People and Stories of Canada to 1867 - Portage & Main Press

© Portage & Main Press 2007. May be reproduced for classroom use.
Sample Pages
Reading to Answer “Why?” Questions
Part A. Reading
Name:_________________________________________
The Spice Race and the Northwest Passage: Why Did Europeans Start Exploring?
1. After the Crusades, Europeans discovered that spices were very useful in cooking. Spices
such as pepper made food taste better. Some spices covered the taste of rotting meat.
People also thought that some spices cured sickness. All of these ideas made spices very
valuable, but they were also hard to get, because most spices grew in the Far East.
2. Spices were brought from the Far East to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Turkey).
European traders from places such as Venice came to Constantinople to buy spices and
take them home. The traders had to buy from people in Constantinople, because the
Venetians did not know where the spices were grown. People living in the rest of Europe
then bought their spices from the Venetians. Every time the spices were sold, they got
more expensive. Many European traders wanted to be able to buy spices from the places
where they grew.
3. In 1271, a teenage boy from Venice set out with his father to visit China and other places
where all of the spices and many other treasures came from. His name was Marco Polo,
and he travelled all over Asia, finally returning to Venice in 1295. When he came home,
Marco Polo wrote a book about his travels. He told people where the spices and other
treasures could be found. After reading his book, many people wanted to travel to the
Far East themselves to buy the spices directly. This was the beginning of the search for
a shorter way to China.
4. Portugal, Spain, England, the Netherlands, and France, all sent explorers north and south,
east and west, to try to find a short way to the riches of the Far East. A few people
succeeded in getting to the East and getting shiploads of spices. One Englishman came
home with a shipload of nutmeg and made a 60 000 % profit! No wonder people risked
their lives to find a short way to China.
5. After trying many different routes to get to China, some Europeans decided that the best
way was to sail west and north across the Atlantic Ocean. They arrived in North America
instead. At first, they were very disappointed. However, they later realized that North
America had treasures, too – fish, furs, and forests.
6. Explorers decided to look for a Northwest Passage around or through North America.
When they finally found a Northwest Passage, they could not use it because ice blocked
the route for most of the year. Luckily, explorers now knew of safer and faster ways to
travel from Europe to Asia.
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