Cape of Good Hope was first rounded by Bartolomeu Dias. • The Asian goods that were most valued by Europeans were silk and spices.

10. The rebirth of European interest in the arts and learning of ancient Greece and Rome is known as the Renaissance. • The Renaissance began in the mid-1300s in Italy and spread through Europe, lasting until the early 1600s. • The Renaissance belief that human beings could achieve anything motivated Europeans to explore the rest of the world.