Topic 1

Introduction to the renaissance

In the 1400's, people from Europe knew very little about the rest of the world. Europeans only began to explore other parts of the world about 600 years ago. The first picture below, is how the Europeans at the time saw the world during the 1400's.

They knew about the countries like China from the book written by Marco Polo, but they knew little of the rest of the world.

The Europeans had no clue about America, most of Africa or Australia. Only years later, when they set out to explore these unknown lands, did they find them, love them and settle in them.

Picture 1:

Once the Europeans started trying to find the best trade routes to India, they then came across the southern parts of Africa.

Two very significant Portuguese explorers found themselves on the South African shores.

Bartholomew Dias 1487-1488

Vasco da Gama

1497-1498

We will learn more about these journeys later on. But for now, take a look at their journeys on the map below.

Picture 2:

Based on the maps above, discuss the following questions with a partner and then report back to the whole class:

How many continents were known about before the Age of European Exploration? Which ones were they?
What country were the Europeans keen to get to and why?
What was the capital city of Portugal?
Based on picture 2, which of the two Portuguese explorers was successful in his mission to India? Explain the reason for your answer to your partner.

WORKBOOK ACTIVITY:

Complete the case study in your book. Make sure that you follow the steps given to you. Please have your two highlighters handy so that you can do it correctly. Remember to answer all the questions in full sentences and make sure you write small enough to fit your answers on the lines provided.

EXTENSION ACTIVITY 1

If you have completed all the above, you can now play the EduCandy game to help you learn your definitions.