16th century

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/16th-century

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the chronological span?The 16th century encompasses the years 1501 CE to 1600 CE
2. What were the biggest changes happening in the 1500s?The 1500s were full of new discoveries, big empires growing, and big ideas about the world. Explorers sailed to the Americas, Africa, and Asia, while scientists like Copernicus changed how people saw the stars. Religion also changed, with the Protestant Reformation reshaping Europe.
3. Why did the Spanish and Portuguese explore so many new lands?They wanted to find new places to trade and grow their empires. By sailing to the Americas, Africa, and Asia, they built huge colonial networks and made money through trade.

Hegemonic States: States possessing dominant influence and power, capable of projecting authority over other nations.
Heliocentric Model: The astronomical model positing that the Sun is at the center of the Solar System, with planets orbiting it.
Mercantilism: An economic theory advocating for government regulation of trade to increase national wealth and power, often through favorable balance of trade.
Supernova: A powerful and luminous stellar explosion, a transient astronomical event that occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star.