HIS 111
Unit 15: Explorations

Arenal volcano (Volcán Arenal), a "young volcano" in Costa Rica; photo credit Viraj David.

• Read chapter 18 in the textbook.
• Briefly review all of the applicable chapters in the textbook since the midterm exam.
• Read the excerpt from the Columbus Journal and the very short notes on the Age of Exploration.
• Watch the short video by Professor Evans on exploring the jungles of Reston.
• Check out Professor Campbell's video, Was Columbus B.S.?
• Study the Questions to Consider and the Key Terms for the unit.
• Take the Final Exam (200 points).

• Double-check that you have completed all assignments in the course!

• Columbus, de Gama, and Zheng He! 15th Century Mariners. Crash Course: World History #21
• Christopher Columbus (biography)
• The Columbian Exchange: Crash Course World History #23
• Discovery of the New World
• Ferdinand Magellan
• Ferdinand Magellan Voyages of Discovery - Circumnavigation Part 1/4
• For extra credit please suggest to your instructor a relevant video for this unit of the course. Send the title of the video, the URL and a brief explanation of why you find the video interesting and applicable to the material that is being studied in this unit.

• For up to 50 points of extra credit, read De Las Casas A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies and submit the De Las Casas paper. There is an ebook available of De Las Casas.
• For up to 10 points of extra credit, after reading The Discovery of North America by Leif Erikson, c. 1000 (from The Saga of Eric the Red, 1387), write a paragraph in which you assess whether it really matters who "discovered" American first.
• For up to 5 points of extra credit, you can submit the answers to the Columbus Journal study questions.  Please write in formal, complete sentences.
• For up to 5 points of extra credit, you can submit the answers to the De Las Casas study questions.  Please write in formal, complete sentences.
• For extra credit up to 5 points, we are collecting pictures of McDonalds restaurants from locations around the world (not in the US) for some remarks about the spread of pop culture in the world. If you are willing to send any photos (It must be a photo that you have taken yourself.), you will receive credit if we use the photo. Please attach the photo to an email to Professor Evans at cevans@nvcc.edu

• Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to (1) identify some of the motivations for Europeans to undertake the voyages of of exploration, (2) describe the characteristics of America, Africa and Asia when these areas were "discovered" by Europeans and (3) analyze a historical primary source.