Age of Exploration
Aligned to C3.D2.His.2 — C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.
What this lesson teaches
From the late 1400s, European powers like Portugal and Spain sailed new sea routes seeking spices, gold, and trade with Asia. Their contact with the Americas triggered the Columbian Exchange, a vast transfer of crops, animals, people, and diseases between the hemispheres.
Worked example
In 1492 Christopher Columbus, funded by Spain, reached islands in the Caribbean; European diseases like smallpox that followed killed a huge share of the Indigenous population.
Practice questions
- List two goods that moved from the Americas to Europe in the Columbian Exchange.
- Explain why disease had such a devastating effect on Indigenous peoples.
- Analyze how the Columbian Exchange reshaped diets and populations on both sides of the Atlantic.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
La Era de la Exploración
Desde finales del siglo XV, potencias europeas como Portugal y España navegaron nuevas rutas marítimas en busca de especias, oro y comercio con Asia. Su contacto con América desencadenó el Intercambio Colombino, una enorme transferencia de cultivos, animales, personas y enfermedades entre los hemisferios.
Ejemplo: En 1492, Cristóbal Colón, financiado por España, llegó a unas islas del Caribe; las enfermedades europeas como la viruela que llegaron después mataron a una gran parte de la población indígena.
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