Deck 1: The Collision of Cultures in the 16th Century

Question 1

Which statement accurately describes Mesoamerican communities after 1500 B.C.E.?

A)They were overwhelmingly nomadic.
B)They developed complex concepts of religion, art, science, and government.
C)They rarely fought with neighboring peoples.
D)They used primitive mathematics and astronomy to produce inaccurate calendars.
E)Their populations remained small by European standards.

Answer 1

They developed complex concepts of religion, art, science, and government.

Question 2

The Pueblo Revolt of 1598 permanently expelled the Spaniards from New Mexico.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The presence of horses greatly altered the lives of the Plains Indians in North America.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Native tribes ______________ before Europeans arrived.

A)commonly fought amongst themselves
B)lived peacefully together
C)did not farm
D)were monotheistic
E)were few in number

Question 5

Spain left little cultural imprint on its former possessions in what is now the United States.

Question 6

The New World was named for the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci.

Question 7

The earliest arrivals in North America were the so-called Clovis peoples, named for a site in New Mexico where distinctive spear points were discovered.

Question 8

In less than a century after Columbus' first voyage in 1492 the disease that spread to Native American cultures resulted in the greatest loss of life in human history.

Question 9

The European Renaissance era resulted in a cultural shift from a predominately religious worldview to a more secular outlook.

Question 10

Before the arrival of the Europeans, the horse was an important part of every New World culture.

Question 11

Tenochtitlán in the fifteenth century was

A)an Aztec warrior who defeated the first Spanish troops to arrive.
B)the Aztec name given to Hernán Cortés when he arrived in present-day Mexico.
C)the capital of a sophisticated Aztec empire in Mesoamerica.
D)the name of a mountain range crossed by Cortés as he invaded Mexica.
E)an Aztec temple inhabited by Aztec nobility and priests.

Question 12

The predominate reason for Spanish exploration in North and South America was to convert the native populations to Christianity.

Question 13

Which of the following statements describes the Native Americans in North America prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Western Hemisphere?

A)They inhabited diverse types of communities.
B)They lived in peace and harmony with each other and with nature.
C)They all spoke the same language.
D)They lived almost exclusively along the west coast.
E)They were nomadic loners who rarely had any family ties.

Question 14

The marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella united Spain.

Question 15

The Dutch became Spain's greatest allies in their fight against the Protestant English.

Question 16

The diversity of native populations in the New World can be illustrated by the more than 300 languages that they spoke.

Question 17

Early Indian civilizations considered land and people sacred and did not make war or exploit the environment.

Question 18

The defeat of the Spanish Armada encouraged the English to embark upon New World colonization.

Question 19

Which of the following statements correctly describes pre-contact Native Americans living in the Western Hemisphere?

A)All Native peoples were remarkably similar.
B)All Native peoples were hunter-gatherers.
C)Ancient Indians practiced nature-centered religions.
D)Ancient Indians shared dozens of different languages.
E)No Native peoples built towns.

Question 20

Columbus was looking for a shorter and safer route to the Far East.

Question 21

Which of the following correctly describes the Hohokam people around 500 C.E.?

A)They migrated from present-day Mexico to the Mississippi Valley region.
B)They were a strictly nomadic tribe of the Southwest.
C)They were the first to hunt buffalo on horses brought over by Spanish explorers.
D)They constructed irrigation canals to farm in the dry climate of the Southwest.
E)They developed fewer arts and crafts skills than most cultures of the Southwest.

Question 22

Which of the following statements describes the impact of John Calvin's work?

A)Unlike Lutheranism, Calvinism was found only in France and Germany.
B)Calvin called for the execution of many people and ruled like a tyrant.
C)When the pope expelled Calvin from the Catholic church, it led to a civil war.
D)Calvin's doctrine was lax, allowing people to rely on themselves in determining right from wrong.
E)Calvin's teachings were more attractive to nobles than to the middle class.

Question 23

Which of the following correctly describes Hernán Cortés's efforts to conquer Mexico?

A)Cortés attempted to form alliances with Indians but was unsuccessful.
B)Cortés was unimpressed by Aztec civilization and their capital.
C)Cortés and his men had technological advantages such as steel swords.
D)The fighting lasted approximately a month.
E)Cortés's greatest obstacle was the strong unity of the Native Americans.

Question 24

Which of the following characterized Indians in the Pacific Northwest?

A)They were dedicated farmers.
B)They were very similar to the Mississippian peoples.
C)They lived in peace with each other.
D)They were divided into chiefs, commoners, and slaves.
E)They did not know how to fish.

Question 25

Which of the following was a significant result of the voyages of Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci?

A)They stimulated further interest in continued exploration of the Western Hemisphere.
B)They proved the world was round.
C)They were able to convert large numbers of Native Americans to Christianity.
D)North America evolved from a "monocultural" region to a "multicultural" one.
E)They introduced farming to North America.

Question 26

Most devastating to the Aztecs in their conflict with Cortés was

A)chicken pox and enslavement.
B)malaria and dysentery.
C)smallpox and starvation.
D)measles and melancholy.
E)diphtheria and overconfidence.

Question 27

What was the encomienda?

A)A large farm or ranch used by the Spanish in California
B)A religious institution for assimilation created by the Catholic church
C)A Spanish economic system used to control African slaves
D)A socioeconomic system that gave control of Indian villages to favored Spanish soldiers
E)A Spanish movement that helped alleviate poverty after the war

Question 28

What was the Renaissance of fourteenth- to fifteenth-century Europe?

A)An era in which intellectual curiosity and scientific investigation were discouraged
B)A general return to a more religious, rather than secular, worldview
C)An era in which Europeans powers turned inward and protected their borders
D)The splitting of the dominant Catholic Church into Protestant denominations
E)An intellectual revival in which new ideas about politics, religion, and science were unleashed

Question 29

One of Christopher Columbus' first concerns when meeting Native peoples in the Caribbean was

A)their spiritual welfare.
B)whether or not they had gold.
C)their scientific knowledge.
D)their style of leadership.
E)their physical safety.

Question 30

The dominant religion in Europe in the fifteenth century was

A)Lutheranism.
B)Methodism.
C)Calvinism.
D)Catholicism.
E)Anglicanism.

Question 31

What led to the rejection of papal authority in England in the sixteenth century, resulting in a Protestant nation?

A)The pope chastised the English people for poor church attendance.
B)The pope refused to annul the marriage of King Henry VIII and Catharine of Aragon.
C)The Catholic church was supported by tax dollars, whereas Protestant churches were not.
D)Most of the English public was Calvinist.
E)Martin Luther was a favorite theologian of King Henry VIII.

Question 32

Which of the following was a result of the European revival in trade after the Middle Ages?

A)A rise in the number of serfs working for local nobles
B)A depletion in resources along Europe's coastlines
C)An increase in the power of the nobility
D)The formation of nation-states
E)The rise of Roman Catholicism as a unifying force across Europe

Question 33

The Natives of what is now Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah

A)lived in longhouses.
B)lived in pueblos.
C)lived in massive urban centers.
D)lived in nomadic tribes.
E)were not yet farmers.

Question 34

Which of the following was Cahokia?

A)A small fishing village of a few hundred people
B)A well-developed trade center near present-day St.Louis
C)A military stronghold
D)A town destroyed by Europeans
E)A city founded by the Adena-Hopewell culture

Question 35

Which of the following statements describes the Eastern Woodlands people as a group?

A)They lived in the forests of landlocked areas rather than along the coast.
B)They were characterized by all speaking Iroquoian.
C)They built "dugouts" to travel the rivers and lakes.
D)They largely lived in caves built in the side of hills.
E)They included strictly patriarchal societies.

Question 36

__________ aided the Spanish forces under Hernán Cortés as they defeated and dominated the Aztec empire during the sixteenth century.

A)The Mexica
B)Chief Tenochtitlán
C)Local Totomac Indians
D)Rapid climate change
E)The French

Question 37

Perhaps the greatest cultural advantage enjoyed by the Spanish over the native peoples was

A)bronze weaponry.
B)horses.
C)cannons.
D)cargo ships.
E)better maps.

Question 38

__________ played the most decisive role in helping Europeans gain control of native peoples.

A)Disease
B)Starvation
C)Tribal rivalries
D)Religion
E)Language

Question 39

Which of the following is Martin Luther known for criticizing in his ninety-five "theses"?

A)The Church's emphasis on "personal thinking" over the authority of priests and bishops
B)The exploitation of Africans and Native Americans
C)The corruption of the Calvinist church
D)The emphasis the Church placed on reading the Bible
E)The buying and selling of indulgences

Question 40

Which of the following correctly describes the outbreak of the Protestant Reformation in 1517?

A)It increased tension between Europe's nation-states and accelerated the pace of exploration.
B)It had no impact on the course of early American history.
C)It led to religious unity throughout Europe.
D)It spread slowly across Europe.
E)It ended Catholicism in Spain.

Question 41

In what crucial way did Europeans benefit from the Columbian Exchange?

A)European food prices rose because of Western imports.
B)There were no longer starving people in Europe because of these new foods.
C)New crops like corn and potatoes helped Europe's population to grow.
D)Native crops always commanded higher prices than traditional European crops.
E)Europeans now had coffee, rice, and wheat to eat.

Question 42

The most devastating aspect of this biological exchange was

A)the transmission of new diseases to Europeans.
B)the transmission of European diseases to Native Americans.
C)the rise in European food prices.
D)the rise in native food prices.
E)a series of shipwrecks with the rise of trading vessels.

Question 43

Which of the following statements correctly describes the plants or animals that were part of the Columbian Exchange?

A)Pineapples, sassafras, papayas, guavas, avocados, and cacao originated in Europe.
B)The white potato originated in Ireland and increased the health of Native Americans.
C)Rice, wheat, barley, oats, and wine grapes originated in the Americas.
D)Armadillos, opossums, sloths, and hummingbirds were new to Europe.
E)Cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, and rats originated in Europe.

Question 44

Compare and contrast the early colonization efforts of the French, English, and Dutch to those of the Spanish during the sixteenth century.

Question 45

In the American Southwest, the Spanish policy was to

A)use Catholic missionaries to assimilate the natives.
B)allow the native peoples to keep their land.
C)follow a policy of religious toleration.
D)mine for silver and gold and ignore agriculture.
E)ignore this area entirely, focusing on Mexico instead.

Question 46

Which of these statements accurately describes Spanish success in the Americas?

A)It encouraged other European nations, like England, to explore there as well.
B)It was short term.
C)It never extended beyond Mexico.
D)It was limited to gold mining only.
E)It was, in part, due to their alliance with the French.

Question 47

The Spanish Empire's __________ were perhaps the greatest motivation for other European nations, such as France, England, and the Netherlands, to begin exploration and settlement of the New World.

A)conquests and financial success
B)Christian conversions and oil discoveries
C)North American naval bases
D)enslavement as well as alliances among Native Americans
E)introduction of agriculture and development of new building techniques

Question 48

Which statement describes the consequences of Spanish colonization in the Americas?

A)Overall, Native Americans' lives were better because of Spanish colonization.
B)Native Americans were exploited, enslaved, and exterminated by the Spanish.
C)The Spanish aided the natives as often as they could.
D)The Native Americans looked to the Spanish to make their lives better.
E)The Spanish always valued input from the Native Americans.

Question 49

With the defeat of the Spanish Armada, which of the following occurred?

A)Portugal became the dominant power in the Americas.
B)The native peoples were now independent once more.
C)England could now begin colonizing America.
D)Catholicism ended in the Americas for the time being.
E)Europe's wool market collapsed.

Question 50

Privateers from __________ attacked Spanish ships and colonies during the late 1500s in order to destabilize Spain's New World empire.

A)Portugal and Italy
B)France, England, and the Netherlands
C)Mexico and South America
D)Norway, Sweden, and Denmark
E)Germany and Finland

Question 51

Which of the following statements is correct?

A)Europeans and Native Americans were less different than their crops were.
B)The Columbian Exchange only took place between South America and Europe.
C)The Columbian Exchange did not include Africa.
D)The Columbian Exchange had begun prior to the discovery of the New World.
E)Too many Native American crops were poisonous to Europeans to be helpful.

Question 52

Which of the following correctly describes Roanoke Island, the only English colony to be established in North America during the sixteenth century?

A)A total failure
B)A dramatic success
C)A significant challenge to Spanish dominance
D)An agricultural success
E)A source of wealth in gold and silver

Question 53

How did the Protestant Reformation influence European exploration of the New World?

Question 54

Describe the biological exchanges between the Old and New Worlds.How did the various plants, animals, and diseases shape the cultures on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean?

Question 55

Describe how the Protestant Reformation in England differed from the religious reform efforts on the continent of Europe.How did the changes in England affect English efforts at colonization in North America?

Question 56

In 1680 an Indian leader in Spanish New Mexico named Popé

A)organized a Catholic conversion movement among the natives of the area.
B)instituted Spanish as the official language in the territory.
C)led his people in the last, and unsuccessful, raid on Spanish settlers.
D)allied with Spanish soldiers in the region to defeat the Comanche.
E)led a deadly rebellion that drove most of the Spanish population out of the territory.

Question 57

In 1565, Spanish soldiers founded __________, the first permanent European settlement in the present-day United States.

A)St.Augustine
B)Jamestown
C)Plymouth
D)San Luis
E)San Salvador

Question 58

What were perhaps the most important crops to spread from the Americas to Europe as a result of Spanish colonization?

A)Wheat and rye
B)Corn and potatoes
C)Rice and beans
D)Peanuts and pecans
E)Indigo and cotton

Question 59

Compare and contrast the Native American cultures that developed in the northern and southern regions of North America.

Question 60

Which of the following statements is true regarding the Columbian Exchange?

A)This phenomenon focused on the exchange of goods rather than culture.
B)Once they reached Europe, food plants from the New World often were unable to grow.
C)New food crops spurred a population increase in Europe.
D)Native Americans introduced domestic livestock to Europeans.
E)This exchange profited indigenous people more than Europeans due to their better digestive systems.