SECTION 1 HISTORICAL THINKING PROMPTS

European Exploration, Perception of the Other, and the Columbian Exchange

What factors contributed to the European interest in exploration?

  1. What do the primary sources tell us about the incentives to explore and discover? Using evidence and supporting quotes from at least four of the sources, consider the common motivations they reveal as well as any differences in what each prioritized.
  2. Compare and contrast Andrews’s and Abulafia’s interpretations of the major motivations for overseas exploration. What evidence for their arguments do they each provide? Do you find Andrews’s or Abulafia’s interpretation convincing or do you agree instead with another scholarly interpretation in this collection and why? Use at least one additional scholarly source and at least one primary source in your analysis.
  3. Compare how Andrews, Newitt, Arnold, and Love explain the motivations for European exploration. What do they agree was a major incentive for exploration? How does each author present their argument and what evidence do they use? How do their explanations differ? What other motivations does each author consider? Which interpretation do you find most convincing and how do the primary sources in this section support your assessment? Use at least one primary source in your discussion.
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