European Cultures

Question 0

When did the Roman political and economic system collapse?

Answer 0

AD 500

Question 1

Who launched the crusades?

Answer 1

Pope Urban the Second

Question 2

What was the period lasting from 500-1400 known as?

Answer 2

The Middle Ages

Question 3

What was feudalism?

Answer 3

A king giving estates to nobles in exchange for their loyalty and military support

Question 4

When had feudalism spread throughout much of Europe?

Answer 4

1100

Question 5

Why had many peasants worked for large land owners?

Answer 5

The Fall of the Roman Empire

Question 6

What was manorialism?

Answer 6

Manorialism describes the economic ties between nobles and peasants. In return for protection, peasants provided various services for the lord.

Question 7

What were serfs?

Answer 7

Serfs were people who were bound to a lords manor and could not leave it

Question 8

When did the economy of Europe begin to improve?

Answer 8

1000

Question 9

What struggled mightily against the social and political fragmentation of Europe that followed the fall of Rome?

Answer 9

The Roman Catholic Church

Question 10

Describe what would happen if you were disobedient to the church

Answer 10

Disobedience to the church resulted in severe penalties for all people alike, including excommunication, which barred people from participating in church rights. You would also lose political and legal rights.

Question 11

What was the social order in Europe in the Middle Ages?

Answer 11

There was royalty, peasants, serfs, and nobles. The Roman Catholic Church was struggling

Question 12

How did the Crusades set by Pope Urban the Second change Western European Society?

Answer 12

It brought Western Europeans into contact with the Muslim and Byzantine civilizations of Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Question 13

When was the trade in the eastern Mediterranean controlled, and who controlled it?

Answer 13

It was controlled by 1200 by Italian and Arab Merchants

Question 14

What led to the rise of an economy based on money?

Answer 14

Arab traders only accepting money in payment

Question 15

When was the rise of the Mongol Empire?

Answer 15

The 1200s

Question 16

By when was Europe importing vast quantities of goods from Asia?

Answer 16

The 1300s

Question 17

Much to the dismay European Merchants, when did the Mongol Empire collapse?

Answer 17

The 1300s

Question 18

When did Western Europeans begin exploring the world and why?

Answer 18

1. Feudalism was in decline
2. The Crusades and trade with Asia had weakened the feudalism system
3. The rise of towns and merchants and provided kings and queens with a new source of wealth to tax
   It happened in the 1300s

Question 19

Name the four strong states that had emerged in Western Europe

Answer 19

Portugal
Spain
England
France

Question 20

What was The Renaissance, and what was its time period?

Answer 20

The word “Renaissance” means rebirth, and in this case Renaissance refers to a rebirth in interest to Ancient Greek and Roman culture.
It lasted from around AD 1350 to 1600

Question 21

What technologies had Europeans discovered by the early 1400s?

Answer 21

Navigational instruments for while at sea, and ships capable of long-distance trips across the ocean.

Question 22

What was an “Astrolabe?”

Answer 22

An ‘astrolabe’ was a device invented by the ancient Greeks and refined by Arab navigators. It used the position of the sun to determine direction, latitude, and local time.

Question 23

What was a caravel?

Answer 23

A Caravel was a small vessel capable of carrying one about 130 tons of cargo.

Question 24

Who were the first explorers to find a sea route to Asia?

Answer 24

The Portuguese

Question 25

When did Portuguese explorers begin mapping Africa’s west coast?

Answer 25

In the beginning of 1420