Description:
Vasco Da Gama was the first European to reach India by sea, sailing East around all of Africa, and establishing Portugal's role as a colonial power. This made Portugal, for a time, the only European nation with a direct link to the fantastically wealthy Far East trade. The rest of Europe had to rely on slow, dangerous overland trade, through the hostile Ottoman Empire. To control its monopoly on the spice trade, Portugal established outposts along the coasts of its trade routes, which we will be recreating, along with the fleets that sheltered there. These outposts were heavily fortified, against the hostile natives, and marauding pirates, privateers, and the navies of other European nations seeking their own dominance of trade and empire.
Using artistic model-making techniques, hand tools, paint, and miniatures, each student will craft a 10 X 16 diorama. In class, they will view historical maps, artistic renderings, and/or photographs to understand the topography and development of this time and place in history. Students will customize their dioramas with landforms, landscape elements, waterways, and structures to represent a scene from this period. Once individual projects are constructed, students will populate them with 1:72 scale miniature figures. Students will combine their dioramas alongside those of their classmates to approximate a larger terrain and then compete in a history-based role-playing game which will reinforce lessons about the culture, economy, and/or warfare of the time. Each student will have at least one board and set of miniatures to take home with them.
This class will be taught synchronously in a virtual classroom. Course documents such as maps, game rules and all other instructional media will be available via a Google Drive link which will be emailed to parents. There is a materials fee payable to the instructor on the first day of class for a kit of supplies to be used at home. The supply fee is $25.00 for those picking up the kit at Compass in Herndon or $40.00 for the kit to be shipped by USPS.
Topics in this year's series include: Vasco da Gama (Quarter 1); Ferdinand Magellan (Quarter 2); Hernan Cortez (Quarter 3); Francisco Pizarro (Quarter 4).
10.06.23.06
