Important people

• Medici family


  A powerful influence in Florence during the Renaissance, a successful family who made their fortune by banking and lending money
• Leonardo Da Vinci


  A famous artist and inventor in the Renaissance, considered the original "Renaissance Man" because he was interested in many different subjects
• Galileo Galilei


  A famous scientist and author in the Renaissance, known for his work as an astronomer, physicist, engineer and mathematician, studied the theory of heliocentrism
• Martin Luther


  A German priest, teacher, and author who rejected several teachings of the Catholic church
• Johannes Gutenberg


  The inventor of the printing press, which revolutionized literacy in the Renaissance
• Christopher Columbus


  An Italian explorer and sailor, hired by the Spanish King and Queen to lead an expedition across the Atlantic to find a new trading route to India
• Ferdinand Magellan


  A Portuguese explorer who organized several long ocean missions to find new trade routes for Portugal and Spain, the first European to circumnavigate the Earth
• Huitzilopochtli


  The Aztec's main and most powerful god, representing the sun. He was the special guardian of Tenochtitlan and the Aztec. Human sacrifices were often dedicated to him.
• Quetzalcoatl


  A god that took the form of a serpent or dragon-like creature. He was the god of civilization, learning, and many other things. One of his jobs was to keep the boundary between the human world on Earth and the spirit world in the sky.
• Moctezuma


  The leader of the Aztec empire in the early 1500's. Under his reign, the Aztec empire grew to its largest size. He was a priest, scholar, astronomer, and warrior. He was very religious and believed in legends about gods and omens. This worked against him when he was faced with the Spanish conquistador Cortés.
• Hernán Cortés


  He left Spain as a young man to make his fortune in the Caribbean colonies, eventually rising to a high political and military rank. The governor of Cuba appointed him to lead an expedition to the coast of Mexico.
• Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand


  Isabella was a princess from the kingdom of Castile and Ferdinand was from Aragon, which are two of Spain's most powerful small kingdoms. When they married, they united these kingdoms and eventually all of Spain came under their rule. They are famous for restructuring the Spanish nobility to give supreme power to the monarchs.
• La Malinche


  She was a woman from the Nahua tribe who was given to Cortés when the Spanish forces conquered their area. She became his trusted translator when she learned Spanish because she could speak several Indigenous languages. And was Cortes' wife.
• Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu


  First leader in the Tokugawa family to become Shogun
• Ieyasu


  1. Established the city of Edo as the capital of Japan

  2. Built Edo into a large city full of government officials
• Hinin and eta


  • The eta were the outcasts of society
  • Their jobs were considered "unclean" because they involved working with dead animals or humans
  • They were considered low class
• Bakufu


  • The central military government commanded by the shogun
  • Ruled Japan with absolute power
  • Forced obedience of the nobility and citizens through military rule and harsh punishments
  • Opposed any changes happening in society that would take away their power
• Ainu


  • Japan's Indigenous people
  • Have their own distinct language and customs that are different from the rest of Japan
  • Before the Edo period, they lived an independent life in their own villages
• Commodore Matthew Perry


  • Commanded the American expedition to Japan to negotiate a trade deal for the United States
  • Wanted to impress the Japanese so he brought his most advanced steam ships and weaponry
• Emperor Meiji


  • Leader of Japan during the Meiji period
  • Ruler during a critical period in Japanese history
  • Under his leadership, Japan made the transition from the isolated Edo period into an open country
  • Created the origin story and gave himself religious divine authority to gain the trust of the people