Deck 1: The Meeting of Cultures

Question 1

Christopher Columbus

A)was trained as a sailor through his long service to Italy.
B)was a man of little ambition.
C)believed that Asia could only be reached by sailing east.
D)believed the Americas consisted of a few islands.
E)thought the world was much smaller than it was in reality.

Answer 1

thought the world was much smaller than it was in reality.

Question 2

As a result of his third voyage in 1498, Christopher Columbus concluded

A)all of the lands he had seen were in Asia.
B)he had never come even remotely close to Asia.
C)he had encountered a continent separate from Asia.
D)Asia could not be reached by a ship traveling west from Europe.
E)the lands he had discovered offered great mineral wealth.

Answer 2

he had encountered a continent separate from Asia.

Question 3

The pre-Columbian American peoples in the Pacific Northwest

A)did not have permanent settlements.
B)developed political systems as sophisticated as the Mayans and Aztecs.
C)fished salmon as their principal occupation.
D)were the most peaceful of pre-Columbian societies.
E)were known as the Inuits.

Answer 3

fished salmon as their principal occupation.

Question 4

The origins of human existence in the Americas began

A)with migrations from Eurasia over the Bering Strait.
B)with the explorations of Christopher Columbus.
C)as a result of the development of the wheel.
D)long after the last ice age ended.
E)from the southern tip of South America.

Question 5

The preeminent European maritime power in the fifteenth century was

A)Spain.
B)Portugal.
C)France.
D)the Netherlands.
E)England.

Question 6

In the Great Plains region, most pre-Columbian societies

A)engaged in sedentary farming.
B)lived in small nomadic tribes.
C)hunted buffalo for survival.
D)used horses.
E)developed a harsh religion that required human sacrifice.

Question 7

Scholars estimate the population of all of the Americas in 1500 was approximately

A)fewer than 3 million.
B)10 million.
C)20 million.
D)40 million.
E)more than 50 million.

Question 8

Christopher Columbus called the native people he encountered on his voyages "Indians" because

A)he believed they came from the East Indies in the Pacific.
B)it is what the natives called themselves.
C)he mispronounced their actual name.
D)Norse seamen had first used the term.
E)he wanted to hide his discovery from rival explorers.

Question 9

The early South American civilizations of Incas, Mayans, and Aztecs all shared the following characteristics EXCEPT

A)the use of wheeled vehicles.
B)economies primarily based on agriculture.
C)substantial cities.
D)complex political systems.
E)elaborate religious and cultural systems.

Question 10

Scholars estimate that human migration into the Americas occurred approximately

A)2,000 years ago.
B)5,000 years ago.
C)9,000 years ago.
D)14,000 years ago.
E)18,000 years ago.

Question 11

Native American religions were closely linked to

A)the idea of apocalypse.
B)human sacrifice.
C)ideas of male dominance.
D)visions from the world of spirits.
E)the natural world.

Question 12

The pre-Columbian North American peoples in the Southwest

A)were primarily hunters of small game.
B)built large irrigation systems for farming.
C)lived in small, nomadic tribes.
D)created an economy exclusively based on trade.
E)primarily pursued moose and caribou for sustenance.

Question 13

In his first voyage in 1492, Christopher Columbus

A)sailed along the coast of present-day Virginia.
B)mistook Cuba for China.
C)was briefly captured by natives he encountered.
D)was forced to put down a mutiny on the Santa Maria.
E)crossed the Atlantic Ocean in six weeks.

Question 14

Which statement best describes the role of women in pre-Columbian North American tribes?

A)In some tribes, men took care of the children as the women tended the fields.
B)In all tribes women cared for the children and prepared meals.
C)In no tribes did women participate in the social and economic organization of the tribe.
D)In all tribes women and men engaged in hunting.
E)In all tribes women were responsible for farming.

Question 15

In regards to knowledge of the Americas prior to the fifteenth century, most Europeans

A)were aware of the travels of the Norse seaman Leif Eriksson in the eleventh century.
B)believed the Americas to consist of little more than several small islands.
C)were entirely unaware of the existence of the Americas.
D)assumed that the Americas were largely unpopulated.
E)had only heard of America from the travels of Marco Polo.

Question 16

Prior to European contact, the eastern third of what is today the United States

A)was politically controlled by the Cahokia Indians.
B)contained no permanent settlements.
C)had the most abundant food resources of any region of the continent.
D)was populated by tribes that engaged in hunting and gathering but did not yet farm.
E)remained for the most part uninhabited.

Question 17

The agricultural practices of pre-Columbian tribes in the Northeast were characterized by

A)extensive irrigation systems.
B)the development of metal-tipped plows.
C)a sacred respect for trees that kept people from cutting them down.
D)a rapid exploitation of the land.
E)an emphasis on tobacco cultivation.

Question 18

In the late fifteenth century, the desire in Europe to look for new lands was spurred by

A)significant population growth.
B)the absence of a merchant class.
C)the declining political power of many monarchs.
D)the expansion of feudalism.
E)a desire to escape the Black Death.

Question 19

Many pre-Columbian tribes east of the Mississippi River were loosely linked by

A)the shared use of a series of forts.
B)common linguistic roots.
C)economic compacts.
D)intertribal religious festivals.
E)the Iroquois Confederacy.

Question 20

Cahokia was a large trading center located near what present-day city?

A)St.Louis
B)Memphis
C)New Orleans
D)Baton Rouge
E)Detroit

Question 21

Which of the following was NOT introduced by Europeans to the New World?

A)bananas
B)pigs
C)sugar
D)horses
E)corn

Question 22

The portion of West Africa that provided the majority of slaves for the Spanish Empire of the sixteenth century

A)was a primitive region dominated by warring tribal societies.
B)had little commercial contact with the Mediterranean world.
C)was dominated by the Christian faith.
D)had well-developed economies and political systems.
E)had no important cities or trading centers.

Question 23

An encomienda was

A)a special title given to Spanish explorers of the New World.
B)a religious ceremony.
C)a Spanish-run community of assimilated Indians.
D)the uniform worn by conquistadors.
E)the right to exact tribute and labor from natives.

Question 24

What European explorer gave the Pacific Ocean its name?

A)Amerigo Vespucci
B)Vasco de Balboa
C)Juan Ponce de León
D)Ferdinand Magellan
E)Hernando Cortés

Question 25

In the fifteenth century, slavery in Africa

A)was considered a permanent condition for the enslaved individual.
B)proscribed that children born of enslaved parents were also slaves.
C)was introduced by Europeans.
D)was made up of an exclusively African slave population.
E)generally allowed certain legal protections to the enslaved.

Question 26

In 1513, what European became the first to see the Pacific Ocean?

A)Amerigo Vespucci
B)Vasco de Balboa
C)Juan Ponce de León
D)Ferdinand Magellan
E)Hernando Cortés

Question 27

To reduce conflicts, Spanish policy toward the Pueblo Indians in the eighteenth century involved all of the following EXCEPT

A)intensified efforts at assimilating the Pueblos.
B)a willingness to permit the Pueblos to own their own land.
C)toleration of tribal religious rituals.
D)an expansion of the encomienda system.
E)a stop to commandeering Indian labor.

Question 28

What condition in England in the sixteenth century provided an incentive for colonization?

A)The availability of farmland was declining while the population was growing.
B)The demand for wool was declining while the population was growing.
C)Pasture land was being converted to crop production while the population was declining.
D)Both the food supply and the population were declining.
E)Both the food supply and the population were increasing.

Question 29

In 1518, Hernando Cortés's conquest of the Aztecs was made possible largely due to

A)political divisions within the Aztec leadership.
B)the exposure of the Aztecs to smallpox.
C)the brutality of the Spanish conquistadors.
D)Spanish alliances with enemies of the Aztecs.
E)Spanish co-opting of the Aztec religion.

Question 30

In 1680, the Pueblo Indians rose in revolt against Spanish settlers after the Spanish

A)attempted to convert the Pueblos to Catholicism.
B)made efforts at suppressing Indian religious rituals.
C)demanded tribute from the Indians.
D)began to export Pueblos out of the colony to be sold as slaves.
E)banned intermarriage between Spanish and Pueblo couples.

Question 31

The first permanent Spanish settlement in what is now the United States was

A)New Orleans.
B)St.Augustine.
C)Santa Fe.
D)St.Louis.
E)San Francisco.

Question 32

In Spanish colonial societies, mestizos

A)were considered to be at the top of the social hierarchy.
B)came to make up the largest segment of the population.
C)were officially illegal but generally tolerated.
D)were usually sold into slavery.
E)was the name given to Catholic priests, friars, and missionaries.

Question 33

African and American-Indian societies tended to be matrilineal which meant

A)people traced their heredity through their mothers.
B)only women would be the heads of families.
C)men could not inherit property.
D)women were in control of the social institutions.
E)only mothers could act as political leaders.

Question 34

In what way did sixteenth-century Europeans benefit from trade between the Americas and Europe?

A)Food prices sharply rose as new crops flooded the European market.
B)Health care improved as Indian medical practices were widely practiced in Europe.
C)A large number of new crops became available in Europe.
D)Trade with the Americas ended future food shortages in Europe.
E)Forced immigration of Indian slaves reduced labor shortages in Europe.

Question 35

Between 1500 and 1800, African immigrants to the Americas

A)nearly all came against their will.
B)made up over half of all immigrants to the New World.
C)nearly all came against their will and made up over half of all immigrants to the New World.
D)nearly all came voluntarily and made up less than half of all immigrants to the New World.
E)nearly all came voluntarily.

Question 36

What factor is believed to have dramatically reduced New World native populations after contact with Europeans?

A)war
B)disease
C)starvation
D)enslavement
E)religious conversion

Question 37

Which statement regarding the economic theory of mercantilism is FALSE?

A)It presumed that the world's wealth was finite.
B)It increased competition among nations.
C)It reduced the desire for nations to acquire and maintain colonies.
D)It assumed that exporting goods was preferable to importing goods.
E)Its principles spread throughout Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Question 38

In what chronological order did European countries control the African slave trade?

A)the Portuguese, the Dutch, the English
B)the English, the Spanish, the Dutch
C)the Dutch, the English, the Spanish
D)the English, the Dutch, the Portuguese
E)the Portuguese, the Spanish, the Dutch

Question 39

Amerigo Vespucci

A)sailed on the voyages with Christopher Columbus.
B)was a leading critic of Columbus's claims.
C)hailed from Portugal.
D)never traveled to the New World.
E)helped popularize the idea that the Americas were new continents.

Question 40

Which statement about Spanish settlements in the New World is FALSE?

A)Spanish gold and silver mines were enormously productive.
B)Spanish colonies would form one of the largest empires in the history of the world.
C)The Catholic Church was very interested in spreading Christianity in Mexico.
D)The first Spanish settlers were mostly interested in farming.
E)Many helped establish elements of European civilization permanently in America.

Question 41

The cause for failure of the Roanoke colony

A)was due to a severe food shortage.
B)is historically inconclusive.
C)deterred English from another colonizing effort for forty years.
D)resulted from the death of the colony's governor.
E)was due to a virulent malarial epidemic.

Question 42

When Europeans arrived in North America, native tribes were generally able to unite in opposition to white encroachments on their land.

Question 43

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the population of the native peoples living in what is now the United States is estimated to be 10 million.

Question 44

The colony of Virginia was named in honor of

A)Virginia Dare.
B)Walter Raleigh.
C)Humphrey Gilbert.
D)Elizabeth I.
E)Queen Mary.

Question 45

The teachings of John Calvin

A)produced a strong desire among his followers to lead lives that were virtuous.
B)were most rapidly accepted in southern Europe.
C)were officially adopted by the Church of England.
D)were at odds with Catholic doctrines, but not with Catholic practices.
E)helped to promote the doctrine of free will so vital to encouraging exploration.

Question 46

In England, during the early sixteenth century, mercantilism thrived mostly on the basis of

A)spices.
B)slaves.
C)lumber.
D)corn.
E)wool.

Question 47

Christopher Columbus spent his early seafaring years in the service of the Portuguese.

Question 48

The eleventh-century explorations and discoveries of Leif Eriksson were common knowledge in the European world of the fifteenth century.

Question 49

The English Reformation resulted from

A)the threat of war between England and France.
B)a political dispute between King Henry VIII and the Catholic Church.
C)the rise of Lutheranism within the English Church.
D)the persecution by King James I of liberal priests.
E)the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

Question 50

In what way were Martin Luther and John Calvin important to English Puritans?

A)These two men would help found the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
B)Luther and Calvin encouraged the Puritans to leave England for the New World.
C)Luther and Calvin advocated ideas of religious reform that influenced Puritan thought.
D)They were the most influential English Puritans of the 17th century.
E)Luther and Calvin helped to break the hold of predestination on the Puritan mind.

Question 51

Portuguese exploration of the late fifteenth century concentrated on finding a route to the Orient by sailing around Africa.

Question 52

An important consequence of the defeat of the Spanish Armada was that

A)France came to dominate Spain.
B)Catholicism was swept from western Europe.
C)England found the seas more open to their control.
D)the Reformation extended into Spain.
E)Spain was forced to relinquish its New World empire.

Question 53

The English concluded from their colonial experiences in Ireland that

A)they should not try to convert indigenous people to English religious beliefs.
B)English colonists should maintain a rigid separation from the indigenous population.
C)military expenditures were fiscally wasteful.
D)indigenous populations were essential as the major colonial labor source.
E)harsh treatment of indigenous populations could lead to rebellion.

Question 54

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, English Puritan discontent was increased by

A)the suppression of English Catholics.
B)the end of rule by the Stuarts.
C)the rising influence of Quakers within the English Church.
D)Queen Elizabeth's promotion of the English theater.
E)the death of Queen Elizabeth.

Question 55

England's first experience with colonization came in

A)North America.
B)the Caribbean.
C)Canada.
D)Ireland.
E)Africa.

Question 56

The first permanent English settlement in the New World was established in

A)Boston.
B)Raleigh.
C)Roanoke.
D)Plymouth.
E)Jamestown.

Question 57

Some historians have suggested that European diseases virtually exterminated many native tribes.

Question 58

On his first voyage to the New World, Columbus realized that he had not encountered China.

Question 59

The civilizations and political systems of pre-Columbian Native Americans north of Mexico were less elaborate than those to the south.

Question 60

Which statement about French colonization in the New World is FALSE?

A)French settlers exercised an influence disproportionate to their numbers.
B)The French, like the English, tried to remain separate from native peoples.
C)The French were more likely than the English to press inland.
D)The French colonial economy was based on an extensive fur trade.
E)The French often lived among the natives and married Indian women.

Question 61

The first European to gaze westward across the Pacific was ___________.

Question 62

The internal African slave trade did not become prominent until the Europeans began to demand slave labor for the New World.

Question 63

By the seventeenth century, the Spanish gave up their efforts to assimilate the Indians to Spanish ways.

Question 64

The significant Indian trading center near present-day St.Louis was called _________.

Question 65

The first country to sponsor exploration by sea to the Orient was __________.

Question 66

The Pueblo Indians continued to practice their native religious rituals even though many of them converted to Christianity.

Question 67

Mercantilists promoted colonization as a means to acquire the inexhaustible wealth in the New World.

Question 68

During the sixteenth century, England was experiencing a decline in food supply and population.

Question 69

The early Spanish settlers were successful at establishing plantations, but not at finding gold or silver.

Question 70

As of the sixteenth century, Europeans had generally built up a greater immunity to smallpox than had the Native Americans.

Question 71

The Roanoke disaster virtually killed the colonizing impulse in England for a long time.

Question 72

Owing to their commitment to Catholicism, male Spanish immigrants had very little sexual contact with Indian women.

Question 73

Spanish colonists both enslaved Indians and forced them into indentured servant status.

Question 74

In contrast to the European tradition, African families tended to be matrilineal.

Question 75

Puritans were the first English colonizers.

Question 76

The preaching of John Calvin led his followers to lead both anxious and productive lives.

Question 77

By 1550, Spaniards had explored the coast of North America as far north as Oregon in the west.

Question 78

European life was relatively unchanged by the biological and cultural exchanges that took place after discovery of the New World.

Question 79

Spanish mines in America yielded ten times as much gold and silver as the rest of the world's mines together.

Question 80

Cattle, sheep, and sugar were three New World products introduced to Europe.