Deck 1: When Old Worlds Collide: Contact, Conquest, Catastrophe

Question 1

The European explorer who reached the Grand Canyon was

A) Francisco de Coronado.
B) Amerigo Vespucci.
C) Francisco Pizarro.
D) Hernan Cortés.
E) Prince Henry.

Answer 1

Francisco de Coronado.

Question 2

The nation that led the way for European expansion into the Americas was

A) France.
B) England.
C) China.
D) Portugal.
E) Spain.

Answer 2

Portugal.

Question 3

The most likely reason for European success in conquering the American Indian population is

A) the prolonged isolation of the Americas from the rest of the world.
B) the superiority of European civilizations.
C) the warlike savagery of the Europeans.
D) the passivity of Native Americans.
E) the success of the priests in converting them to Christianity.

Answer 3

the prolonged isolation of the Americas from the rest of the world.

Question 4

The early Native American civilization to leave detailed written records of their activities were the

A) Aztec.
B) Texaca.
C) Cherokee.
D) Olmec.
E) Maya.

Question 5

Vasco da Gama led a fleet around the Cape of Good Hope to the coast of India, a voyage which yielded a profit for spices of what ratio?

A) 5-to-1
B) 10-to-1
C) 20-to-1
D) 50-to-1
E) 75-to-1

Question 6

Human habitation of the Americas began approximately

A) 500,000 years ago.
B) 100,000 years ago.
C) 14,000 years ago.
D) 5,000 years ago.
E) 500 years ago.

Question 7

The leading practitioners of human sacrifice in the Americas were the

A) Maya.
B) Incas.
C) Aztec.
D) Olmec.
E) Spaniards.

Question 8

The most devastating factor brought to the Americas by the Europeans was

A) the horse.
B) gunpowder.
C) cannon.
D) bronze weaponry.
E) disease.

Question 9

The Chinese developed all of the following except

A) movable type.
B) gunpowder.
C) paper money.
D) the compass.
E) a complex political system.

Question 10

As a result of a 1493 decree by the Pope, Portugal acquired which modern-day South American country?

A) Peru
B) Columbia
C) Brazil
D) Chile
E) Argentina

Question 11

The leader of the Norsemen who settled in Greenland was

A) King Harold.
B) Erik the Red.
C) Prester John.
D) Leif Eriksson.
E) Columbus.

Question 12

Who of the following was the conqueror of the Inca empire?

A) Francisco Pizarro
B) Hernán Cortés
C) Francisco de Coronado
D) Vasco da Gama
E) Bishop de las Casas

Question 13

The early civilizations of America were basically ____ age cultures.

A) bronze
B) stone
C) wood
D) iron
E) agricultural

Question 14

In the period 1530 to 1630, the population of Mexico and Peru decreased by approximately

A) 10 percent.
B) 30 percent.
C) 60 percent.
D) 90 percent.
E) 100 percent.

Question 15

By the mid-sixteenth century, the most powerful nation in Europe was

A) England.
B) France.
C) Spain.
D) Portugal.
E) Germany.

Question 16

The leader of the Aztecs at the time of their defeat in 1519 was

A) Atahualpa.
B) Moctezuma.
C) Tenochtitlan.
D) Texcoco.
E) Geronimo.

Question 17

The system of labor control that allowed a person to exploit the labor force for a certain period of time was called

A) hacienda.
B) encomienda.
C) bandeirante.
D) requerimiento.
E) casa grande

Question 18

The Americas were first settled by

A) Asians.
B) western Europeans.
C) eastern Europeans.
D) Africans.
E) Europeans.

Question 19

The major source of wealth exploited by the Spaniards in the Americas was

A) gold.
B) silver.
C) tobacco.
D) cotton.
E) iron.

Question 20

Each of the following could be referred to as a "conquistador" except

A) Hernán Cortés.
B) Francisco Pizarro.
C) Vasco da Gama.
D) Francisco de Coronado.
E) Hernando de Soto.

Question 21

Before the arrival of the Europeans, the Indian societies of the Americas

A) were all primitive, nomadic hunters and gatherers.
B) were democratic cultures in which all members, including women, could vote.
C) used bronze and iron for tools and weapons.
D) had all developed a written language.
E) were Stone Age cultures.

Question 22

Which of the following was true of serfdom?

A) By 1500, serfdom had virtually disappeared and had been replaced by free labor in western Europe.
B) Serfs were similar to slaves in that both could be bought and sold individually.
C) In North America, serfdom was more widespread and more profitable than was slavery.
D) Russia was the only European country that relied entirely on a free labor system.
E) Serfs were forcibly resettled in the Americas.

Question 23

Most of the native languages of North and South America were

A) derived from the Amerind language.
B) completely eradicated by the introduction of European languages.
C) a combination of Germanic and Asian linguistics.
D) already developed as written languages before the arrival of the Europeans.
E) understandable to the Europeans.

Question 24

The Black Death reduced Europe's population by

A) one-quarter.
B) one-third.
C) one-half.
D) two-third.
E) three-quarter.

Question 25

Most European Christians viewed the Indians as

A) innocent, childlike people who should be left alone.
B) descendants of the ancient survivors of the lost continent of Atlantis.
C) subhuman, soulless devil worshippers.
D) sophisticated people who were morally and ethically superior to the inhabitants of Asia and Europe.
E) one of the lost tribes of Israel.

Question 26

The sixteenth century Catholic missions in North America

A) were most successful in Virginia and the Carolinas.
B) trained Indians as soldiers to protect the settlements from English and French attacks.
C) were administered by unarmed Franciscan priests.
D) failed to convert any Indians to Christianity.
E) rejected any military protection.

Question 27

The mound builders and the Anasazi were similar in that both

A) were complex societies that developed north of Mexico.
B) depended on the horse as the major beast of burden.
C) were primarily hunter-warrior societies.
D) were the ancestors of the Mayans and the Aztecs.
E) had developed a written language.

Question 28

The crusades influenced European expansion by

A) establishing permanent Christian control of the holy city of Jerusalem.
B) demonstrating that the Arab nations of the East were weak and easily defeated.
C) developing a colonial economic system based on the production of staple crops by slave labor.
D) discouraging trade with Asian and African nations.
E) providing slaves for the plantations in the Caribbean.

Question 29

During the reign of Philip II,

A) the Moors were driven off of the Iberian Peninsula.
B) toleration of Jews and Moslems was established throughout the Spanish Empire.
C) the first global economic system was created by the union of Spain and Portugal.
D) the Spanish peacefully mediated between competing European and Asian nations.
E) France merged with Spain.

Question 30

Which of the following is true of the Atlantic slave trade in the late fifteenth century and thereafter?

A) Most slaves were taken by Europeans who raided coastal villages and enslaved the inhabitants.
B) Slavery did not exist in Africa until the Europeans introduced it.
C) Most slaves were first enslaved by other Africans and then were sold to European traders.
D) The Portuguese opposed slavery and tried to prevent its extension to the New World.
E) Most slaves were Native Americans.

Question 31

All of the following were food crops grown in the Americas during the late Stone Age (Neolithic) except

A) maize.
B) white potatoes.
C) tomatoes.
D) oranges.
E) squash.

Question 32

Amerind was the forerunner of all of the following languages except

A) Algonquian.
B) Navajo.
C) Muskogean.
D) Iroquoian.
E) Siouan.

Question 33

The European nation that was the pioneer in the area of exploration was

A) Spain.
B) Germany.
C) Italy.
D) France.
E) Portugal.

Question 34

As of 1400, ____ mariners were the world's best.

A) English
B) Spanish
C) Portuguese
D) Chinese
E) Arab

Question 35

Amaranth was a type of

A) spear point.
B) animal.
C) cereal.
D) disease.
E) liquor.

Question 36

Which of the following is not true of the Spanish conquistadores?

A) They succeeded in part because smallpox decimated the Indian population.
B) They led huge armies of 50,000 to 100,000 well-trained Europeans.
C) They searched unsuccessfully for fabulous golden cities in North America.
D) They conquered two major empires in the Americas and greatly increased the wealth and power of Spain.
E) They destroyed religious items of the native people.

Question 37

All except which of the following were negative results of the exploration and discovery era?

A) Millions of Africans were enslaved and transported to other parts of the world.
B) Warfare, slavery, and disease killed millions of Indians.
C) Many plants native to the Americas were displaced by European imports.
D) The Asian nations of China, India, and Japan became the wealthiest and most powerful countries in the world.
E) European animals overran American rivals.

Question 38

The era of European exploration

A) brought previously isolated societies into contact with other nations and cultures.
B) promoted peaceful and friendly relations between different ethnic groups.
C) promoted religious toleration and ended the persecution of non-Christians around the globe.
D) failed to spread technology.
E) held no benefits to American Indians.

Question 39

In 1400, western European society was

A) self-sufficient and had no interest in trading with Asia.
B) primarily interested in importing gold and silver from Russia.
C) backward and isolated when compared with Chinese and Islamic societies.
D) scientifically and mathematically the most advanced culture in the world.
E) not influenced by religion.

Question 40

Which of the following was true of Christopher Columbus?

A) He was the first person to believe that the Earth is round.
B) He was an Italian navigator whose four voyages to the West were financed by the Spanish.
C) He accurately calculated the circumference of the Earth to be 26,000 miles.
D) He received land, titles, and wealth from his discoveries and died the richest commoner in Europe.
E) He rejected offers from England and Portugal to finance his voyages.

Question 41

The center of the Portuguese empire in Asia was

A) Japan.
B) the Moluccas.
C) Korea.
D) China.
E) Indonesia.

Question 42

In spite of being the most complex culture in the world, China did not expand outward because

A) the Chinese religion forbade overseas ventures.
B) it was conquered by the Europeans.
C) it produced little that the outside world wanted.
D) it was a self-contained system that believed it did not need the rest of the world.
E) it was defeated by Europe in the 1400s.

Question 43

Most Native American Indian populations were "hunters and gatherers."

Question 44

Under slavery as it existed in Africa

A) the slaves were forced to work long hours in commercial agriculture.
B) slaves' descendents were often assimilated into the captor's society.
C) only Christians were enslaved.
D) slaves were isolated as a separate caste.
E) slaves were executed after serving five years.

Question 45

The most sophisticated civilization in the world at the time of European exploration was in China.

Question 46

Vasco da Gama was the first European to reach India via an eastward water route.

Question 47

One of the major advantages Portugal had in the race for exploration was its leader, Henry the Navigator.

Question 48

The greatest loss of life among the Indian population came from warfare with the European invaders.

Question 49

The Norse settlements founded in the 1000s on the coast of Newfoundland

A) exist into the present.
B) endured until after Columbus's voyages.
C) met no resistance from native Americans.
D) brought African slavery to the Americas.
E) died out before Columbus's voyages, and had no lasting impact on history.

Question 50

One factor that distinguished the Americas from Eurasia in the pre-Columbian era is that

A) no large animals were domesticated in the Americas except the llama in South America.
B) agriculture had not developed in the Americas.
C) no society in the Americas had developed a written language.
D) no maritime cultures had developed in the Americas.
E) no large cities existed in the Americas.

Question 51

Unlike Spain, Portugal refused to enslave Africans.

Question 52

Which of the following did Portugal settle first?

A) Sao Tome
B) the Madeira Islands
C) the Cape Verde group
D) the Azores
E) Spain

Question 53

After the 1430s information was able to circulate more freely in Europe than anywhere else in the world because of the

A) political unity achieved by the monarchs.
B) invention of the printing press.
C) rapid development of sailing vessels.
D) social mobility that came with the breakdown of feudalism.
E) invention of the telephone.

Question 54

Most Indian societies engaged in clan or family ownership of landholdings.

Question 55

Generally, the Spanish were very generous when dealing with Native American civilizations.

Question 56

The Olmec people of Mesoamerica were known for all of the following except

A) building the first pyramids.
B) constructing ballparks.
C) using terrace agriculture.
D) developing a writing system and a calendar.
E) building colossal stone heads.

Question 57

Before the nineteenth century, more than ____ of the people who sailed across the Atlantic were slaves.

A) one-quarter
B) one-third
C) one-half
D) two-thirds
E) three-quarters

Question 58

In 1519, when Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico, the Indian populations was approximately 15 million; however, by the 1620s the population declined to

A) 10 million.
B) 7 million.
C) 700,000.
D) 70,000.
E) 7,000.

Question 59

In 1487, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope, but his crew forced him to turn back.

Question 60

The Indian peoples of the Americas had only domesticated one animal species, the dog, before the arrival of the Europeans.

Question 61

The Norsemen's lasting contributions to the development of American society included architectural designs and coined money.

Question 62

The first European slaves were black Africans.

Question 63

The Norse exerted a significant impact on American history well into the 1500s.

Question 64

Women were probably the first in Indian society to actually plant and harvest crops.

Question 65

In 1400, Europe did not appear poised for dramatic expansion.

Question 66

Johann Gutenberg invented paper and block printing.

Question 67

Portuguese mariners borrowed heavily from Arab ship designs and used Arab navigational tools.

Question 68

Europe's most fiercely Catholic society as the sixteenth century began was Spain.

Question 69

Beringia proved a hospitable place for plant and animal life.

Question 70

The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was much more populated than any city in western Europe.

Question 71

Christopher Columbus's first voyage across the Atlantic was controversial because of his belief that the world was round.

Question 72

The Toltecs controlled the Valley of Mexico for three centuries.

Question 73

Christopher Columbus believed he had a role to play in bringing on the Millennium.

Question 74

Portuguese explorers were never able to penetrate Japan.

Question 75

During the long history of the Atlantic slave trade, nearly every African shipped overseas had first been enslaved by other Africans.

Question 76

Among Indian societies, tobacco was grown exclusively by men.

Question 77

In Asia and Africa, the rise of farming, i.e., planting and harvesting crops, was closely linked to the domestication of animals.

Question 78

Humans did not actually live on Beringia; it was used only as a means of travel between Siberia and Alaska.

Question 79

The Indians of the Pacific northwest divided tasks along gender lines.

Question 80

The Portuguese ocean-going ship that combined lateen sails with square rigging was called a caravel.