The Columbian Exchange launched the first truly global economic system, reshaping communities, networks, and production and distribution across oceans

Two big trends—the Columbian Exchange and large empires in Afro-Eurasia—were part of the making of a single global system in the curiously named “Early Modern” era.

The connection of Afro-Eurasia with the Americas created the first truly global network, but these changes did not have the same results for all.

Orient yourself in time and space as you begin Unit 3, by using maps to make predictions about the transoceanic connections you will study in this unit.

A full-color political map of the world in 1550 CE, highlighting the major states, communities, and cities you’ll learn about in WHP.

A black and white version of the world in 1550 CE, that can be cropped to specific regions and easily printed.

A full-color thematic map of Medieval Trade Routes in 1450 CE, meant to help you support, extend, and challenge the frame narratives.

An individualized tracker for new words encountered in Unit 3. Add to it as the unit progresses.

In Unit 3, continue the routine of building a class word wall, an important visual cue and literacy support

This vocab guide provides a summary of the key vocabulary for the unit.

Vocab cards for each of the key words in this unit.

Here’s the new Unit Problem! Respond to this based on what you currently know… don’t worry if it’s not much—you’re going to learn a lot more!

Most humans live in cities today. Yet for most of our history, this was not the case. The shift to cities is a long story, but it’s one that accelerated quite recently.

Whether in poetry, or history, it’s pretty amazing how a change in perspective can give you an entirely different view.

Christopher Columbus’s arrival in North America led to a system of exchange that fundamentally altered the environment, economic systems, and culture across the world.

After 1500, a biological exchange between the Old and New Worlds transformed global populations, trade networks, cultures, and environments.

How did the Columbian Exchange impact the food we eat? Create a menu that features both pre- and post-Columbian Exchange items.

Increased global networks had some benefits, but the Atlantic slaving system and the sharp decline in indigenous populations were among the devastating effects of this period.

The Columbian Exchange changed the face of the world as diseases, animals, plants, and people moved across continents and dramatically remade the societies they reached.

Why did people make the dangerous journey across the Atlantic Ocean after the Columbian Exchange? Use your causation skills to find out!

People moved across the Atlantic for multiple reasons, both voluntarily and involuntarily. Starting in the late fifteenth century, the population of the Americas grew rapidly.

After Spanish conquistadors sacked the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, they tried to convert Mexico City’s indigenous people to a new religion. Results were mixed.

These sixteenth-century documents describe the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Why did they do it? How did indigenous peoples respond?

Why did some empires last centuries and others crumble quickly? In this activity, you’ll create a Frankenstein-style empire to test the strengths and weaknesses of empires.

The Ottoman Empire lasted six centuries and conquered territory on three continents. It owed its success to military strength and an innovative political structure.

Mawläy ‘Abd al-Mälik was a Moroccan Sultan who defended his kingdom against multiple threats—relatives, Ottoman Sultans, and Christian Europeans.

The Omani Empire didn’t look like the large, land-based empires of Asia, but it also didn’t look like the maritime empires of Europe. Was it an empire at all?

The Mughal Empire produced much of the world’s long-distance trade goods in 1750, but its rulers faced enormous challenges in keeping together a vast and diverse society.

Khanzada Begum was a Timurid noblewoman who played an important political role in the Mughal Dynasty, demonstrating how the household and the state often overlapped.

The Ming and Qing dynasties ruled China from 1368 to 1912. China was the wealthiest empire in the world, then it wasn't, then it was again. Why? Let’s find out!

Qing Shih was a pirate queen in eighteenth-century southern China. Her life demonstrates the complexity of community, and networks, in this interconnected era.

Russia was a centralized state with a national identity but also a multi-ethnic empire spread over a vast area. How did the rulers manage this empire, and were they successful? That's what we'll explore.

How did trade agreements between Venice and the Ottoman Empire lead to the Renaissance and Christopher Columbus? John Green helps put the pieces of this puzzle together.

Is all evidence the same? Are some types of evidence better than others? This activity will help students evaluate and learn how to use this claim tester.

European ships crossed oceans, creating a global network of colonies and commerce. There were some pretty big changes that happened as a result of these new transoceanic empires, including social change and plenty of conflict.

How and why did beliefs systems change from c. 1450 to 1750? Use the Quick-Sourcing Tool to assess the primary sources in this collection to find out!

Why did belief systems change during the period from 1450 to 1750? The primary sources in this collection will help you understand this period of sectarian struggles.

Yasuke was an East African man who, for a brief period, became a powerful samurai in Japan during an era of intensifying exchange across the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

The Comanche Empire was formed by nomadic pastoralists indigenous to North America. They connected large territories into a thriving trade network—but was it really an empire?

The Omani and Comanche Empires did not have some of the features of many other powerful land empires. So how did they create large empires?

In this activity, students will begin to understand how the world went from where it was in 1450 to how it is today.

Europeans combined and built on Afro-Eurasian ideas about credit, interest, and banking to help organize big trading voyages. This led to the emergence of capitalism.

The Spanish, and to some degree the Portuguese, built the first colonies in the Americas. But other European countries would challenge Spain and Portugal's early monopoly.

Though the facts of her life are disputed, Amonute was an important figure in the relationship between the Powhatan people and English settlers in Virginia.

Remember drawing the frames in Unit 1? Time to do it again! How has your understanding of the frames changed?

Use your comparison skills to find the similarities and differences between women’s roles in the early modern era.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a woman that went on to become a prolific writer, despite the disadvantages that came along with being a woman in colonial New Spain (Mexico).

The Spanish went looking for gold in the Americas, but they actually found silver. Unfortunately, all that silver led to death, inflation, and other not-so-good things.

For a time, the Dutch East India company dominated the spice trade in southeast Asia, using some clever financial innovations. But was this capitalism or something else?

Revisit the Question Parsing Tool and improve your ability to figure out what you are being asked in writing prompts.

Analyzing continuity and change over time is an important skill to practice, especially as you move from one unit to the next. Investigate what changed and what stayed the same from Unit 2 to Unit 3.

In this final vocab activity of the unit, students move beyond simply defining words to applying them, therefore solidify their understanding and use of the words in context.

The transatlantic slave trade was a major economic development. But it depended on the horrific treatment of enslaved humans on an unprecedented scale.

Slavery in the Americas is the subject of many histories. In this article, we take time to absorb the disturbing fact that it was ever legal to “own” a person.

What were the motives that created the Atlantic slaving and plantation systems? How did people try to justify its terrors in an era of “Enlightenment”?

How has your understanding changed since the beginning of the unit? Time to revisit the Unit Notebook!

How did people experience and react to their situation in the transatlantic slave trade? Use the Quick-Sourcing Tool to analyze the documents in this collection to find out.

Over 12 million people were abducted from Africa and transported across the Atlantic Ocean. These first-hand accounts show the horrors of the journey and ways people resisted.

Despite being enslaved and forcibly transported to the Americas and Europe, West African healer Domingos Álvares continued to treat others, building community and networks.

How did the Atlantic slave trade impact Africa? We can study a smaller region to try to determine bigger answers.

It’s time review the map predictions you made at the beginning of the unit, and examine a series of new maps to help you think about the unit problem.

A full-color political map of the world in 1550 CE, highlighting the major states, communities, and cities you’ll learn about in WHP.

A full-color political map of the world in 1750 CE, highlighting the major states, communities, and cities you’ll learn about in WHP.

A full-color thematic map of the Silver Trade and Transoceanic Voyages in 1550 CE, meant to help you support, extend, and challenge the frame narratives.

Using a sample student essay, you’ll evaluate how well the author met the Analysis and Evidence row of the Writing Rubric. Like a teacher, you shall wield an awesome power!

In this Warm-Up activity, you’ll look closely at the Analysis and Evidence row of the WHP Writing Rubric to practice supporting your thesis/ major claim.

How did the Columbian Exchange transform the Americas from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries? Examine the documents to assess how much the Americas changed in this period, and also what stayed the same.

These DBQ writing samples provide example essays to help support writing instruction in different ways—use as you see fit in your classroom!

Now that you’ve written, it’s time to revise! This activity will help you identify areas to improve your writing based on the Analysis and Evidence row of the WHP Writing Rubric.

Slaving and slavery existed alongside capitalism. But were they rival economic systems, or did they support each other?