Exploration Motives DBQ Packet
Grade 7 Social Studies • Historical Investigation
Voyage of Ambition: Age of Exploration DBQ
Document-Based Question
Focus: Wealth • Religion • Power
Student Name:
Date:
Period:
Score: / 100
Historical Context & Guiding Question
Beginning in the mid-1400s, European explorers set sail into uncharted waters. Historians often summarize their motives using the "Three G's": Gold (wealth and trade), God (converting peoples to Christianity), and Glory (national power and imperial competition).
Central DBQ Prompt: What motivated Europeans to explore during the Age of Exploration? How did wealth, religion, and political power drive their voyages?
DOC 1 Motive: Wealth & The Search for Spices and Gold
Primary Source & Trade Data
Source: Christopher Columbus, Letter to Spanish Court Treasurer Luis de Santángel, describing his first transatlantic voyage, March 1493.
"I discovered many islands inhabited by men without number... There are great spice-groves and boundless mines of gold and other metals. The harbors are beyond comparison with any in Christian lands, and great rivers flow with fine water..."
"Their Royal Highnesses will see that I can give them almost any amount of gold they need, and as much cotton and pepper as they can demand, if they give me but a little assistance."
The Spice Route Price Hike (c. 1490)
Overland Silk Road (Venice / Ottomans): +400% Price Markup across taxes & middlemen.
Direct Ocean Caravel Route: Direct Profit kept entirely by explorer & crown.
Spices like pepper were worth their weight in gold.
1. Based on Document 1, what two valuable resources did Columbus promise to deliver to the King and Queen of Spain?
2. According to the chart and excerpt, why did European rulers desire a direct sea route to Asia rather than overland trade?
Unit 4: Global Interactions & Expansion Page 1 of 4
Document Analysis • Religion & Imperial Power
Student Packet: Documents 2 & 3
DOC 2 Motive: Religion & Converting Souls to Christianity
Papal Decree & Visual Source
Source: Pope Alexander VI, Papal Bull Inter Caetera, issued on May 4, 1493, after Columbus returned to Europe.
"We command you, our beloved Spanish sovereigns, in holy obedience... to direct your purpose to lead the peoples dwelling in those islands to embrace the Christian religion."
"You shall appoint worthy, God-fearing, learned, and experienced men to instruct the inhabitants in the Catholic faith, bringing them out of ignorance and into salvation."
Primary Source Woodcut (c. 1500)
"Spanish friars holding high wooden crosses as Indigenous villagers gather near shore."
Missionaries traveled on virtually all exploration ships.
3. According to Document 2, what duty did the Pope demand of Spanish explorers and rulers?
4. How might European rulers use this religious mission to justify taking over foreign lands and territories?
DOC 3 Motive: Political Power, Rivalry, & World Dominion
Treaty Map & Royal Protest
Source: The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) map line and King Francis I of France's response (1540).
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) Dividing the Uncharted World
SPAIN'S REALM All lands west of meridian line (Americas)
Line of Demarcation
PORTUGAL'S REALM All lands east of line (Brazil, Africa, Asia)
Spain and Portugal divided all non-Christian lands between themselves.
Royal Jealousy (1540)
"The sun shines for me as for others! I should very much like to see the clause in Adam’s will which excludes me from my share of the world!"
— King Francis I of France
5. How does the Treaty of Tordesillas demonstrate that European rulers wanted political power and global dominion?
6. What does King Francis I's reaction reveal about how competition between European kings fueled more exploration?
Unit 4: Global Interactions & Expansion Page 2 of 4
Synthesis & Pre-Writing Scaffold
Student Packet: Document 4 & Evidence Matrix
DOC 4 Motive Synthesis: A Conquistador's Own Words
Firsthand Historical Memoir
Source: Bernal Díaz del Castillo, Spanish soldier, from The True History of the Conquest of New Spain (written c. 1568).
"We came here to serve God and the King, and also to get rich, as all men desire to do."
"We brought the Holy Faith to vast peoples who had never known Christ, planted the royal banner of Castile across enormous kingdoms, and sent galleons laden with treasures of silver and gold to our homeland."
The 3 Motivations Combined
1. Wealth: "to get rich"
2. Religion: "to serve God"
3. Glory: "serve the King"
A firsthand synthesis of all 3 G's.
7. In your own words, how does Bernal Díaz del Castillo prove that explorers were motivated by wealth, religion, AND political power at the same time?
Pre-Writing Evidence Matrix: Sorting the 3 G's
Review Documents 1–4. Note at least one specific piece of evidence or document quote for each motivation below:
GOLD (Wealth / Spices)
Evidence from Doc 1 or Doc 4:
GOD (Religion / Faith)
Evidence from Doc 2 or Doc 4:
GLORY (Power / Rivalry)
Evidence from Doc 3 or Doc 4:
Thesis Formula Scaffold (7th Grade Writing Tool)
Use this sentence frame to construct your DBQ argument before writing your essay on Page 4:
"During the Age of Exploration, Europeans were driven across the oceans by a desire for [wealth/trade], a duty to spread [religion], and the competition for [national power and empire]."
Draft Your Thesis Statement Here:
Unit 4: Global Interactions & Expansion Page 3 of 4
DBQ Culminating Task
Final Written Response: DBQ Argumentative Essay
3–4 Paragraphs
Prompt: What motivated Europeans to explore during the Age of Exploration? How did wealth, religion, and political power drive their voyages?
Clear Claim / Thesis
Cite 3+ Documents
Explain "The 3 G's"
Historical Reasoning
Begin with your thesis statement. Indent each paragraph. College-Ruled Spacing
Scoring: Claim ( /25) • Evidence ( /25) • Reasoning ( /25) • Analysis ( /25)
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