Introduction
Venice and the Islamic Empire have controlled the trade with the Orient for years. Europe has had enough! No longer will they pay dearly for the goods they covet. Now new technology has made braving the open waters a feasible reality. You have been tasked by your ruler under God to find an alternate route for gaining the luxuries of the Orient.
Portugaul:
(Group 1) It is 1487 and his majesty King João II of Portugal has ordered you Bartolomeu de Novaes Dias to sail around Africa and meet up with overland adventurers on their quest for the mythical Christian kingdom of Africa. It is your duty to put together a fleet of ships and plot your journey around the southern tip of Africa. May God grant you victory in the task his majesty has set for you.
(Group 2) It is 1497 and his majesty King Manuel I of Portugal has charged you Vasco da Gama with creating a trade route to India by journeying past where Dias stopped his journey. You must reach India and forge a trade route to enrich his majesty’s treasury. May God grant you victory in the task his majesty has set for you.
Spain:
(Group 3) It is the year 1492 and their majesties of Spain have finally agreed to your plea. Christopher Columbus you must fulfill your promises to King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I. You are charged with finding the route westward to the Indies to bring Christendom to the world and lead to the downfall of the infidel. May God grant you victory in the task their majesties have set for you.
(Group 4) It is the year 1519 and King Charles I of Spain has charged you Ferdinand Magellan with finding a route to the Indies by sailing to the west. Magellan you are expected to succeed where Christopher Columbus failed. Sail westward around South America and reach the Indies for his majesty. May God grant you victory in the task his majesty has set for you.
England:
(Group 5) It is the year 1497 and King Henry VII of England has charged you John Cabot with finding a route to the Indies for his majesty. You decide to sail the northern Atlantic Ocean in hopes that the route will be shorter by sailing the northern route. Go and discover the promised riches for his majesty of England. May God grant you victory in the task his majesty has set for you.
France:
(Group 6) It is the year 1523 and King Francis I of France has commissioned you Giovanni da Verrazzano to sail to the west. Find the fabled Northwest Passage and bring the profits of the Indies for France. May God grant you victory in the task his majesty has set for you.
(Group 7) It is the year 1534 and King Francis I of France has commissioned you Jacques Cartier to sail to the Northern lands of the west. You have been charged with finding passage to the Indies and with obtaining riches for his majesty. May God grant you victory in the task his majesty has set for you.
Task
1. A map of your journey is required for the assignment. Include your starting location, final destination, at least two stops on your journey, and your return home. The cartographer of your group is responsible for this portion of the assignment.
2. A list of ships for your exploration fleet is required. The list consists of reporting how many ships are being taken on the journey. In addition, any known ship names that were part of the fleet need to be listed. Ships named need to have any known designations attached to them. For example, a ship that is named and was placed as the flagship needs to report as such in your list. I also want you to provide information on the caravel ship type in your report. Remember the caravel was important to the age of exploration and was instrumental in aiding the exploration of your explorer. The marshall of the fleet for your group is responsible for this portion of the report.
3. A minimum of four diary entries about events that occur on your journey must be written. The first entry must be about what you hope to accomplish for your monarch as you set out to explore. The fourth entry must be about how you feel about the end results of your exploratory journey. If your explorer died before reaching home, the final entry is written from the perspective of the highest ranking person who survived the return journey. The other two journal entries need to be about events that happened on the journey. Feel free to be creative but all journal entries need to be based off of facts. The explorer of your group is responsible for this portion of the assignment.
4. Create a list of supplies you need to bring along on your journey of exploration. Include a list of food and scientific equipment needed for the ships. Include a description of how the food will be stored and used in the report. This portion of your report must also include information about the compass and astrolabe in relation to their use in exploration. Remember that the astrolabe and compass were inventions that helped make the age of exploration possible. The steward of your group is responsible for this portion of the report.
Process
Each group will consist of four members with their own specific role within the group. Match up your number with the number beside the following job descriptions to find your assigned job.
1.Explorer
You are the leader of your expedition. Your job is to coordinate with the other members of your group to make sure everyone is working on their assigned job. You are also the group member responsible for collecting the work of your group and turning it into me. Your assigned portion of the work is the diary entries detailing your assigned explorer’s journey.
2.Marshall of the Fleet
You are in charge of the fleet that sails under the explorer. You are responsible for reporting the ships the explorer has available for their expedition. The explorer will rely on you to know the number of ships, their names, and what they can expect from this new ship the caravel. In addition to the links for your specific explorer, you will use the following link to prepare your portion of the assignment.
http://nautarch.tamu.edu/shiplab/01George/caravela/htmls/Caravel%20History.htm
3.Steward
You are in charge of the provisions and tools that will be loaded onto the ships traveling on your expedition. You are to take great care to load enough food for the voyage. In addition, you are in charge of the plan for storing the food and how it will be rationed to the crew on each ship. You have also been charged with ensuring the tools needed for navigation are loaded onto the ships. The explorer will depend on you to see to these essential details to have any hope of a successful journey. You will use these links to complete your portion of the assignment.
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/ferdinand-magellan-ships.htm
You are in charge of the maps entrusted to your care. Chart the course of your explorer’s journey as you sail so that you may find your way home again at journey’s end. It is up to you to make sure your explorer does not get lost on your journey and to give a record of where you have journeyed. Your maps will show the monarch the regions the explorer has claimed in their name. You will use the links provided in the group section for your explorer to complete this section of your report.
The following are the links for your specific explorers.
Bartolomeu de Novaes Dias (Group 1)
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Bartolomeu-Dias
http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/bartholomeu-dias
http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/bartolomeu-dias
This link is for the cartographer due to its map of your journey. The video of his journey also shows the route of your explorer.
https://theageofdiscovery.wikispaces.com/Bartolomeu+Diaz%27s+exploration
Vasco da Gama (Group 2)
http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/vasco-da-gamas-voyage-discovery-1497
http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/vasco-da-gama
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/d/dagama.shtml
This link is for the cartographer due to its map of your journey.
http://www.tripline.net/trip/Vasco_da_Gama's_journey-2113246261761003BAEDBADDC2607C1D
Christopher Columbus (Group 3)
http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/christopher-columbus
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Columbus
http://ageofex.marinersmuseum.org/?type=webpage&id=51
This link is for the cartographer due to its map of your journey.
http://www.tripline.net/trip/Columbus's_First_Voyage-524426755021100398BBC307AA573874
Ferdinand Magellan (Group 4)
http://www.biography.com/people/ferdinand-magellan-9395202#navigator-and-explorer
http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/ferdinand-magellan
This site contains your map and infomation for the other sections of your report.
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Ferdinand-Magellan
John Cabot (Group 5)
http://www.biography.com/people/john-cabot-9234057#early-years
http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/john-cabot
http://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Cabot
This link is for the cartographer due to its map of your journey.
http://www.tripline.net/trip/John_Cabot's_Voyages-51326447621310038820C1EC4F5B86AD#zoom
Giovanni da Verrazzano (Group 6)
http://www.biography.com/people/giovanni-da-verrazzano-9517737#the-first-expedition-of-the-new-world
http://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/giovanni-da-verrazzano/
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Giovanni-da-Verrazzano
This link is for the cartographer due to its map of your journey.
http://www.lapseshot.com/map-of-giovanni-da-verrazano-route-of-exploration.html
Jacques Cartier (Group 7)
http://www.biography.com/people/jacques-cartier-9240128#synopsis
http://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/jacques-cartier/
http://www.historymuseum.ca/virtual-museum-of-new-france/the-explorers/jacques-cartier-1534-1542/
This link is for the cartographer due to its map of your journey.
http://thehistoryjunkie.com/jacques-cartier-facts/
Evaluation
| Criteria | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Four diary entries must be present. One must detail the start of the journey and one must detail the end of the journey. | All four entries are present and based on factual information. One entry covers the start of the journey and another covers the end of the journey. | Four entries are present, but it is missing either the start of end of journey entry. | Either the start or end of journey entry is missing or the entries factual basis is missing. There are less than four diary entries. | There are only two entries included or only two entries that are based on factual information. | There is only one entry or entries are not based on factual information. |
| The list of ships is completed according to the requirements of the assignment and contains the facts for the explorer assigned to the group. | Any named ships that sailed in the fleet of the explorer are included in the list by name. The number of ships is listed and there is a discussion about the caravel in the report. | The number of ships that sailed is included and there is a discussion about the caravel included. Some ships that held names may have been left out of the report. | The number of ships that sailed is included, but the ships that have names are not included in the report. The discussion about the caravel is included. | The number of ships is inaccurate or not included. The ships that have names are inaccurate or not included. The discussion about the caravel is included. | The number of ships is inaccurate or not included. The ships that have names are inaccurate or not included. The discussion of the caravel forgets to explain the importance of the ship or forgets to explain what a caravel is. |
| The map shows your explorer's journey and includes starting point, final desitnation, and two stops made on the journey. | The map has all of the required points present and labled. | The map has all the required points, but not all of them are labled. | The map has all the required points, but they are not labled. | The map does is missing at least two of the points that were to be included. The points are also not labled. | The points on the map are incorrect or do not include the required points at all. |
| The list of supplies includes food and navigational tools. There is a discussion of the astrolabe and compass included. | The list of supplies contains the food and navigational tools that will be brought on your journey. The list also has a plan for how you will store the food and ration food on your journey. A discussion on the importiance of the astrolabe and compass is included. The discussion makes sure to explain what the astrolabe and compass are. | The list contains the food and navigational tools that will be brought on the journey. The list contains only the plan for food storage or your proposed plan for rationing food. The discussion of the astrolabe and compass contains information on their importance. The astrolabe and compass are defined. | The list lacks either a list of the food or navigational tools. The list lacks either the plan for food storage or how food will be rationed. The discussion of the astrolabe and compass includes the definition, but does not explain their importance. | The list of food and navigational tools is incomplete. The plans for storage and ratioining of food are missing or incomplete. The discussion of the astrolabe and compass defines one or the other. The importance of these tools is left out. | The list of food and navigational tools is incomplete. The plans for storage and rationing of food are non existent. There is no discussion of the astrolabe or compass at all. |
| Students worked well together in a group setting. | Each student did their assigned job within the group. The students were polite towards each other and respectfully worked together. | Some of the students did their assigned roles within the group. The other students had to complete jobs that were not their assigned roles. The students wer polite towards each other and respectfully worked together. | Two of the students completed their assigned roles and completed roles not their own. The students were polite towards each other and respectfully worked together. The students informed me of the problems they were having with their team mates. | One student did all the work for their group project. The students were polite towards each other. The student informed me of the problems occuring in the group. | Students were not polite towards each other. The students did not work respectfully with each other on their project. The students performed roles not their own to complete the assignment and did not inform me of the problems in their group. |
Conclusion
You have journeyed the routes demanded of you by your sovereign under God. Some of you found victory and prestige awaiting your return home. Your monarch wishes you well and gives you great praise. Others of you have found bitter disappointment and have only obtained mention in the pages of history. Your hopes may be dashed, but you have survived the long journey. Take comfort then dear explorer.You have returned home once again brave explorer and may you find rest from your travels here. May God grant you a blessed life for the service given to your monarch.