Question 1

Columbus and other early explorers searched for a direct all-water route to Asia because they
A) hoped to gain easier access to highly valued Asian goods.
B) could help western Europe win the Crusades against the Muslims.
C) could prove that the earth was round rather than flat.
D) thought Japan and China were rich and not the poor countries Marco Polo described.

Accepted Answer

Columbus and other early explorers sought a direct all-water route to Asia primarily to gain easier access to highly valued Asian goods such as spices, silk, and precious metals, which were in high demand in Europe. This would allow European countries to bypass the overland routes that were longer, more dangerous, and controlled by middlemen, thereby reducing costs and increasing profits.

Question 2

The map "European Voyages of Discovery," depicts the 1497-1499 journey around Africa by which of the following?
A) da Gama
B) Cabot
C) Cartier
D) Magellan

Accepted Answer

The journey around Africa to India from 1497 to 1499 was led by Vasco da Gama, marking a significant milestone in the Age of Discovery by establishing a sea route from Europe to India.

Question 3

Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal was noted for
A) voyaging to the area of Brazil long before Columbus.
B) sponsoring the slave trade which brought so much profit to his nation.
C) discovering the southern tip of Africa.
D) improving and codifying navigational knowledge in order to find a route to Asia.

Accepted Answer

Prince Henry the Navigator is best known for his role in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and for his significant contributions to the maritime knowledge of the time. He did not personally discover new lands but was instrumental in the development and promotion of exploration. He established a school for navigation in Portugal and sponsored numerous expeditions along the west coast of Africa, with the goal of finding a sea route to Asia. This led to improvements in navigational techniques and maps, helping future explorers.

Question 4

When Columbus landed in America, the chief reason that he thought he had landed in "the Indies" was
A) the ease with which the natives understood his language.
B) his discovery of the place of the Grand Khan.
C) his firm belief that he had sailed far enough westward to reach them.
D) the plants there were similar to those in Asia.

Accepted Answer

Columbus believed he had reached the Indies because he was convinced that by sailing westward, he had traveled far enough to reach Asia, underestimating the actual size of the Earth and unaware of the existence of the Americas between Europe and Asia.

Question 5

By the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), Spain had authority to exploit all of
A) North and South America except Brazil.
B) Africa and the Middle East except Egypt.
C) South America except Colombia.
D) North America and Central America, but not South America.

Accepted Answer

The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Portuguese Empire and the Spanish Empire along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands. This agreement gave Spain the rights to exploit all of the Americas except for Brazil, which was allocated to Portugal.

Question 6

Your textbook describes Spain's American empire as
A) treating the Indians as equals by establishing joint ventures with them.
B) seeing the Americas as lands of opportunity and freedom, yet fearing other countries might introduce slavery.
C) failing totally to transplant Spanish culture in the Americas.
D) trying to implant Spanish civilization and introduce Christianity, but also committing unprovoked aggression.

Accepted Answer

Spain aimed to spread its civilization and Christianity in the Americas, which involved both cultural imposition and acts of aggression against the indigenous populations. This reflects the historical reality of Spanish colonization, which was marked by efforts to convert native peoples to Christianity and integrate them into the Spanish colonial system, often through forceful means.

Question 7

In the 1670s thousands of Pueblo rebelled to drive the
A) Spanish from New Mexico.
B) Portuguese out of Brazil.
C) Spanish from Florida.
D) French out of Texas.

Accepted Answer

In the 1670s, the Pueblo people, led by a religious leader named Popé, rebelled against the Spanish colonizers in an effort to drive them out of what is now New Mexico. This event is known as the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

Question 8

When discussing the question of the terrible decimation of the Native American peoples after 1500, your text concludes that most deaths resulted from
A) European diseases.
B) intertribal warfare.
C) modern weaponry.
D) extermination of traditional game.

Accepted Answer

The primary cause of the massive decline in Native American populations after 1500 was exposure to European diseases such as smallpox, influenza, and measles, to which they had no immunity.

Question 9

The exploration and exploitation of the Americas in the sixteenth century was dominated by
A) Holland.
B) Spain.
C) England.
D) France.

Accepted Answer

Spain was the dominant European power in the exploration and exploitation of the Americas during the sixteenth century, with significant conquests including the Aztec and Inca empires.

Question 10

One of the major reasons the Protestant Reformation succeeded was that
A) Italian merchants realized it made fewer financial demands on them than Catholicism.
B) political figures could use its challenge to Rome's spiritual authority in order to increase their power.
C) the Catholic church was beset by papal luxury and bureaucratic corruption.
D) it encouraged democratic revolutions to overthrow monarchies throughout Europe.

Accepted Answer

The answer of One of the major reasons the Protestant...

Question 11

The king who brought the Protestant Reformation to England by declaring himself head of the English Church in order to divorce his first wife was
A) Charles V.
B) Henry VIII.
C) James I.
D) Richard III.

Accepted Answer

Henry VIII declared himself the head of the Church of England, breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church, primarily to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. This act was a pivotal moment in the Protestant Reformation in England.

Question 12

The bold captain encouraged by Queen Elizabeth I to plunder Spanish merchant ships on the high seas was
A) Martin Frobisher.
B) Sir Walter Raleigh.
C) Humphrey Gilbert.
D) Francis Drake.

Accepted Answer

Sir Francis Drake was a prominent naval commander under Queen Elizabeth I, known for his privateering voyages against the Spanish during the Elizabethan era. He was famously encouraged by Queen Elizabeth I to conduct raids on Spanish merchant ships and ports, contributing significantly to the naval warfare between England and Spain.

Question 13

Spain could no longer block English entry into the New World because of the
A) Treaty of Castile with Philip II of Spain.
B) success of Walter Raleigh's colony at Roanoke Island.
C) English destruction of the invading Spanish Armada.
D) collapse of Spanish settlements in what became New England.

Accepted Answer

The English were able to establish a stronger presence in the New World following the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, which marked a decline in Spanish naval dominance.

Question 14

In arguing for royal assistance for English colonization, Richard Hakluyt stressed the
A) military advantages of building forts to threaten Spanish treasure fleets.
B) likelihood of settling religious dissenters and criminals in the New World.
C) possibilities of jointly exploiting the New World with Spain.
D) need to prevent Dutch expansion.

Accepted Answer

Richard Hakluyt argued for English colonization by emphasizing the military advantages, particularly the opportunity to build forts that could threaten Spanish treasure fleets, thereby challenging Spain's dominance in the New World.

Question 15

According to your text, the organizing force in the effort to found English colonies came from
A) Protestant reformers.
B) Queen Elizabeth.
C) political reformers.
D) merchant capitalists.

Accepted Answer

The organizing force in the effort to found English colonies primarily came from merchant capitalists. These individuals were motivated by the prospects of economic gain through trade, exploitation of resources, and the establishment of new markets. They played a crucial role in financing and organizing expeditions to the New World, seeking to expand their wealth and influence through colonial ventures.

Question 16

The earliest British colonies were initially financed by
A) Elizabeth I.
B) joint-stock companies.
C) James I.
D) Protestant dissenters.

Accepted Answer

The earliest British colonies, such as Jamestown (founded in 1607), were initially financed by joint-stock companies, where investors pooled their capital to fund the expeditions in hopes of gaining profits from the new world.

Question 17

The most direct motive of the London Company in securing its charter was
A) providing for religious freedom.
B) spreading Christianity.
C) relieving unemployment in England.
D) making money.

Accepted Answer

The primary motive of the London Company, also known as the Virginia Company, in securing its charter was to make money through trade, exploitation of resources, and the establishment of colonies in the New World.

Question 18

A serious problem in the early years of Jamestown was the
A) lack of pioneering skills among the settlers.
B) religious strife between Protestants and Catholics.
C) loss of life from constant Spanish raids.
D) exclusive focus on public improvements and farming.

Accepted Answer

The early settlers of Jamestown lacked the necessary pioneering skills, such as farming and hunting, which contributed to the colony's struggles with famine and disease.

Question 19

The eventual success of the Virginia settlement depended largely upon the
A) overthrow of Captain John Smith's dictatorial leadership.
B) negotiation of peace treaties with the Native Americans.
C) voluntary withdrawal of the London merchants from involvement in the colony's affairs.
D) cultivation of tobacco.

Accepted Answer

The cultivation of tobacco became the foundation of the Virginia economy, leading to its success as a settlement. Tobacco cultivation created a demand for labor, which was initially met by indentured servants and later by African slaves, and it established a profitable export that ensured the colony's economic viability.

Question 20

Initially, the Powhatan Native Americans reacted to the Virginia colonists by
A) helping them survive.
B) worshipping them as gods.
C) eagerly accepting their religion.
D) rapidly adopting their technology.

Accepted Answer

Initially, the Powhatan Native Americans helped the Virginia colonists survive by providing them with food and teaching them agricultural techniques, crucial for the colonists' survival in the new environment.

Quiz 1: Alien Encounters: Europe in the Americas

Columbus and other early explorers searched for a direct all-water route to Asia because they

The map "European Voyages of Discovery," depicts the 1497-1499 journey around Africa by which of the following?

Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal was noted for

When Columbus landed in America, the chief reason that he thought he had landed in "the Indies" was

By the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) , Spain had authority to exploit all of

Your textbook describes Spain's American empire as

In the 1670s thousands of Pueblo rebelled to drive the

When discussing the question of the terrible decimation of the Native American peoples after 1500, your text concludes that most deaths resulted from

The exploration and exploitation of the Americas in the sixteenth century was dominated by

One of the major reasons the Protestant Reformation succeeded was that

The king who brought the Protestant Reformation to England by declaring himself head of the English Church in order to divorce his first wife was

The bold captain encouraged by Queen Elizabeth I to plunder Spanish merchant ships on the high seas was

Spain could no longer block English entry into the New World because of the

In arguing for royal assistance for English colonization, Richard Hakluyt stressed the

According to your text, the organizing force in the effort to found English colonies came from

The earliest British colonies were initially financed by

The most direct motive of the London Company in securing its charter was

A serious problem in the early years of Jamestown was the

The eventual success of the Virginia settlement depended largely upon the

Initially, the Powhatan Native Americans reacted to the Virginia colonists by