Unit 2: How Trade and Travel Changed the World
Lesson H: Exploration and Contact in the Atlantic
Activity 3: Atlantic Exploration and American Discovery
The expansion of European influence into the Americas was due to a variety of factors. Internal developments forced Europeans into the Atlantic Ocean in search of land and wealth. Foreign opportunities invited Europeans to explore and settle the Americas. Contact between Native American and European populations accelerated the movement of "Old World" ideas into the lands of the "New World." Think about these examples as you complete the BCR below.
Brief Constructed Response - Atlantic Exploration and Contact
What were the reasons Europe was able to colonize the New World?
- Explain the main factors that led to European exploration of the Atlantic world.
- Analyze the reasons that the Spanish and Portuguese were able to create colonial empires in the Americas.
- Include details and examples to support your answer.
Download the Student Resource: Atlantic Exploration And Contact Brief Constructed Response (BCR) (doc).
Select the link to review the Social Studies Rubric (pdf).
Submit the completed BCR to your teacher as instructed.
The age of European exploration allowed Old World populations to contact the New World. Learn about the cultural effects of European colonization in the next activity.
