Age of Exploration Facts

• Western legend says the ocean boiled or formed at the equator
• Bartolomeu Dias was a Portuguese navigator who led the first European expedition to round the Cape of Good Hope
• The expedition opened a sea route to Asia via the Atlantic and Indian Oceans
• Cristobal Colon wanted to find a new sea route to Asia, specifically India
• He wished to bring back valuable goods like spices, silk, and gems
• Isabella of Castile was not called King Isabella
• The Treaty of Tordesillas was an agreement between Spain and Portugal
• It divided the world outside of Europe between the two countries
• It was signed on June 7, 1494, in Tordesillas, Spain
• Ferdinand Magellan accomplished what Columbus set out to do
• Spain's two most significant kingdoms were Castile and Aragon
• Portuguese nobility organized expeditions in search of plunder because they were economically weakened after the Black Death
• Ferdinand Magellan's crew were the first people to circumnavigate the globe
• Pedro Álvares Cabral claimed Brazil for Portugal
• The principle qualification for being viceroy or governor-general was loyalty to the crown and a distinguished record of public service
• King Charles III of England was the largest owner of property in the New World
• The Iberians imposed a new governance system based largely on the existing local power structures in conquered regions
• The Catholic sacraments are Baptism, Confirmation, and Penance
• Catholic doctrine says a person who died before atoning for their sins was sent to purgatory

Catholic Church Corruption

• During the Middle Ages, factors leading to the Catholic Church's reputation for corruption included:
  • The selling of indulgences
  • Pluralism
  • Simony
  • Opulence of church officials
• The Lollards were a group of English Christians who questioned the Catholic Church in the late 14th and early 15th centuries
• They were followers of John Wycliffe, who translated the Bible into English
• Pope Alexander VI used Church money for his illegitimate children
• Allegedly, he had a daughter with whom he had a sexual relationship
• Martin Luther's basic doctrine was justification by faith alone
• Meaning salvation is achieved solely through faith in Jesus Christ, not by good works or adherence to Church traditions
• The 95 Theses were a series of statements written by Martin Luther in 1517
• They questioned the practices and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church (indulgences & salvation)
• King Henry VIII was labeled the "Defender of the Faith"
• John Calvin was the Protestant reformer that taught the concept of predestination
• The Council of Trent was a group of religious officials who met periodically in Trent, Italy
• They were determining what Catholic teachings needed change
• Witch hunts were a series of investigations and persecutions of people accused of witchcraft from the 14th to 18th centuries in Europe and the Americas
• The Columbian Exchange was the global exchange of plants, animals, diseases, people, and ideas between the Americas, Europe, and Africa