Deck 13: European Overseas Expansion to 1600

Question 1

Describe the development of Portuguese navigation, from early exploration of the Atlantic islands to the establishment of trading posts in India.

Answer 1

This is a wide-ranging topic that requires an orderly analysis of growing Portuguese seafaring expertise.Essays should include details on colonization of the Atlantic islands, the African trade, and the first explorers who made it to India.There should be mention of the kind of business enterprise set up to tap the Indian trade.

Question 2

Some of the earliest European contacts with the broader world were made through

A)trade.
B)military conquest.
C)leisure travel.
D)piracy.
E)None of these.

Answer 2

trade.

Question 3

Discuss the civilizations of the Aztecs and the Incas when the Spanish first encountered them.

Answer 3

There should be references to the description in the chapter of the wealth and sophistication of the two civilizations.Students should, to the extent the material permits, outline the economic, social, political, religious, and cultural/intellectual aspects of each society.

Question 4

Based on the native portrayal of Hernán Cortés, in this chapter, what is the native version of the coming of the Spanish?

A)The Aztecs are dressed in full military attire when first meeting Cortés.
B)Aztec priests are standing equal with the Aztec emperor.
C)The Spanish are seen greeting the Aztecs with a fully armed Spanish military in the background.
D)The portrayal is written in Spanish, to honor the first meeting of the two peoples.
E)Culturally it symbolizes the importance and superiority of the Spanish as they have imported important animals and foods into the New World, while the Aztecs have nothing to give or share with the Europeans.

Question 5

Describe the connections between Europe and the rest of the world on the eve of the age of exploration.

Question 6

Which crop was so labor-intensive that its production encouraged the introduction of slavery in the 1440s?

A)cotton
B)corn
C)sugar
D)wheat
E)barley

Question 7

What did the Portuguese hope to achieve by opening a sea-route to India?

A)the freedom of the seas
B)the breaking of the Islamic stranglehold on trade
C)the conquest of India
D)to thwart the Spanish
E)to become a world power

Question 8

Which was not a technical innovation supporting the age of exploration?

A)fly compass
B)astrolabe
C)caravel
D)lateen Sails
E)galleys powered by sails and oars

Question 9

Late medieval explorers hoped to find

A)diamonds.
B)gold and Christian allies against the Turks.
C)new species of animals.
D)Atlantic fishing areas.
E)classical antiquities.

Question 10

Caravan routes and trade networks were closed to Europeans in the fourteenth century because of

A)conversion of the Mongols to Islam and the rise of the Ottomans.
B)the Black Death.
C)a series of earthquakes in central Asia that closed the roads.
D)the refusal of European rulers to allow merchants to travel to the East.
E)the Crusades.

Question 11

Which nation began the age of Exploration?

A)Spanish
B)Venetians
C)French
D)Genoese
E)Portuguese

Question 12

Technical innovations that made sailing easier in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries included

A)a rudimentary form of steam engine.
B)mechanical clocks.
C)the fly compass and the astrolabe.
D)better oars.
E)the ability to chart with the use of latitude.

Question 13

What important developments in geography helped to foster European discovery and exploration?

A)the Catalan World Atlas
B)the elimination in maps of any references to Christianity
C)the development of latitude
D)the use of accurate maps of the time by Columbus to sail to the New World
E)the accurate reproduction and locations of continents and oceans

Question 14

Which of the following statements is not true in regard to exploration of the Atlantic before Columbus?

A)The Madeiras and Canary Islands were shown on maps.
B)Portuguese, French, and English sailors were making regular trips to the Madeiras and Canary islands by 1365.
C)The Azores were placed on maps by 1365.
D)Regular routine ports of call included the Azores.
E)Trips out of sight of land were never attempted before Columbus.

Question 15

Describe how Spain was able to conquer such large empires as the Aztecs and Incas in such a short time.

Question 16

What is the historical basis for the legend of Prester John?

A)Muslim stories
B)Travelers from the east
C)The historical Christianities of Ethiopia and India
D)A story brought by the Mongols
E)None of these.

Question 17

Summarize the conditions that made possible and desirable Western voyages to the Americas.Consider new navigational instruments, shipbuilding innovations, better maps, the experience of late medieval merchants and explorers, and the abrupt cutting off of overland routes to Asian markets.

Question 18

As new European states expanded overseas, they, like the Portuguese,

A)created a network of isolated naval and trading stations.
B)created substantial colonies.
C)used slaves to produce commercially.
D)would lead a search for gold and Christians.
E)All of these.

Question 19

Discuss the motives for European expansion.

Question 20

The works read by Europeans dealing with distant lands included all of the following except

A)authors from Late Antiquity.
B)authentic letters from Prester John.
C)the travel book of Sir John Mandeville.
D)the Travels of Marco Polo.
E)letters and papers written by papal ambassadors and missionaries.

Question 21

What was the theory behind Aztec sacrifices?

A)The gods required it
B)The Aztecs lived in the last empire and sacrifice preserved the world
C)Human hearts were necessary to ensure the sun rose in the morning
D)The world is finite.
E)All of these.

Question 22

The beginning of Spain's overseas exploration began with the

A)unification of the entire Iberian peninsula under the Spanish crown.
B)final event in the Reconquista, the fall of Muslim Granada.
C)marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand.
D)election of a Spanish pope.
E)independence of Portugal from Spain.

Question 23

What was key to Portugal's success in the Indian Ocean?

A)A series of fortified naval bases.
B)A strategy that emphasized trade over colonization.
C)The establishment of a Royal Trading firm.
D)Just choices a and b.
E)All of these.

Question 24

All of the following statements are true of the Aztecs except that

A)they took over an existing civilization in the Valley of Mexico.
B)their capital was a large and beautiful city with a highly developed trade network.
C)they waged almost constant war and practiced human sacrifice on a massive scale.
D)they lived in peace with their neighbors.
E)they did not believe that mankind had a specific and preordained destiny.

Question 25

Which explorer commanded the first voyage to circumnavigate the globe?

A)Vespucci
B)Balboa
C)Magellan
D)Columbus
E)Cortés

Question 26

Because of the Treaty of Tordesillas, Portugal

A)was excluded from any rights in the Americas.
B)was allowed to explore North America.
C)was forced to give half of its colonial revenues to the Spanish crown.
D)unwittingly gained rights to Brazil.
E)refused to accept the authority of the papacy on economic issues.

Question 27

Who was the conqueror of the Incas?

A)Cortés
B)Balboa
C)Mendoza
D)Pizarro
E)None of these.

Question 28

After the Spanish conquest, the lands of the former Inca Empire

A)provided vast amounts of gold and silver for the Spanish crown.
B)experienced resistance to foreign rule until the 1570s.
C)were reoriented away from the mountains to the coast.
D)were reorganized under the new Spanish capital at Lima.
E)All of these.

Question 29

The Treaty of Tordesillas was able to prevent which of the following explorations?

A)The exploration of the coasts of both North and South America
B)Amerigo Vespucci's travels to Argentina
C)Spanish exploration in the Caribbean
D)The crossing of the Isthmus of Panama
E)None of these.

Question 30

The Spanish initially considered the native population of the West Indies, the Tainos, to be

A)vicious savages who must be exterminated.
B)an advanced civilization that brought awe and fear.
C)a gentle, compliant, virtuous people who would make good Christians.
D)a major threat.
E)native tribes of the Japanese islands.

Question 31

Which of the following describes the situation in India and the Indian Ocean as European traders first penetrated the region?

A)The main products traded were cottons, silks, and spices.
B)The Chinese had recently discontinued ambitious expeditions into the area.
C)Muslim descendants of Jenghiz Khan, the Moguls, were expanding their control of India.
D)Trade networks often reflected the various political situations connected to the area.
E)All of these

Question 32

Spain only turned its attention to discovery when

A)Columbus presented a bold plan to Isabella.
B)Portugal's success drove them to it.
C)they were commanded to by the Pope.
D)they lost a war with France and they turned away from Europe.
E)the Reconquista was completed with the fall of Granada in 1492.

Question 33

Inca civilization included all of the following elements except that they

A)continually demanded more taxes from their subjects.
B)lagged in irrigation and bridge-building.
C)built thousands of miles of roads.
D)were efficient soldiers and administrators.
E)were more tolerant of local traditions and cultures.

Question 34

Portugal's commercial empire in the East was based

A)on fortified, strategically placed naval bases.
B)on large territorial colonies.
C)solely on a network of agreements with local governments and merchants.
D)on an alliance with the Turks and their Arab allies.
E)mainly on results of successful missionary work.

Question 35

As Spain penetrated into the New World

A)it followed the Portuguese model of a "trade-post empire."
B)it colonized and reorganized the lands it seized.
C)it immediately came into conflict with France and England.
D)its power and position in Europe waned.
E)very few Spaniards were willing to migrate to the New World.

Question 36

Which is not true of Cortés?

A)His commission from the governor of Cuba had been revoked
B)He burned his ships at Veracruz
C)He allied himself with a Mexica woman called Doña Marina
D)He assaulted the Incan capital at Cuzco
E)He quickly allied with Indian enemies of the Aztecs.

Question 37

Which of the following is not a true statement in describing the importance of tribute to the Aztecs?

A)Towns and villages owed allotments of food and precious metals.
B)Tenochtitlan was the center of religious activity and prohibited any human sacrifice inside its walls.
C)Human sacrifice was the important engine of Aztec religion.
D)The goal of wars, beside expansion, was to collect prisoners for religious sacrifice.
E)The coronation of Moctezuma II required the sacrifice of thousands of victims.

Question 38

The conclusion that Columbus had reached a new continent instead of Asia was drawn by

A)Columbus.
B)Ferdinand and Isabella.
C)Amerigo Vespucci.
D)Martin Waldseemüller.
E)Henry the Navigator.

Question 39

Although greatly outnumbered by the Aztecs, the Spanish

A)were able to negotiate a settlement with Moctezuma.
B)escaped with their lives and retreated to the coast.
C)found numerous allies among tribes whose people had been taken for Aztec sacrifices.
D)defeated the Aztecs but did not establish a permanent colony in Mexico.
E)were weakened when they lost their leader Cortés, who was captured and sacrificed by the Aztecs.

Question 40

By sailing west, Columbus hoped to find

A)Japan, gold, and potential Christians.
B)the mythical continent of Atlantis.
C)Atlantic islands suitable for Spanish colonization.
D)new types of vegetables and fruits.
E)proof of the accuracy of Classical Greek geographical information.

Question 41

Among the domestic animals brought from Europe that produced the greatest change in the New World were

A)pet dogs and cats.
B)ducks and geese.
C)canaries.
D)cattle and horses.
E)sheep.

Question 42

Referring to the chapter feature, "The Global Record: An Inca Nobleman Defends His Civilization, " which of the following statements did Felipe Guaman Poma use in describing the actions and impact that Christianity had on his people?

A)Priests lived under the same conditions as local villagers.
B)Churches were important in protecting women from prostitution.
C)As court officials, Christian priests destroyed individuals and whole villages.
D)Native women widows were saved from slave labor.
E)Native peoples saw the life of Saint Peter in the lifestyle and actions of local priests.

Question 43

Which of the following did not aid in the Spanish transformation of New World culture?

A)The belief by both the conquerors and the conquered that the changes had divine approval
B)The adaptation of old pagan shrines to Christian worship
C)The early establishment of universities
D)Spanish respect for native culture
E)The construction of European type cities and centers

Question 44

The Columbian Exchange was

A)the new foreign exchange rate based on Peruvian silver.
B)the spread of syphilis to the New World and of smallpox and measles from the New World to the Old.
C)a term used to describe the massive introduction of Africans into the New World.
D)the division of the American colonies between Spain and Portugal.
E)the interchange of diseases, plants, animals, and some cultural elements between the Old and New Worlds.

Question 45

What is an encomienda?

A)the title of the Spanish viceroys
B)a type of new sailing ship
C)a system of forced labor
D)slavery
E)a theory about the dignity of the natives

Question 46

Sugar production in the New World was based on the Portuguese plantation system.

Question 47

Which disease was not transmitted from Europeans to Indians?

A)syphilis
B)smallpox
C)diptheria
D)measles
E)cholera

Question 48

Catholic missionaries, especially Bartolomé de Las Casas, argued that the Indians

A)were rational human beings and should be protected from exploitation.
B)should be first enslaved, and then converted.
C)were subhuman creatures who should nevertheless be treated decently.
D)should be wiped out and their place taken by Spaniards.
E)had no rights as a result of the rights of the conqueror.

Question 49

What was Isabella's attitude towards the enslavement of the Indians?

A)It was her official policy.
B)She privately disagreed but permitted it.
C)She specifically asked Columbus to enslave the Indians.
D)She opposed both slavery and the slave trade.
E)She personally owned slaves.

Question 50

Where was the first University in the New World?

A)Lima
B)Boston
C)Quebec City
D)Mexico City
E)Cuba

Question 51

In 1375, Abraham Cresques produced the Catalan World Atlas.

Question 52

The European diet was changed by New World foods such as

A)wheat and rye.
B)barley and oats.
C)corn, potatoes, and tomatoes.
D)oranges and lemons.
E)olives and dates.

Question 53

What was the Council of the Indies?

A)the Portuguese trading company
B)the legal and administrative overseers for Spanish efforts
C)the governor's council in Mexico
D)a congress of the main countries engaged in exploration
E)the office of the Church that dealt with missions

Question 54

Before the explorations in the 15^th century, people of the medieval age had no idea that there were any lands to the west.

Question 55

Which of the following statements was not true of the Spanish colonial administration in the New World?

A)All Indians were enslaved and all Indian land was confiscated.
B)The Spanish monarch promoted a broad-based debate about the rights of Amerindians and religious conversion.
C)The Council of the Indies provided centralized supervision.
D)The New World was divided into two viceroyalties: New Spain and Peru.
E)Many official documents, especially in New Spain, were written in Nahuatl, the Aztec language.

Question 56

What is a creole?

A)a type of Aztec priest
B)a type of cooking introduced to the old world
C)a Spanish immigrant to Mexico
D)people of mixed Spanish and Indian descent
E)None of these.

Question 57

What was the main reason that slavery flourished in the New World?

A)the inherent racism of Europe
B)the desire to depopulate Africa
C)the use of labor-intensive methods of production
D)the desire to displace Amerindians
E)None of these.

Question 58

One of the Spanish thinkers who supported slavery of the American Indians was

A)de las Casas
B)Montesinos
C)Sepúlveda
D)King Charles
E)None of these.

Question 59

What were the "New Laws"?

A)Laws by Ferdinand and Isabella on the enslavement of Indians
B)Laws promulgated by the Portuguese king on the Indies
C)Trade pacts between Spain and India
D)Laws promoted by Charles V ending the independence of the encomiendas and abolishing Indian slavery
E)None of these.

Question 60

In 1340, Marco Polo compiled the Handbook for Merchants.

Question 61

The most eloquent defender of Indian rights was the Franciscan missionary Bartolomé de Las Casas.

Question 62

Asian merchants never agreed to the use of Portuguese as the official language of commerce.

Question 63

On his voyage, Columbus carried items for trade and letters for the rulers he knew he would meet.

Question 64

The Council of the Indies was established, in 1524, to oversee commerce in Spain's colonial possessions.

Question 65

The Portuguese commercial empire succeeded largely because of strategically-placed naval bases.

Question 66

The Cape of Good Hope was first spotted by Vasco da Gama in 1497.