Oklahoma Social Studies MWH.C.2.5.C
The Standard
- MWH.C.2
- Analyze patterns of social, economic, political, and cultural changes during the Late Middle Ages to the Age of Exploration.
- MWH.C.2.5
- Analyze migration, settlement patterns, and the impact on indigenous peoples caused by a competition among European nations during the Age of Exploration.
Explain how the origins of modern capitalism and mercantilism in Europe impacted international trading patterns, prompting global exploration and rivalry.
Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026) · MWH.C.2.5
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain why European investors funded overseas voyages and why rulers tried to control trade. They connect those goals to new sea routes, colonial markets, and rivalry over ports and goods.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a map of spice routes, a student can explain why Dutch merchants challenged Portugal's control of Asian trade. They can link private investment and government-backed monopolies to changes in trade routes.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think Europeans explored only out of curiosity. They may mistake mercantilism for free trade or assume colonies could trade with anyone. They may overlook the forced labor behind many colonial exports.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A Dutch company wants spice profits, and its government wants to weaken Portugal's trade monopoly. Why might both back voyages to Asia, and how could trade routes change?
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups blank world maps, spice and sugar cards, and colored pencils; have them mark trade routes and competing European claims.
Ask students to write: Why would Dutch merchants and rulers both want to break Portugal's hold on the spice trade?
Play motive match: students pair 'invest in a ship' with merchant profit and 'ban rival ships from colonial ports' with government trade control.
Show a photo of a Bangladesh-made T-shirt label; ask how its trade options differ from those of a colony under a trade monopoly.
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