Deck 15: Expanding Worlds: Recovery in the Late Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries

Question 1

In which of the following ways was Mwene Mutapa different from Ethiopia?

A) Ethiopia was a land-locked empire, unlike Mwene Mutapa.
B) Mwene Mutapa traded extensively in gold.
C) Mwene Mutapa did not engage in long-distance ocean trade.
D) Mwene Mutapa was a Christian empire, unlike Ethiopia.

Answer 1

Mwene Mutapa did not engage in long-distance ocean trade.

Question 2

What was especially advantageous about the location that became Ottoman Empire?

A) It was positioned at the crossroads of important trade routes.
B) The mountainous terrain made invasion difficult.
C) Mineral resources were abundant.
D) The land was especially fertile and easily supported crops.

Answer 2

It was positioned at the crossroads of important trade routes.

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT one of the consequences of Portuguese contact with the Kingdom of Kongo?

A) Members of the royal family were educated in Portugal.
B) Portuguese traders married members of the royal family.
C) Many slaves were sold to the Portuguese by the Kongolese.
D) Important buildings were constructed in the Portuguese style.

Answer 3

Portuguese traders married members of the royal family.

Question 4

The Aztec empire governed through an extensive bureaucracy that regulated tribute in the form of

A) gold and slaves.
B) cotton and tobacco.
C) feathers, rubber, and ornamental shells.
D) all of the above

Question 5

Which of the following strategies was regularly used to appease dissident factions within the Inca Empire?

A) ritual dances at important shrines
B) ritual exchanges of slaves
C) worship of mummified former political leaders
D) worship of new gods

Question 6

All of the following were consequences of the fall of Constantinople EXCEPT:

A) Mongol influence in Eurasia came to an end.
B) The Byzantine Empire came to an end.
C) Europe was now more vulnerable to Ottoman invasion.
D) The Muscovites now hoped to become a "Third Rome."

Question 7

Which of the following was NOT an important ritual element of Aztec society?

A) horse racing by priests and nobles
B) consumption of addictive substances
C) human sacrifice
D) ballgames played by priests, nobles, and captives

Question 8

A "Zimbabwe" was

A) a band of warriors.
B) a trade route through the desert.
C) a tribal leader.
D) an administrative center.

Question 9

The myth of Maitreya played a significant role in the history of fourteenth-century China because

A) the Confucian establishment used the myth to retain power for itself.
B) the peasants believed that Maitreya would rescue them from plagues.
C) the peasants believed that Maitreya would give his followers power over their oppressors.
D) Maitreya was the new god of the Ming dynasty.

Question 10

The Muqaddimah was

A) the commander of the Ottoman armies.
B) the tribute paid to the Ottomans by conquered peoples.
C) an important treatise on Islamic political philosophy.
D) a trade route through central Eurasia.

Question 11

The sudden growth and long-term success of Muscovy can be attributed to

A) its rich mineral resources.
B) the conquests of Ivan the Great.
C) its geographic location.
D) the conquests of Ivan the Great and its geographic location.

Question 12

After the decline of Mali, the most powerful state in West Africa was

A) Great Zimbabwe.
B) Songhay.
C) Benin.
D) Mwene Mutapa.

Question 13

Which of the following problems did the Aztec Empire share with the Inca Empire?

A) conquered peoples were resentful and rebellious
B) expansion was so rapid it overwhelmed available resources
C) alliances were expensive and difficult to maintain
D) all of the above

Question 14

In the late fifteenth century, the world's fastest-growing empire was the

A) empire of Mali.
B) Kingdom of Kongo.
C) Aztec empire of Mesoamerica.
D) Inca empire of Peru.

Question 15

The first recorded European contact with Mali was made by

A) Italian monks sent by the Pope.
B) English traders.
C) Portuguese explorers.
D) French explorers.

Question 16

Zhu Yuanzhang was

A) the charismatic founder of the Maitreya cult.
B) a prominent member of the Confucian bureaucratic establishment.
C) the founder of the Ming dynasty.
D) None of the answers is correct.

Question 17

Which of the following practices did the Ottomans use to strengthen their state?

A) The practice of religions other than Islam was forbidden.
B) Christian children were enslaved and trained as mercenaries.
C) Missionaries were sent to remote areas to generate wealth.
D) Gifts were given to those who converted to Islam.

Question 18

Which of the following was an important source of wealth for the emerging Ethiopian empire?

A) trade in slaves
B) trade in grain
C) taxation
D) banking

Question 19

Which of the following became a significant source of wealth for the rulers of Muscovy?

A) tribute from the Mongols
B) furs
C) iron mines
D) slave trading

Question 20

The economic security of the Inca Empire was based on

A) environmental diversity.
B) extensive trade with the Aztec Empire.
C) intensive maize farming.
D) ruthless massacres of enemy peoples.

Question 21

A key reason for the growth of imperial systems in the Americas was

A) increased trade and competition between the rising empires in Central and South America.
B) rapid demographic growth.
C) new military technologies.
D) a desire to spread religious belief.

Question 22

What lasting consequences did humanism have on European Christianity?

A) deep concern about the existence of heresies
B) the continuing use of Latin in church liturgy
C) an upholding of church traditions
D) scrutiny of the Bible's language

Question 23

Explain the role of ecological imperialism in the success of large-scale state building in Mesoamerica and the Andes.

Question 24

One of the reasons European maritime empires developed relatively slowly is that

A) the Chinese dominated shipping in the Indian Ocean.
B) global wind patterns made Atlantic navigation difficult.
C) the kingdom of Kongo resisted the efforts of European traders.
D) early attempts at exploration were resisted by the church.

Question 25

Zheng He was

A) a mercenary.
B) a Buddhist priest.
C) a Muslim leader of naval expeditions.
D) the founder of the Ming dynasty.

Question 26

The Ming emperors may have abandoned the pursuit of maritime imperial expansion because

A) the revival of Mongol power threatened existing frontiers.
B) China lacked the technology to build large ships.
C) Chinese maps were inadequate for long voyages.
D) Zheng He's voyages produced nothing of interest.

Question 27

Overseas exploration by Europeans was stimulated in the fifteenth century by

A) the need for slaves to replace peasants killed by the plague.
B) the desire of explorers to emulate the heroes of chivalry.
C) fear of Ottoman invasion and desire for new lands.
D) fear of expanding Chinese economic supremacy.

Question 28

A key difference between Western European voyages of exploration and those carried out by China during the fifteenth century was that

A) European explorers had the benefit of financial support from their governments.
B) Confucian philosophy supported the idea of trade and exploration as virtuous activities.
C) Asia was rich and Europe relatively poor.
D) Europeans were ahead in terms of navigational and shipbuilding technology by the early fifteenth century.

Question 29

Financial backing for Christopher Columbus' first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean came from

A) Queen Isabella.
B) the Portuguese crown.
C) private sources.
D) the Spanish crown.

Question 30

Compare and contrast the processes that led to the emergence of empires in East and West Africa.

Question 31

The power of the state increased in Western Europe largely because of improvements in

A) military technology.
B) the philosophy of government.
C) relations with the church.
D) communications.

Question 32

What environmental constraints made sub-Saharan African empires relatively fragile compared to Eurasian states?

Question 33

What was the relationship between East and West Africa and Portugal in this period? What impact did the Portuguese have on the emergence of sub-Saharan empires?

Question 34

European navigators were unable to reach the Indian Ocean until

A) Diego de Silves' voyage in 1427.
B) the establishment of São Jorge da Mina in 1482.
C) Christopher Columbus' voyage in 1492.
D) Vasco de Gama's voyage in 1498.

Question 35

What is an example of the new economic divisions in the European peasantry that began to appear during the fourteenth century?

A) Peasants living west of the Elbe became freer.
B) Peasants living in the Balkans became freer.
C) Peasants living east of the Elbe became freer.
D) Peasants throughout Europe became poorer.

Question 36

Compare and contrast the role of long-distance trade in the growth of empires in the Americas and Africa.

Question 37

Both Incas and Aztecs saw themselves as continuing older traditions. In what ways was this correct, and in what ways did they innovate?

Question 38

Zheng He's achievements include

A) the discovery of North America.
B) establishment of trade agreements with European explorers.
C) extension of Chinese power in the Indian Ocean.
D) reformation of the Confucian bureaucracy.

Question 39

Artists in the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italy were most likely to:

A) believe their era was fundamentally new and different from earlier periods.
B) develop and practice mechanical, artistic, decorating, and engineering skills in order to make a living.
C) specialize exclusively in painting church ceilings.
D) reject the study of war machinery and moral philosophy.

Question 40

The role of the Confucian bureaucracy in the earliest years of the Ming period was

A) maintenance of the army.
B) oversight of foreign policy.
C) regulation of overseas commerce.
D) limited to court ceremonies and regulation of civil service examination.

Question 41

How did the rise of nationalism and the state system drive European expansion?

Question 42

Explain the role of religion in Russian expansionism. How was Moscow a "Third Rome"? How did this compare to the role of religion in Ottoman expansion?

Question 43

Explain why the new land empires of Eurasia ultimately proved more enduring than those of the Americas and Africa.

Question 44

Compare and contrast the causes and limitations of expansion of the empires of Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas.

Question 45

Why were global maritime trade routes first established by Europeans rather than other powerful groups such as the Chinese?

Question 46

The voyages of Zheng He during the Ming Dynasty mark one of the most ambitious overseas adventures undertaken in the fifteenth century. Explain the purpose of these voyages, what was learned during them, and circumstances that led to a decision by Chinese leaders to bring them to a halt.

Question 47

What factors helped to support the development of empires in Africa and the Americas during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries?

Question 48

What range of motives impelled Europeans around the world?
In Perspective

Question 49

Can Zheng He's voyages be understood as acts of imperialism? Explain why or why not.

Question 50

Explain the role of peasants in the establishment of the Ming dynasty.

Question 51

Discuss the geographic and scientific challenges that affected the course of European maritime activity in the thirteenth through fifteenth centuries.

Question 52

What brought Zheng He's voyages to an end?

Question 53

Explain how the Inca empire became the world's fastest growing empire in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. What enabled the Incas to maintain control? How did environmental and climate variation support their extensive empire? When Inca society eventually collapsed, what important legacy did it leave?

Question 54

How did geography and culture affect the development of imperial expansion in Eurasia during the fifteenth century? Explore at least one specific example in Western Eurasia and one in Eastern Eurasia.