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FREE BELL RINGER WORKSHEET Exploration Infographic
The Age of Exploration started in 1492 when Christopher Columbus sailed west for Asia but landed in the Americas instead. Spanish and Portuguese explorers soon claimed vast lands. Cortés conquered the Aztecs, Pizarro defeated the Incas, Cabral claimed Brazil, and Magellan’s crew circumnavigated the globe. While these voyages created the global Columbian Exchange of crops and animals, they also caused terrible tragedy through smallpox epidemics, European land wars, and the brutal Transatlantic slave trade. Later, France and England built settlements across North America, including Quebec, Jamestown, and New England. These expanding empires were driven by new economic systems like joint-stock companies and wealth-focused mercantilism.