History Exam S1 Revision

Question 1

Where did Marco Polo sail to?

Answer 1

Marco Polo left Italy to sail to the Chinese Empire when he was 17.

Question 2

How long did Marco spend walking to China with his dad and uncle?

Answer 2

3 years!

Question 3

How long did Marco Polo stay in China?

Answer 3

20 years.

Question 4

What did Marco Polo return from China with?

Answer 4

He returned with a fortune of gemstones.

Question 4

What did Marco Polo return from China with?

Answer 4

He returned with a fortune of gemstones.

Question 5

How did Marco Polo inspire people to go travelling?

Answer 5

He wrote a book, “The travels of Marco Polo,” which spread across Europe.

Question 6

What did Henry the Navigator do to challenge the superstitions about sailing?

Answer 6

He established a school of navigation in Portugal.

Question 7

What did Henry do that was significant in disproving fears of no return from beyond the African shore?

Answer 7

He convinced a squire in charge of his ships to sail to the African shore and return with flowers. This inspired more people to go exploring.

Question 8

Who decided to support Christopher Columbus on his journey?

Answer 8

The king and queen of Spain did.

Question 9

What did Columbus want to do?

Answer 9

Columbus wanted to find a new trade route to the Far East (India, China, Japan and the Spice Islands)

Question 10

What did Columbus take back with him from America?

Answer 10

Turkeys, tobacco, spices and some natives.

Question 11

Why was Columbus arrested?

Answer 11

He had many of the natives attacked and killed and enslaved others to perform dangerous jobs.

Question 12

What was Magellan’s goal?

Answer 12

To circumnavigate the globe.

Question 13

How did Magellan die?

Answer 13

He was killed in a battle of the natives.

Question 14

Why were sailors reluctant to go exploring?

Answer 14

The risks of bad wind.
They were afraid of it being too hot.
Fear of the unknown.
Superstitions, like monsters.

Question 15

Why did people want to go exploring?

Answer 15

You could make a fortune in selling what you brought back.
They wanted an adventure away from their normal life
They wanted to be famous like Marco Polo

Question 16

What is a portolano?

Answer 16

A nautical chart, used for direction.

Question 17

What is a compass?

Answer 17

An instrumet with a magnetic needle that points towards North.

Question 18

What is an astrolabe?

Answer 18

An astrolabe is a wheel hung by a cord and has a pointer which was aimed at the sun or star.

Question 19

What is a cross-staff?

Answer 19

A cross used to line up the sun and the horizon at the same time. However, this could be quite difficult onboard a swaying ship.

Question 20

What is a quadrant?

Answer 20

A quadrant is a half-protractor, used to line up the sun or pole star along the edge of the quadrant and a weighted line hung down to provide a reading.

Question 21

What did they use to measure the speed of the ship?

Answer 21

They used knots, which were tying a rope to a piece of wood and seeing how long it took for the knots to pass through the sailor’s hands

Question 22

What was the most used ship for exploring?

Answer 22

Caravels

Question 23

What were caravels?

Answer 23

Caravels were small, fast ships that were easy to manoeuvre. They used lanteen sails and could take advantage of the wind no matter which way it blew.

Question 24

What was the one drawback of caravels?

Answer 24

They are small, therefore they can carry less crew.

Question 25

What was food like on ship?

Answer 25

The water was filled with scum and their only food was meat and biscuits that were attacked by pests.

Question 26

What was scurvy like?

Answer 26

Symptoms are bleeding gums, loss of weight and loosened teeth. If left untreated, the victim would die after many weeks.

Question 27

What were the dangers on-ship?

Answer 27

Falling from the deck or rigging and guts popping out from the muscle, which was caused by hauling the heavy sails.

Question 28

What were the punishments on-ship?

Answer 28

The captain whacked misbehaving sailors with a cane, flogged them with a cat o’ nine tails, or even ordered them to be hanged!

Question 29

What was keelhauling?

Answer 29

It is when the captain ties them by the legs to chains, and the rest of the crew throws him in the water and drags him under the ship and back up the other side.

Question 30

What did the sailors do for entertainment on ship?

Answer 30

They sang, danced and played musical instruments when they could. They also played games, told tales, fished or built things like model ships.