Competition for the New World

Vasca da Gama by Gregório Lopes

During the Age of Discovery, many European countries explored new lands and created new colonies. Most of the powerful European countries competed for land by sending out their own explorers to make discoveries and establish settlements throughout the world. In this topic, you will examine these explorations and the impact that they had on the people and cultures in these areas.

Essential Questions

• Why were Europeans interested in discovering new lands and markets?
• Who were some of the important explorers?
• How did the expansion of European empires into the Americas, Africa, and Asia affect religion in those areas?