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Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750 CE

Driving Question: What role did governments and economic systems play in enabling maritime exploration c. 1450 and 1750?

Europeans set sail in the fifteenth century using knowledge and technology accumulated over centuries and from all over Afro-Eurasia. Despite differing motivations for exploration, each mariner participating in this transoceanic adventure required substantial support and resources in order to be successful.

Learning Objectives

  1. Describe the role of states in the expansion of maritime exploration from 1450 to 1750.
  2. Explain the economic causes and effects of maritime exploration by the various European states.
  3. Use the historical reasoning process of continuity and change over time to evaluate how innovations in technology impacted exploration and trade from c. 1450 to 1750 CE.
  4. Use graphic biographies as microhistories to support, extend, or challenge the overarching narratives from these transoceanic regions. 

Vocab Terms:

  • indigenous
  • joint-stock company
  • navigation
  • plantation
STEP 1

Opener: Exploration: Causes and Events

STEP 2

Origins of Oceanic Connections

New technology often leads to greater exploration. This is most certainly the case in the period covering circa 1450-1750, when mariners used technology and pre-existing knowledge of trade routes to enrich their home countries.

STEP 3

Closer: Graphic Biography: Yasuke

In 1579, an African man arrived in the city of Kyoto, Japan. We know very little about him. He appears in the historical record for less than four years. But in that short time, he became the first foreign-born samurai, befriended the most powerful man in Japan, and fought in the struggle to unify the country.

Extension Materials
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The story you are about to read is almost unbelievable: a man from Africa appears briefly in Japanese history but has a huge impact on Japan in a short amount of time. His name? Yasuke.
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The Lion of the Sea: Ahmad Ibn Mājid

Prior knowledge and study come in handy, especially when traveling across unfamiliar territory. Ahmad Ibn Mājid knew this, and his legendary skills and knowledge influenced many explorers who followed.