The Sovereign
Newspaper by: Elizabeth F, Maddie P, Julia D, Arianna P.
Age of Discovery- Puzzle By: Elizabeth F.
Age of Discovery crossword
Age of discovery clues
Age of Discovery answer key
Slavery in Africa- Business section By: Maddie P.
~Slavery lasted for years and years. Slavery has been around almost as long as people have. There ware many reasons as to why people became slaves. One is because people were in debt and needed it played off. Another reason is because people were starving and sold themselves into slavery. They thought it would be better to have only one meal a day and work for someone rather then to die of starvation. Criminals were taken into slavery as well. Many people who were criminals were sold into slavery. The last reason for becoming a slave is because tribes lost wars. When the tribe lost a war they were captured by their opponents and were sold to wealthy people who wanted a slave. Slavery was a hard time for many people.
~Those who could afford slaves wanted to show them off. Slaves were a sign of wealth and power. Many people who owned slaves had them go out to get groceries or have them do other things where they would be seen. The Medici family where great examples of people of great wealth and power that owned slaves. In one of the portraits painted of the family, they put a slave right near the front so they could be seen. This picture showed the power the Medici family had on society.
~Many people thought slavery started with the British but it actually started within the country. The people in Africa sold people also from Africa. When the British arrived in Africa they decided to buy slaves. Many European countries also got into the business of Slave Trade. This lead to the slavery and segregation, that lasted for hundreds of years.
~Slavery comes from the word slav which comes from late Greek and Medieval Latin. Many kingdoms in Africa became rich through the Slave Trade. Once the Portuguese got involved in the Slave Trade the African Kingdoms grew richer and richer. Even though this was going on the church opposed slavery. They only opposed though of Christian Slaves being enslaved by non- Christians. The Europeans never entered into the depths of Africa due to the terrain. This helped save many African people for a while but soon the Europeans dived into the the midst of Africa and acquired more slaves. Slavery and segregation where a problem for a long time and still are a problem today.
Interview with Native Inhabitant By: Arianna P.
(NH = Native Inhabitant, IN = Interviewer)
IN: "Hello, thank you for this interview! I would first like to understand where you live and who has taken over your land."
NH: "Well, I am from Ceuta on the northern coast of Africa. This is where the Portuguese came and colonized for their own. They came and took over our little village and port seeking riches and things."
IN: "What types of things might I ask?"
NH: "They were sure of the fact that the Muslim traders got their riches in my country. They wanted gold and spices, the things they couldn't get in their native country. Yet, they didn't come for slaves. They were Christians and they wanted us to be too."
IN: "What do you mean by this, that the Portuguese wanted you to be Christians too?"
NH: "Yes. They believed that they would be able to convert us, my people to become Christians. People now mostly practice other religions, even polytheistic ones, like Islam or our own tribal religions."
IN: "When exactly did this all happen? It seems like it happened rather quickly."
NH: "It did in fact, the Portuguese seized our port and finished by 1415. Also by this time, they were able to occupy much of the other parts of the North African coast. Prince Henry the Navigator was a large part of our occupation though. Yet our land wasn't his biggest priority, he wanted to find a way to get to Asia quicker and easier than before. Unfortunately for him, there is no such route, so he gathered his men and set off around the African coast. They made it to the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of my country which was a great success for them. They then proceeded to the eastern side of my country by boat, then departed for Asia."
IN: "That seems like quite a feat for the 15th Century, thank you for that great information."
NH: "You are very welcome!"
This man is Prince Henry the Navigator. He is the man who lead the seizing of my town in Ceuta, Africa.
Obituary Column By: Arianna P.
Vasco de Gama: Portuguese Navigator
During his lifetime, he explored and saught goods for his country and people. In 1497, he lead four ships out to the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa. He urged his men to go on for another ten months to get to the spice port of Calicut. There, he was able to acquire a large cargo of spices in which he sold to make a great profit. Through all of his spice-seeking endeavors, he was able to make Portugal a part of a vast trading empire and a world power.
King Affonso I: Ruler of Congo, Savior of Slaves
During his lifetime, he was able to become the ruler of a country which gave him opportunities to speak out his opposition towards slave trading. He became king of Congo, a west-central African country in 1505. Before this, he was raised and taught by Portuguese missionaries that taught him that the slave trade was wrong and to try to convert Africans to Christianity. When a ruler, he called for help from the Portuguese to help develop Congo as a modern Christian state. Unfortunately, the Portuguese cheated him and came to collect slaves from Congo. Still, King Affonso I showed people that the slave trade was wrong and helped to make people realize that in the future.
Ferdinand Magellan: Portuguese Nobelman and Navigator
During his lifetime, he was able to go from a minor Portuguese nobleman to a world renowned explorer for the country of Spain. On precisely September 20, 1519, Magellan set off from Spain with five ships to reach the Pacific with his men. He and his dedicated men sailed through storms and tropical heat to finally reach the southern tip of South America in November in 1520. When there, he was able to discover what is now called the Strait of Magellan and renamed Balboa's South Sea, the Pacific. Unfortunately for Magellan, he underestimated the size of his newly renamed Pacific and died when they reached the East Indies in March of 1521.
Traveling to Asia By: Julia D.
Portuguese Explorer Vasco de Gama set out from Africa to the coast of Africa. He and his men landed in Calicut India which is known as modern day Kozhikode. Calicut was the most important and also the leading trade center for spices. It was a major part of the Chera Empire. Then in the 9th century it became part of the Second Chera Empire. The Chera had run the territory until 1122 A.D. Vasco de Gama recieved permission to trade with Calicut. The Arabs fealt threatened by the Portuguese and soon quarrells began between the two. The Portuguese ended up having to leave and start trade in Cochin. By going to different places in the world and gaining new materials the economy of the countries in Europe became powerful. This helped the counrties governments become more forceful. This later helped them to conquer other places.
TECHNOLOGY - MAKING TRAVEL EASIER By: Julia D.
The compass had been invented by Ancient China in 247 B.C., but in the Age of Exploration they had very much utilized it to find new land and navigating the ocean. The magnetic telescope was used for determining the direction of the Earths magnetic poles. It greatly helps to make travel safer and easier. The compass wasn't actually used for navigation until the 11 century. A dry magnetic compass was made by the Europeans in the 1300's. The compass was also printed onto maps with lines pointing or leading to important ports so that explorers could know which way to go to get where they needed to be.
The Astrolabe was also used for navigation. This tool was used to find the direction of the sun, stars, and the latitude while at sea. It was invented by the Persians who used it to tell time and find the positions of the planets.
Where does the line end?!- International news By: Elizabeth F.
~Shocking international news going on in the New World! In 1493 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain appeared before the Pope, Pope Alexander VI and brought forth the idea which lead to what is now called the Line of Demarcation. The Line of Demarcation divided the lands that were not European into two. Portugal and Spain now had to control where they explored and traded. Spain had these rights west of the line, while Portugal had rights east of the line. The exact details were signed by both countries in 1494 in The Treaty of Tordesillas. Although, because geography was not as advanced and precise as it is now the exact geographical mark is unclear, but Spain and Portugal still knew where they could trade and explore and this marks an important time in history because countries started realizing they needed to build their empires quickly.
~The Line of Demarcation had a very big impact on society at this time, because up until this point the rights of trading and exploration for the most part where open for whoever to go wherever, as not to much was known about the world's geography. People also started quickly realizing that they needed to start building their empires as quickly as possible. Hopefully, becoming wealthy through trade and wealthy enough to finance exploration trips. This also had an effect on the countries of Spain and Portugal themselves, because before this treaty was signed they could mostly go to many other places and trade, and explore vast areas, but now under this treaty it was governed and controlled as to where the countries could go. This caused problems from some people who were upset about this new treaty. Although, this stopped many problems between the two countries arguing with each other as they now had a clear idea of where they could and couldn't go. Another group this could effect was people in other empires who traded with Spain and Portugal as before the Treaty they got both groups of people, but now it was controlled as to who could trade with them. The last reason why this caused an impact is because now that the two countries where trading at different places, they could be short on some natural resources as the countries they are allow to trade with is, but they could have a vast amount of other resources depending on who they could trade with.
~The Line of Demarcation marks a very big , and important change in society which helped to control where the countries could trade and where they could explore. This had many large impacts for not only the countries involved, but also other countries that traded to these places.