American history through independence (Section 1 RED QUESTIONS ONLY)) Flashcards
Approximately how many different Native American nations existed before the arrival of Columbus, and in what basic characteristics did they each differ from one another?
At least 100, each with a different language, social system, and stage of economic development.
What year did Cristobal Colón (a.k.a. Christopher Columbus) first arrive in the Western Hemisphere?
1492
What two European nations were the first to colonize the Americas, and which of these two was the first to colonize in North America?
Spain, then Portugal.
What Native American civilization, located in present day Mexico, had probably the largest city in the world when European explorers encountered it in 1519? ..and what was the name of the city?
Aztec.
Tenochtitlan. [you will not be asked to spell this; you just need to be able to recognize it!]
What was the ultimate fate of 90% of the indigenous population of Central and South America during the 16th Century?
Between 1492 and 1600, the indigenous population of Central and South America declined by 90%, in large part due to lack of resistance to European diseases (particularly smallpox). Those who didn’t die from disease had a good chance of being worked to death doing slave labor.
What Native American city in NORTH America (that had been located in modern-day Illinois just across the Mississippi River from modern-day St. Louis, Missouri) was, at least for a brief period, larger in population than the largest European city (London) in about the mid-1200s (Note: this city died out before any Europeans colonized North America)
Cahokia
What was the name of the Native American confederation of tribes that occupied the land today called “Southern Westchester” along the “Hudson” river?
Wappinger
The Wecquaesgeek tribe occupied the land on which DFHS now sits. One of their main trails was called Wickquasgeck. A modern road today follows the outline of this trail. What is it called?
Broadway (or Route 9)
In what order were the Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, New Amsterdam, and Jamestown colonies first settled? In the first third of which century?
(Use the date of settlement, NOT the date the colony was formally founded).
Jamestown (1607)
Nieuw Amsterdam (1609–colony
officialy chartered in 1624 but settled
earlier)
Plymouth (1620)
Massachusetts Bay (1630)
[You don’t need to remember the dates, just the order]
Which of the above colonies (in question 10a) had been already settled when the first enslaved Africans were brought to the Atlantic coast of North America? (& what year did this happen?)
Jamestown and
Nieuw Amsterdam.
First enslaved Americans brought forcibly in 1619.
Which of the above four colonies (in Question 10a) was not English, and which nation founded it?
Nieuw Amsterdam. The Netherlands.
What European nation first settled the area that now comprises New York City, and what was this settlement called?
The Netherlands. Nieuw Amsterdam.
Which of the above colonies’ (see Question 10a) founding is associated with the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving?
Plymouth
What kind of “religious freedom” were the “Pilgrims” who settled Plymouth Colony seeking?
Freedom to practice their brand of Christianity their way (i.e., NOT freedom for everyone to practice religion whatever way he/she preferred).
What agricultural product was instrumental in the survival and eventual prosperity of the Jamestown (Virginia) Colony?
Tobacco