Age of Exploration DBQ Essay
This question is based on the accompanying documents. The question is designed to test your ability to work with historical documents. Some of these documents have been edited for the purposes of this question. As you analyze the documents, take into account the source of each document and any point of view that may be presented in the document.
Historical Context:
The Age of Exploration was a time period that brought two previously isolated worlds together. European explorers caused great and lasting changes for both the Old and the New Worlds. Most would agree that European exploration of the Americas had both beneficial and harmful effects.
Task: Using the information from the documents and your knowledge of global history, answer the questions that follow each document in Part A. Your answers to the questions will help you write the Part B essay in which you will be asked to :
Describe two effects, positive and/or negative, resulting from European exploration of the Americas.
Refer to at least 4 of the attached documents to support your ideas.
Guidelines:
In your essay, be sure to
• Develop all aspects of the task
• Incorporate information from at least four documents
• Incorporate relevant outside information
• Support the theme with relevant facts, examples, and details
• Use a logical and clear plan of organization, including an introduction and a conclusion that are beyond a restatement of the theme
Document 1:
Spaniards are cutting off the hands of Natives for not meeting their gold quota.
1. Why did the Spanish cut the hands off of the Natives?
2. What is the relationship between the Spaniards and the Natives at the time of this image?
Document 2:
From Disease and Catastrophe (David Walbert, LearnNC, no date):
“But even the Black Death can’t compare to the devastation