Page 149 - Key to Social Studies 6

The Young Explorer

Marco Polo was almost destined to explore. He had his rst sailing trip at the age of 17 with his father

and uncles. He had been to Mongolia, Tibet, Burma, and India, and his travels inspired people to do the

same and explore more. One of those who were inspired by him was Bartolomeu Dias, who found a

route around Africa to reach Asia instead of the Silk Road, which was really dangerous at the time.

Christopher Columbus

Columbus thought that the route Bartolomeu took was too long and that sailing west of Europe would

lead him right to Asia. The Spanish funded Columbus’ exploration in return of being in control of the

lands he would nd.

A lot of explorers were sent after Columbus for the assurance of the existence of the New World.

One of them was Amerigo Vespucci who claimed the Americas, which were named after him, and who

explained that Columbus had landed in a whole new continent, not Asia as Columbus believed.

The New World

A lot of European countries wanted to have a part of the Exploration Age. The British, Spanish,

Portuguese, French, and others sent explorers and armies to settle and colonize parts of the New World
as well. On the other hand, while the Europeans had gains and acquired lands, the early settlers, who

Columbus thought were Indians, were pushed away from the land they had inhabited for thousands of

years or were forced to work for the new settlers and change their beliefs to become more European.

Let’s Research!

• Divide your classroom into di erent groups. Each group should imagine being

explorers in the age of discovery and tell the story of a place they discovered and

present it to the class.

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