Deck 2: Founding the Colonies

Question 1

By the early sixteenth century, the center wealth and commerce of Europe had shifted

A) from the Baltic to the Mediterranean.
B) from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.
C) from Italy to North Africa.
D) The center of wealth and commerce did not change until the 17th century.

Answer 1

from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.

Question 2

Prince Henry the Navigator was one of the leading explorers for which nation?

A) England.
B) France.
C) Holland.
D) Portugal.
E) Spain.

Answer 2

Portugal.

Question 3

The agreement that established Spain and Portugal's rights to explore various parts of the world was called:

A) The Treaty of Spain.
B) The Treaty of Paris.
C) The Treaty of Tordesillas.
D) The Spanish-Portuguese Covenant.
E) The London Accord.

Answer 3

The Treaty of Tordesillas.

Question 4

Which nation made the greatest commitment to establish permanent settlements in its colonization strategy?

A) England .
B) France .
C) Holland .
D) Spain

Question 5

In the 15^th century, _________ rose to prominence in trade with areas to the east of Europe, while ________ dominated trade with the West.

A) Venice ; England
B) Italy ; the Dutch
C) Portugal ; Spain
D) France ; Holland

Question 6

By the 15^th century, Catholic Europe had emerged victorious after years of war with

A) the Norse.
B) Chinese mercenaries.
C) Muslim armies.
D) India .

Question 7

Humphrey Gilbert was one of the leading explorers for which nation?

A) England
B) France
C) Holland
D) Portugal
E) Spain

Question 8

Bartholomew Dias was recognized for being the first to achieve what accomplishment?

A) Rounding the Cape of Good Hope.
B) Sailing from Europe to India and back.
C) Sailing around the world.
D) Reaching South America.
E) Exploring the interior of Canada.

Question 9

Which of the following phrases does not accurately describe a feature of the European economy during the Renaissance period?

A) growing securities in exchanges and transactions
B) a strengthening of nation-states
C) declining population
D) increased security of persons and property

Question 10

Ferdinand Magellan was one of the leading explorers for which nation?

A) England .
B) France .
C) Holland .
D) Portugal.
E) Spain.

Question 11

Bartholomew Dias was one of the leading explorers for which nation?

A) England.
B) France.
C) Holland.
D) Portugal.
E) Spain.

Question 12

__________ established the first American colonies in the early 1500s.

A) England
B) The Low Countries
C) France
D) Spain

Question 13

Prince Henry the Navigator was recognized for being the leading explorer of what region?

A) Western coast of Africa.
B) The West Indies.
C) Canada .
D) Mexico.
E) Brazil.

Question 14

Which nation pioneered Atlantic exploration?

A) England
B) Italy
C) Portugal
D) Spain

Question 15

Estimates of the North American Native American population in 1491

A) are inconclusive.
B) range in the hundreds of thousands.
C) range in the millions.
D) range in the ten of thousands.

Question 16

Vasco de Gama was recognized for what accomplishment?

A) Rounding the Cape of Good Hope.
B) Sailing from Europe to India and back.
C) Sailing around the world.
D) Reaching South America.
E) Exploring Newfoundland.

Question 17

In the 1600s _____________________ emerged as the chief competitors in the race for control of North America.

A) Spain and England
B) England and Holland
C) England and France
D) Spain and France

Question 18

Ferdinand Magellan was recognized for what accomplishment?

A) Rounding the Cape of Good Hope.
B) Sailing from Europe to India and back.
C) Sailing around the world.
D) Reaching South America.
E) Exploring the interior of Canada.

Question 19

England 's American colonies were ultimately more successful than the colonies of other European powers. Reasons for this success include

A) the realization that successful colonies would provide markets for English goods.
B) a focus on establishing permanent settlements.
C) the access to land which could be privately owned.
D) All of the above.

Question 20

Cortez was one of the leading explorers for which nation?

A) England .
B) France .
C) Holland .
D) Portugal .
E) Spain .

Question 21

Based on the research findings of David Galenson, Robert Heavner and others, what type of person would you expect to have the shortest indenture?

A) 13 year-old male craftsman who went to New England.
B) 22 year-old male laborer who went to the West Indies.
C) 20 year-old male farm worker went to the South.
D) 21 year-old male carpenter who worked in the West Indies.

Question 22

Walter Raleigh was one of the leading explorers for which nation?

A) England
B) France
C) Holland
D) Portugal
E) Spain

Question 23

People from which nation were most likely to come to colonial North America as indentured servants?

A) England .
B) Liberia .
C) Germany .
D) France .

Question 24

Based on the research findings of David Galenson, Robert Heavner and others, what type of person would you expect to negotiate an indenture contract of the longest duration?

A) a 13 year-old illiterate male who went to New York
B) a 22 year-old female weaver who went to Massachusetts
C) a 20 year-old male unskilled worker went to the West Indies
D) a 21 year-old male blacksmith who went to the Pennsylvania

Question 25

Settlers often received 50 acres of land for each person whose passage they paid to America.  This was known as

A) a special purpose grant.
B) an entailment.
C) the headright system.
D) planter's shares.

Question 26

The establishment of Jamestown in 1607 was financed by

A) the London Company.
B) the Plymouth Company.
C) the English Parliament.
D) Sir Walter Raleigh.

Question 27

Of the 6,000 settlers who migrated to Virginia since the founding of the first permanent settlement in 1607, nearly ________ had died by 1623.

A) 5,500
B) 4,000
C) 2,500
D) 1,000

Question 28

According to a royal investigation in 1623 of the English colonies in Virginia, the average life expectancy of newly arrived setters was

A) 2 years.
B) 5 years.
C) 10 years.
D) 20 years.

Question 29

Which was not an English-owned joint stock company?

A) The Virginia Company.
B) The Plymouth Company.
C) The East India Company.
D) The Rhode Island Company.
E) The Massachusetts Bay Company.

Question 30

What was the least important reason for the failure of the Virginia Company?

A) Difficulty in finding good crops to grow.
B) The Company's employees had unforeseen labor alternatives.
C) There was a relatively small incentive for employees to work hard.
D) The death rate was much higher than they expected.

Question 31

Jamestown 's early years were marked by

A) a focus on futile "get rich quick" schemes.
B) collective operations under which production methods and consumption were shared.
C) lack of local control over production decisions.
D) extremely high mortality rates.
E) All of the above.

Question 32

Which English colony was the first permanent settlement in the New World?

A) Roanoke .
B) Plymouth .
C) Jamestown .
D) Mexico .
E) Quebec .

Question 33

The first English colonies in North America were established by

A) Sir Humphrey Gilbert.
B) Christopher Columbus
C) Capt. John Smith
D) Sir Walter Raleigh

Question 34

Indentured servitude was first used to promote emigration to

A) Jamestown in 1618.
B) Plymouth Colony in 1623.
C) New York in 1630.
D) Rhode Island Colony in 1652.

Question 35

The first arrivals in Jamestown

A) were easily distracted by get-rich quick schemes.
B) worked hard to plant their crops in time for the harvest.
C) b relied heavily on Christopher Columbus'sketchy accounts of the Chesapeake.
D) quickly set up a series of gold and silver mines.

Question 36

Who did not found a colony?

A) Lord Baltimore.
B) Sir Nelson Maryland.
C) William Penn
D) Roger Williams.

Question 37

Of the English-owned joint stock companies that operated in North America, which was the only one to survive longer than 20 years?

A) The London Company
B) The New Plymouth Company
C) The Hudson Bay Company
D) The Massachusetts Bay Company

Question 38

In the early colonies, private landholdings

A) gradually replaced common ownership.
B) occasionally supplemented common ownership.
C) were only legalized after 1650.
D) were the norm from the very beginning of colonization.

Question 39

Who would be most likely to move from Europe to the New World in the early 1600s?

A) A 19 year-old, first born son with many skills.
B) A 37 year-old skilled carpenter.
C) A 17 year-old from a poor family.
D) A 51 year-old woman.
E) An unskilled laborer with a wife and two children.

Question 40

Spain 's eventual decline in influence can be traced to

A) the lack of a solid foundation for its settlement efforts.
B) a costly war to bring the Low Countries under subjection.
C) the decline in gold and silver imports from America.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 41

Costing more than the average person's yearly income, the Atlantic passage in the early seventeenth century was roughly

A) £1
B) £10
C) £100
D) £1,000

Question 42

In the early colonial period which region had the highest mortality rates?

A) The South.
B) The Middle States.
C) New England .
D) Caribbean

Question 43

Studies of 18^th century colonial demographics indicate that

A) the population growth rate of blacks was similar to that of whites.
B) migration was the main reason for the growth in the black population.
C) the death rate of  blacks were much higher than the death rate of whites.
D) the birthrate of blacks was much lower than the birthrate of whites.

Question 44

From 1700-1780, the colonial population increased at a rate of approximately 3 percent per year. This rapid population growth was primarily due to

A) immigration from England.
B) immigration from central Europe.
C) higher birth rates in the colonies than in Europe.
D) importation of slaves from Africa.

Question 45

Which of the following regions of the North American continent was subject to the most European colonial claims?

A) modern-day California
B) modern-day Florida
C) modern-day Quebec
D) modern-day Washington

Question 46

Which of the following is the most accurate statement about the Native Americans during the colonial period?

A) There is a strong consensus among historians about the size of the Native American population at the time of arrival of the first European settlers.
B) Native Americans rarely formed trading alliances with the European settlers.
C) The significant deterioration of the Native American population occurred after 1825, when the US started to expand to the west.
D) The susceptibility to disease was one of the primary reasons the Native American population declined.

Question 47

According to the text, studies of 18^th century colonial demographics indicate that, compared to Europe,

A) the birthrate in the colonies was lower.
B) women in the colonies tended to marry later in life.
C) the child mortality rate in the colonies was lower.
D) average life expectancy for males in the colonies was lower.
E) All of the above.

Question 48

If a series of severe storms in the Atlantic Ocean drastically significantly disrupted the the transatlantic slave trade, which would most accurately describe the market for indentured servants in colonial America?

A) The price and quantity of servants would increase.
B) The price and quantity of servants would decrease.
C) The price of servants would increase and the quantity of servants would decrease.
D) The price of servants would decrease and the quantity of servants would increase.

Question 49

Suppose 10 workers jointly own and farm a piece of land.  They all consume the farm's output in equal shares.  If one worker decides to shirk and cuts her labor effort by 50 percent,

A) her consumption will decrease by 50 percent.
B) her consumption will decrease by greater than 50 percent.
C) her consumption will decrease by less than 50 percent.
D) her consumption will not change.

Question 50

The racial profile of colonial South Carolina

A) was typical of the colonies as a whole.
B) was closer that of the French and British West Indies than to that of its neighboring colonies
C) was dominated by whites until nearly 1750.
D) indicates that it had a higher concentration of blacks than any colony except Virginia.

Question 51

By the early 1700s, slavery had become concentrated in the southern colonies.  Economic factors that explain this demographic trend include all of the following except

A) the South's use of the primogeniture system.
B) economies of scale available in the production of the South's primary crops.
C) a climate that allowed for year-round agricultural production.
D) early laws that prohibited slavery in most of the New England and Middle colonies.

Question 52

Redemptioners were immigrants who

A) came to America as missionaries.
B) were brought over on credit provided by ship captains.
C) had previously been imprisoned in England.
D) refused to work as indentured servants.

Question 53

If a series of severe storms in the Atlantic Ocean significantly disrupted the the transatlantic slave trade, which would most accurately describe the market for slaves in colonial America?

A) The price of slaves would increase and the quantity of slaves would decrease.
B) The price and quantity of slaves would increase.
C) The price and quantity of slaves would decrease.
D) The price of slaves would decrease and the quantity of slaves would increase.

Question 54

At the time Jamestown was founded, about 300,000 native American Indians lived within 150 miles of the Atlantic Seaboard. bBy the middle of the eighteenth century that number had

A) not changed.
B) grown only modestly.
C) shrunk to a third, at the most.
D) shriveled to 3,000.

Question 55

Which European nation had occupied Florida and Northern Mexico during the sixteenth century?

A) France
B) Portugal
C) Netherlands
D) Spain

Question 56

Which of the following statements about the data presented in Table 2.1 "Population by Region for the 13 North American Colonies (in Thousands) is accurate?

A) White population growth in New England far surpassed that of white population growth in the Upper South.
B) The Upper South had the highest proportion of black populations in the English North American colonies.
C) Data for the Middle Colonies speak to the significant ethnic diversity of colonies like New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
D) Beginning in 1700, New England began to supplant the Upper South as the region with the largest total population.

Question 57

The market for indentured servants could be best described as:

A) A monopoly.
B) An oligopoly.
C) A competitive market.

Question 58

People from which nation in Europe were most likely to come to colonial North America as redemptioners?

A) Italy
B) Holland .
C) Germany
D) France