Deck 7: The Struggle for Wealth and Empire

Question 1

Which two countries in western Europe came to occupy a position of leadership in Europe as a whole by about 1700?

A) the Netherlands and England
B) Prussia and Austria
C) Spain and France
D) France and England

Answer 1

France and England

Question 2

All of the following are true of carnivals, an important feature of seventeenth and eighteenth century

A) they went on for several weeks preceding Christmas, and signified the preparation for the incarnation of Christ.
B) they allowed opportunities to defy custom.
C) they allowed opportunities to ridicule authority.
D) men and women dressed as the opposite sex.

Answer 2

they went on for several weeks preceding Christmas, and signified the preparation for the incarnation of Christ.

Question 3

In the eighteenth century, the outstanding economic development affecting Europe was the expansion of the

A) global economy and the fact that Europe achieved the same level of wealth as China.
B) economy inside Europe, which brought eastern Europe into rough economic equality with western Europe.
C) economy inside Europe, which finally brought southern Europe into rough economic equality with western Europe.
D) global economy and the fact that Europe became wealthier than any other region of the globe.

Answer 3

global economy and the fact that Europe became wealthier than any other region of the globe.

Question 4

Which of the following is true of eighteenth-century Europe's population?

A) France and Britain grew to be roughly equal in size.
B) Britain had fewer large cities than either Spain or Italy.
C) the population of urban areas now surpassed that of rural areas.
D) Amsterdam and Constantinople were the largest cities.

Question 5

In the eighteenth century, which of the following was more important to western Europe as a trading area than Asia?

A) Australia and the Pacific
B) eastern Europe
C) America
D) Africa

Question 6

The transatlantic slave trade in the eighteenth century was conducted mainly by the

A) English and French.
B) Dutch and Portuguese.
C) English and Dutch.
D) English and Portuguese.

Question 7

As the transatlantic trade expanded, western Europe's trade with eastern Europe

A) languished.
B) reduced the incentives for eastern European landlords to improve the efficiency of their estates.
C) contributed to the spread of serfdom by encouraging the creation of an export-oriented, plantation-like agricultural system.
D) A and B

Question 8

Eighteenth-century warfare was characterized by

A) a great upsurge in national feeling among the peoples involved.
B) the involvement, for the first time in modern warfare, of civilians.
C) the use of soldiers recruited from countries other than a particular army's national affiliation.
D) all of the choices are correct.

Question 9

The War of the Austrian Succession was more successful than the few territorial gains and losses would indicate because it proved

A) that the British needed a stronger army in order to be effective in international affairs.
B) the Habsburg empire could no longer be considered a great power.
C) the continuing strength of France, both as a continental power and an overseas empire.
D) that Prussia's acquisition of Silesia made it a great power for the first time in its history.

Question 10

The Seven Years' War began in

A) America.
B) Germany.
C) Austria.
D) the Austrian Netherlands.

Question 11

The British colonists in America in 1754

A) adopted the "Albany plan of union" as a means of self-defense against France.
B) failed to adopt the "Albany plan of union," but nevertheless assumed the greater share of the burden of defense.
C) relied on Britain for military action against France.
D) played no part in the war between Britain and France.

Question 12

All of the following are true about the French and British empires on the eve of the Seven Years' War _except

A) in India, both Britain and France possessed only disconnected coastal commercial establishments.
B) both traded with China at Canton.
C) in North America, the British were more successful than the French in gaining Indian support.
D) the British American colonies were very divided.

Question 13

The Frenchman Dupleix's plans for India after 1748

A) were to build an empire.
B) sought to increase the French East India Company's capital.
C) required large-scale intervention by the French army.
D) were defeated by the concerted action of native rulers.

Question 14

As a result of the peace treaties of 1763 ending the Seven Years' War all of the following occurred

A) Frederick's aggression of 1740, the seizure of Silesia, was legalized.
B) the "Dualism" of Austria and Prussia as the major rivals for control of Germany was reconfirmed.
C) France suffered a commercial calamity, losing its trade with America and India.
D) British power and influence became paramount in America north of Mexico, and ultimately, in India.

Question 15

Discuss the most significant differences between elite culture and popular culture in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Was the gap between them narrowing or widening by the eighteenth century? Why?

Question 16

To what extent was European prosperity dependent on extra-European contributions (either voluntary or forced)? Specify the Asian, African, and American roles in the world economy of the eighteenth century.

Question 17

Compare and contrast the political and economic development of Great Britain and France between 1715 and 1763.

Question 18

Analyze the imperial conflict between Great Britain and France during the period 1714-1763 (the end of the War of the Spanish Succession to the end of the Seven Years' War).

Question 19

Compare and contrast the causes and consequences of the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. In what sense did they form a single conflict, the "Great War of the Mid-Eighteenth Century"?

Question 20

Compare and contrast the personalities and policies of Frederick the Great and Maria Theresa. Who achieved more for his/her people?

Question 21

How did the lower, or non-property owning classes make their influence felt in western European politics during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries?

Question 22

Describe the similarities and differences in the daily lives of the average rich European and the average poor European with respect to food, housing, and health.

Question 23

What factors gave Britain and France the upper hand in the commercial rivalry of the eighteenth century?

Question 24

What was the relationship between slavery and the rise of British capitalism?

Question 25

How did overseas expansion contribute to the financial bubbles of the eighteenth century?

Question 26

What were the advantages and disadvantages of cabinet government?

Question 27

What were the parallels between the Austrian War of Succession and past conflicts in the same region?

Question 28

Why was much of the Seven Years' War fought outside of Europe? Describe the main regions of conflict.

Question 29

Which areas of the globe did the British dominate by 1763. Where were France's main losses?

Question 30

How did the Peace of Paris in 1763 facilitate the building of a British empire?