SCURVY Long ago when men were exploring the world for the first time, they would travel on ships for months at a time with not a sign of land. They would bring food and fresh water along on board. Meat and bread would quickly spoil, but they would eat it anyway. Fruits and vegetables would only last a few days, so they often went without fresh food. Since that time, scientists have determined that the human body requires a certain amount of Vitamin C, which is contained in fresh fruits and vegetables. What happened was that men began to suffer from not eating fruits and vegetables. This physiological disease is called scurvy and is characterized by spongy gums within the mouth, a loosening of the teeth and a tendency to bleed from the skin. In essence, the men on board ship who didn t have an adequate Vitamin C in their diet would bleed to death. In addition, their bodies would be covered with a scaly matter called scurf, probably explaining where the origin of the name scurvy. Often, a person with scurvy would be mean and nasty and difficult to deal with. Their personalities would change. They would attack other men or become psychotic. Other sailors on board were happy when the victim finally died, and they could dump his body overboard. British sailors figured this out and started putting barrels of limes on board. Sailors would eat a lime every now and then to make sure they got some Vitamin C. As a consequence, British sailors are called limys.
COLUMBUS Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was an Italian explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, hoping to find a route to India (in order to trade for spices). He made a total of four trips to the Caribbean and South America during the years 1492-1504. The First Trip: Columbus sailed for King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain. On his first trip, Columbus led an expedition with three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, and about 90 crew members. They set sail on Aug. 3, 1492 from Spain, and on October 11, 1492, spotted the Caribbean islands off southeastern North America. They landed on an island today called San Salvador. They were met by the local Taino Indians, many of whom were captured by Columbus' men and later sold into slavery. Columbus thought he had made it to Asia, and called this area the Indies, and called its inhabitants Indians. While exploring the islands in the area and looking for gold to loot, Columbus' men traveled to the islands of Hispaniola (now divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Cuba, and many other smaller islands. On the return trip, the Santa Maria was wrecked and the captain of the Pinta sailed off on his own to try to beat Columbus back. Columbus returned to Spain in the Nina, arriving on March 15, 1493. The Second Trip: On a second, larger expedition (Sept. 25, 1493-June 11, 1496), sailed with 17 ships and 1,200 to 1,500 men to find gold and capture Indians as slaves in the Indies. Columbus established a base in Hispaniola and sailed around Hispaniola and along the length of southern Cuba. He spotted and named the island of Dominica on November 3, 1493. The Third Trip: On a third expedition (May 30, 1498-October 1500), Columbus sailed farther south, to Trinidad and Venezuela (including the mouth of the Orinoco River).. The Fourth Trip: On his fourth and last expedition (May 9, 1502-Nov. 7, 1504), Columbus sailed to Mexico, Honduras and Panama (in Central America) and Santiago (Jamaica). Columbus is buried in eastern Hispaniola (now called the Dominican Republic).
DA GAMA The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama led an expedition at the end of the 15th century that opened the sea route to India by way of the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. Many years of Portuguese exploration down the West African coast had been rewarded when Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. The Portuguese then planned to send a fleet to India for spices and to outflank the Muslims in Africa. Vasco da Gama was placed in command of the expedition. Four ships left Lisbon on July 8, 1497. They stopped in the Cape Verde Islands; from there they did not follow the coast, as earlier expeditions had, but stood well out to sea. They reached the Cape of Good Hope region on November 7. The ships rounded the Cape on November 22. The expedition stopped on the East African coast, and reached Mozambique on Mar. 2, 1498. The sultan of Mozambique supplied them with pilots, who guided them on their journey northward. They stopped in Mombasa and Malindi before sailing to the east. They crossed the Indian Ocean in 23 days, and reached Calicut on May 20, 1498. The local ruler, welcomed the Portuguese. After one further stop on the Indian coast, the Portuguese set out to return with a load of spices. They took three months to re-cross the Indian Ocean, however, and so many men died of scurvy that one of the ships, was burned for lack of a crew. The expedition made a few stops in East Africa before rounding the Cape of Good Hope on Mar. 20, 1499. The ships were separated off West Africa in a storm and reached Portugal at different times. Da Gama finally reached Lisbon on Sept. 9, 1499. Vasco de Gama was an important explorer and made a very important trip around the tip of Africa. He had a hard voyage, but made it back successfully. He was brave and a good leader.
MARCO POLO Marco Polo is famous for his travels through Asia. He was one of the first Europeans to travel into Mongolia and China. He became famous for his book that told the story of his travels along the Silk Road to China. Marco Polo was born in Venice, Italy around 1254. In 1271, when he was 17 years old, he traveled to Asia with his father and uncle. On this journey, he became a favorite of Kublai Khan, the Mongol Emperor. He roamed through Mongolia and China for 17 years. He traveled farther into China than any European had gone before. Finally, he took a ride to Persia and then back home. In all, he was gone for 24 years! When he returned to Venice in 1295, he became a popular storyteller. People gathered at his home to hear his stories of his travels in the Far East. In 1298, there was a conflict between Venice and Genoa. Polo was captured by the Genoese and imprisoned by them. While in jail, Marco dictated the story of his travels to a writer who published the book, The Travels of Marco Polo. The book helped to make Europeans very interested in trading with China and the Far East, and that led to the explorations of Columbus and many others who were searching for a quicker way to sail to China and India.
MAGELLAN Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese sea captain. He was the commander of the expedition that became the first to sail around the world. He was interested in the way that Columbus sailed and studied Columbus's maps of his routes for many years. He was sure that he could get to the riches of the Far East quicker by sailing westward, but he had no idea how far it really was from Europe to the Far East. Magellan wanted to sail to the Spice Islands in the Far East. These islands grew cloves and many other spices which would be very valuable if brought back to Spain. His best maps convinced him that he could sail to the Spice Islands (which are now part of Indonesia) by going around the southern tip of South America. He thought that this route would be shorter than the eastward trip to the southern tip of Africa and across the Indian Ocean. Of course, he thought that the Spice Islands were very close to South America. He didn't realize how big the Pacific Ocean was. In 1519, Magellan convinced King Charles I of Spain to support his voyage. The king promised Magellan one-fifth of the profits from the voyage to the Spice Islands. The voyage began on September 20, 1519. Magellan commanded a total of 241 men and a fleet of five ships. The fleet sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to South America. During the winter a storm destroyed one of his ships. In addition, a mutiny broke out. After many months of trying to find away around South America, they discover a straight connecting them to the Pacific Ocean. They were the first Europeans ever to sail across the Pacific, and it was far larger then anyone had imagined. They went for 98 days without seeing any land and ran out of food and used almost all their water. They ate rats and sawdust to avoid starvation. Nineteen men died before they reached the Pacific island of Guam on March 6, 1521. Magellan and his crew stayed in the Philippines for many weeks and they got to know the islanders very well. On April 27, 1521, Ferdinand Magellan was killed when he took part in a battle between rival Filipino groups on the island of Mactan. The remaining crew sailed to the Spice Islands. At the Spice Islands the ships were loaded up with spices for the trip back. The Victoria, the last ship, experienced many hardships and many of the crew members died of malnutrition and starvation. Finally, on September 6, 1522, they reached Spain, nearly three years after the voyage started. Five ships and 241 men began the journey. Only one ship and eighteen survivors returned to the starting spot. Those people completed the first voyage around the world that started with the dream of Ferdinand Magellan.
TECHNOLOGY Astrolabe The earliest-known compass dates from China, during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC - 2nd century AD). This early compass was made from lodestone, a naturally-magnetic variety of magnetite ore. A spoon-shaped piece of lodestone was placed upon a bronze disk, and the lodestone always pointed north. This early compass was not used for navigation at first; it was used for divination (like Feng Shui), to determine fortuitous placement of buildings, etc. Later, Sailors used the compass for navigation, allowing them to sail far from land and not get lost. The Mariner's Astrolabe was used to determine the latitude of a ship at sea by measuring the noon altitude of the Sun or the meridian altitude of a star of known declination. The Mariner's Astrolabe, which was popular in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, was a simple brass ring, graduated in degrees with a rotating alidade for sighting the Sun or a star. The ring was cast brass, quite heavy and cut away to keep it from blowing around in the wind. It was not a very good instrument and errors of four or five degrees were common. Compass The caravel (also spelled carvel) is a light sailing ship that that was developed by the Portuguese in the late 1400's, and was used for the next 300 years. The Portuguese developed this ship to help them explore the African coast. Caravel The caravel was an improvement on older ships because it could sail very fast and also sail well into the wind (windward). Caravel planking on the hull replaced thinner, less effective planking. Caravels were broad-beamed ships that had 2 or 3 masts with square sails and a triangular sail (called a lanteen). They were up to about 65 feet long and could carry roughly 130 tons of cargo. Caravels were smaller and lighter than the later Spanish galleons (developed in the 1500's). Two of Christopher Columbus' three ships were caravels (the Niña and the Pinta).
NATIVE IMPACT After Columbus, many Europeans travel and explored the Americas hoping to find gold. In Mexico, a conquistador, Spanish explorer and conqueror, named Cortez, explored Mexico. Cortez mission introduced smallpox to the native people. Another Spaniard named Pizarro, exposed the people of South America to small pox. The introduction of a new disease in the 16 th Century led to the worst population decline in History. Mexico 21 million to 3 million Andes/Peru 11 million to 1 million Caribbean 5 million to.5 million Additionally, native culture was looked down upon. All were forced to abandon their traditions and embrace Christianity.
DIRECTIONS: With your desk partner, read and discuss the information in the placard. Then write 4 to 5 facts from each card. The focus of the facts: 1. Simple definition 2. Examples/actions/parts 3. Importance When you are finished, check your answers with the teacher and move on to the next card. Exploration Matrix Marco Polo Columbus Native Impact Da Gama Technology Magellan Scurvy