1. What was the Renaissance and how did it contribute to European exploration?

2. What technological advances enabled Europeans to undertake long ocean voyages in the late 15th century?

1. How did Isabella and Ferdinand's unification of Spain and conquest of Granada in 1492 relate to European exploration?

2. What was the Protestant Reformation and how did religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants motivate exploration?

1. Why did the Ottoman Turks' seizure of Constantinople in 1453 prompt Europeans to seek new trade routes?

2. What were the two possible ocean routes to Asia that Europeans considered, and which did the Portuguese pursue?

3. How did Portuguese slave trading in the 15th century establish a model that Europeans later used in the Americas?

1. What is a nation-state and how did the emergence of nation-states in Europe motivate overseas exploration?

2. How did European monarchs use trade and the church to consolidate power in their emerging nation-states?

1. What was the line of demarcation and how did it divide the Americas between Spain and Portugal?

2. How did the Treaty of Tordesillas modify the pope's original line of demarcation and what territory did it give to Portugal?

1. What was the basis of England's early claims to American territory, and why did England not immediately pursue these claims?

2. How did Queen Elizabeth I and English adventurers like Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh challenge Spanish dominance in the Americas?

1. What voyages established French claims to North American territory in the 16th century?

2. Why were the French slow to develop colonies in the Americas during the 1500s?