French and English voyages: Cabot, Cartier, Champlain, Hudson and the search for a northwest passage

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   John Cabot's voyage from Bristol, 1497, and the search for a way to Asia

   Letters patent, March 5, 1496: King Henry VII allows Cabot to sail from Bristol, England. Voyage of 1497, solid arrow: the ship Matthew, with about 20 people, sails from Bristol (one account says May 2; others say mid or late May) west past southern Ireland and across the Atlantic to the coast of North America; landfall June 24, 1497, marked with a star (historians still debate the exact place). A second solid arrow runs about 30 days along the coast. A dashed arrow runs home across the Atlantic to Brittany and Bristol, arriving August 6. A faint arrow marked 1498 leaves Bristol in early May with several ships; no account of that voyage survives. Key: a solid arrow is a voyage out; a dashed arrow is the voyage home; a star is the landfall; a fish is cod, found in great numbers; a pepper is spices, which Cabot hoped to find; a roll of cloth is silk, which Cabot hoped to find; a ship is the Matthew. Below the map: Cabot hoped to reach the lands of the Great Khan in Asia by sailing west. On land he saw no people but signs that people lived there, and he made a ceremony claiming the land for the king. The king's accounts record a payment of 10 pounds to the man who found the new land. Bristol seamen were excited about the rich fishing grounds. A northwest passage would be a sea route to Asia around the north of North America.

2. 1.

   Which way did the Matthew sail across the Atlantic, by the solid arrow, Milo asks?

   • North, toward Iceland
   • South, along the coast of Africa
   • West, past southern Ireland
   • East, toward Asia
3. 2.

   On what date did Cabot make landfall, by the star on the map, Noah asks?

   • August 6, 1497
   • May 2, 1497
   • June 24, 1497
   • March 5, 1496
4. 3.

   In the key, what does a fish stand for, Pia asks?

   • The ship Matthew
   • Silk that Cabot hoped to find
   • Spices that Cabot hoped to find
   • Cod, found in great numbers
5. 4.

   In the key, what does a dashed arrow mean, Tala asks?

   • A border
   • The voyage home
   • A river
   • A voyage out across the sea
6. 5.

   Zee reads the word landfall. What is a landfall?

   • A storm that drove the ship back
   • A ship's cargo of fish
   • A scale bar on a map
   • The first land a ship reaches
7. 6.

   Ari reads about a northwest passage. What would that be?

   • A river in Ireland
   • A trading road across the Atlantic Ocean
   • A tax on spices
   • A sea route to Asia through the north
8. 7.

   Bo reads that Cabot held letters patent. What are letters patent?

   • A map of the coast
   • A ship's logbook
   • A ruler's written permission to sail
   • A tax on cod
9. 8.

   Who gained from Cabot's news of rich fishing grounds, by the note, Esme asks?

   • No one
   • Spanish sailors in the Caribbean
   • Venetian spice sellers
   • Bristol seamen and merchants
10. 9.

    Cabot saw signs that people lived on the land, then claimed it for the king. Who lost a say, Jun asks?

    • Cabot's crew
    • The people who already lived there
    • The people of Bristol
    • The king of England
11. 10.

    Who gained a claim to the land from Cabot's ceremony, by the note, Kira asks?

    • The people who lived there
    • The Spanish king
    • The English king
    • The Venetian merchants