Directions:

Choose five (5) of the sources below and then answer the questions and complete the activities for each of the sources.

A Revolution in Cartography

1. What two major developments sparked significant advances in mapmaking in the 15th and 16th centuries?
2. Why would curved or rounded lines of latitude make it difficult for sailors to accurately draw straight-line compass courses on maps?

Exploration of Cape Verde by Alvise da Cadamosto

1. Create a chart to illustrate what Cadamosto found when he explored Cape Verde and nearby islands. Use the following headings—Geography, Plants, Animals, Peoples.
2. Use a map of Africa to find Cape Verde on the western coast. Then determine the distance that Cadamosto and his crew sailed from Portugal to Cape Verde.

The Treaty of Tordesillas

1. Where was the imaginary Line of Demarcation drawn?
2. According to the terms of the treaty, what would happen if Portuguese ships sailing on the Spanish side of the boundary line discovered land, and vice versa?
3. What purpose did this treaty serve?

The Journal of Christopher Columbus

1. What is Columbus's main interest on the island? Why is he interested in that?
2. What impressed you most about this excerpt from Columbus's journal?
3. What do you think is Columbus's attitude toward the Taino? Point out passages that reveal his thoughts and feelings about them.

Hernando Cortés: Ambitious Adventurer

1. How worried was Cortés about his actual authority to act in Mexico?
2. Do you agree or disagree with Cortés's decision to burn the ships? Explain.
3. Do you think that Cortés was admirable or a villain? Explain.

The Meeting of Montezuma II and Cortés

1. What gifts did Motecuhzoma present to Cortés and his men?
2. Why did Motecuhzoma say to Cortés "now you have arrived on the earth"?
3. What can you conclude from this passage about the advantages Cortés had in his attempt to conquer the Aztecs?