Early Explorers

Unit Review Sheet

Facts and Definitions

Lesson 1: Exploration

• Early explorers were searching for spices, gold, silver, jewels, land, and furs.
• Early explorers wanted to expand Christianity and expand their knowledge of the world.

Lesson 2: Sailing

• Navigation is to direct the course of a ship.
• A fathom measures depth; 1 fathom= 6 feet.
• A knot is used to measure how fast a boat travels.
• A league is three nautical miles. (A nautical mile is about 800 feet longer than a mile on land.)

Lesson 3: Christopher Columbus

• The king and queen of Spain gave Columbus the ships and supplies he needed.

Lesson 4: Spanish Explorers and Mayas and Incas

• Balboa made his way through the jungles of Panama and sighted the Pacific Ocean in 1513.
• Cortes tried to take Mexico from the Aztecs.
• Pizarro took Peru from the Incas.

Lesson 5: Explorers from Portugal

• Magellan first sailed for the King of Portugal and then for the King of Spain.
• Magellan was the first person to sail around the globe.
• De Gama was the first person to sail from Europe, around Africa, to Asia.

Lesson 6: French and English Explorers

• African slaves were captured and brought to the New World.
• The English challenged the Spanish's rule of the sea.
• John Cabot discovered North America.

Lesson 7: Exploration Continues

• Today, exploration helps us understand more about the world and the universe beyond our planet.

Final Project: The Life of an Explorer

• [none]