Unit 1: Global Expansion and Encounter, 1300-1700
Unit Overview: Global Expansion and Encounter
This unit covers the years 1300-1700, the end of the Medieval Era through the establishment of the Transatlantic economy. Important themes from the era:
The Rise of New Monarchs
The European Renaissance
The Age of Discovery
The Protestant Reformation
The Columbian Exchange and Transatlantic Economy
The Scientific Revolution
New World European Empires
Unit Essay: Renaissance and Age of Exploration
In order to get credit for this project you must write an essay on ONE of the following topics:
Topic A: Renaissance
The Renaissance is generally considered to have occurred between 1300 and 1600, and marks the end of the Medieval Era in Europe and the beginning of an era that historians usually term the "early modern" era. The explosion of cultural and intellectual activity during this era represents a significant departure from values held by Medieval Europeans, but what was being created in their place? The term Renaissance means "rebirth"; write an essay of 500-750 words explaining how European society and culture were transformed during the Renaissance.
Topic B: Age of Exploration
Historians often label the 16th and 17th centuries "The Age of Exploration" or "Age of Discovery" because of the voyages European explorers made in their effort to create global trading networks. During this time, Europeans traveled around Africa to the coasts of India and Southeast Asia, Columbus "discovered" a new world in the western Hemisphere, and several European nations created global empires. The Age of Discovery, and the global exchange of people, goods, and ideas that came with it, transformed the world and made it smaller and more interconnected. Write an essay of 500-750 words exploring this idea.
King Henry "The Navigator" of Portugal, 1394-1460.
Helpful Links for these essay topics:
European colonization of the Americas
Unit Videos:
World History B Unit 1 Key Terms
For this project you must define the terms listed below and explain each term's significance to the unit/era being studied. Your definition should be 2-3 sentences long and may be copied and pasted from a source like Wikipedia, but the significance of the term must be in your own words and based on your own understanding. To fill out a term's significance, ask yourself, "Why is this item included in my study of this unit? Why is this term in a history book?" The answer to this question is your term's significance.
Unit1 Key Terms:
Henry the Navigator
Ottoman Empire
Peace of Augsburg
Columbian Exchange
Vasco da Gama
Genghis Khan
Martin Luther
Mercantilism
Treaty of Tordesillas
The Medici
John Calvin
Triangular Trade
conquistador
Renaissance
Reformation
absolute monarchy
Encomienda
humanism
Council of Trent
enlightened despot
Below is an example of a key term done with the proper format:
William the Conqueror: William I (c. 1028[2] – 9 September 1087), also known as William the Conqueror (Guillaume le Conquérant), was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II. Before his conquest of England, he was known as William the Bastard because of the illegitimacy of his birth.To press his claim to the English crown, William invaded England in 1066, leading an army of Normans, Bretons, Flemings, and Frenchmen (from Paris andÎle-de-France) to victory over the English forces of King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings, and suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest.[3] (I copied and pasted this definition from Wikipedia)
Significance: William the Conqueror is significant because his conquest of England created the first nation state in Europe. His rearrangement of English feudal territories to give himself dramatically more power than the the barons and nobles around him caused him to be the most powerful monarch in Europe and eventually led to the rise of other nation states over the next few centuries. (These are my words based on my knowledge of English and European history.)
