A journey made for a special purpose

expedition 

a shop owner 

merchant

 The period of European history from around 500 to 1500.

 Middle Ages 

Europeans learned about Asia through the stories of Marco Polo's ___________________?

Expedition

Genoa, Florence, and Venice were trading posts for _______________________.

merchants

 Marco Polo's book was about the geography of ________.

Asia

In the Middle Ages, towns and cities developed from ______________ that grew into permanent settlements.

trading sites

 _______________ was the emperor of China during the time of Marco Polo's travels.

Kublai Kahn

Give two reasons Marco Polo's journey to Asia was important.

1)  broadened trade routes

2)  sparked interest in the world outside Europe

List 5 things Marco Polo's book describes:

1)  geography of Asia

2)  details about the Silk Road

3)  Chinese society

4)  the Chinese postal system

5)  Chinese cities

6)  paper money

7)  coal/fuel

 a group of people traveling together for safety, especially through desert areas

caravan

the coins, paper, or gold used as money in a country

 currency 

Traders would transport cargo together across the desert in a _______________.

caravan

Timbuktu became an important center for ______ in Africa.

trade

Zheng He was a ___________________.

a Chinese explorer

Name three things traders needed bankers to do for them.

 1)  hold their money

2)  convert currency

3)  lend them money to trade

Who was Sunni Ali?

King of Songhai

Explain what made Timuktu an important trade city.

Its location between the salt mines of Northern Africa and the gold fields of the South.

a fast sailing ship that could be steered easily and hold large amounts of cargo

caravel

the science of determining a ship's location and direction

navigation

navigation

 The science of charting a ship's course is known as ___________________.

 Shipbuilders created the ___________ to make travel easier along the trade routes.

caravel

Portugal's Prince Henry sent explorers to search for ______________________.

a sea route to Asia

 Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to _______________________.

sail around the southern tip of Africa

Vasco da Gama was the first European to ______________________.

reach Asia by sea

Why was the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope important?

Explorers knew how far south they had to go before turning east to reach Asia.

Explain what a line graph shows.

A line graph shows patterns and amounts of change over time.