Unit 3 Must Know People

Question 1

Bartolomeu Dias

Answer 1

Portuguese Explorer who sailed around southernmost tip of Africa in 1488 and discovered Cape of Good Hope

Question 2

Christopher Columbus

Answer 2

Explorer and Navigator who led four voyages across Atlantic Ocean, opened Americas to European exploration.

Question 3

Martin Luther

Answer 3

Wrote 95 Theses as critique of Catholic Church while serving as monk in Germany, led to Protestant reformation

Question 4

Hernan Cortes

Answer 4

Spanish Conquistador who led expedition into Aztec Empire, later caused fall of empire

Question 5

Francisco Pizarro

Answer 5

Spanish conquistador who conquered Incan empire

Question 6

Vasco de Gama

Answer 6

Portuguese explorer, commanded first ships to sail from Europe to India

Question 7

Akbar

Answer 7

Ruler of Mughals, known for having a liberal outlook on all faiths. Expanded empire, created Din-i-llahi to create religious unity.

Question 8

Atahualpa

Answer 8

Last Incan emperor before Spanish conquest, was in the middle of a civil war with his brother

Question 9

Montezuma II

Answer 9

Aztec ruler during Spanish conquest of modern day Mexico. Expanded empire boundaries, was killed during an attack on Tenochtitlan.

Question 10

Elizabeth I

Answer 10

Last monarch of Tudor dynasty. Golden age of England. English Drama and adventurers.

Question 11

Louis XIV

Answer 11

Consolidated system of absolute monarchical rule in France and was mimicked by other rulers during time period. Build Palace of Versailles and relocated French court there.

Question 12

Ivan IV

Answer 12

Grand prince of Moscow- first ruler to be crowned as Czar of all of the Russias, managed many changes that allowed Russia to become an empire

Question 13

Peter the Great

Answer 13

Russian tsar who presided over the Westernization of the empire. Moved capital to St. Petersburg and changed social and political systems of Russia into more modern, scientific, and European-style systems.

Question 14

King Nzinga / Afonso I

Answer 14

Ruler of Kingdom of the Kongo during height of Portuguese slave trade, converted to Christianity and adopted some European ideas

Question 15

Tokugawa Ieyasu

Answer 15

Last of the three great unifiers of Japan and founder of Tokugawa shogunate, which lasted until mid-19th century. Presided over beginning of Japanese isolationism

Question 16

Aurangzeb

Answer 16

Mughal emperor. Expanded the empire but abandoned policies of religious tolerance imposed by predecessors.

Question 17

Suleyman the Magnificent

Answer 17

Ottoman ruler known for reconstruction of Ottoman legal system, which gave him the nickname ‘lawgiver.” Presided over apex of Ottoman military, political, and economic power.

Question 18

John Calvin

Answer 18

Pastor during the Protestant reformation who preached the idea of predestination

Question 19

Galieo Galilei

Answer 19

Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. Was put on trial by the Catholic church for defending Copernicus’ heliocentric theory.

Question 20

Thomas Hobbes

Answer 20

English philosopher who lived during the English Civil War. Champion of absolutism for the sovereign and the idea of “social contract” - people give up their rights for the absolute authority of the government.

Question 21

Nicolaus Copernicus

Answer 21

Renaissance mathematician and astronomer- discovered the heliocentric theory of the universe but waited until he was on his deathbed to publish his findings. His theory was rejected by the Catholic Church.