Module 01: Quest for the Americas

Question 1

Which of the following statements is true about the Americas before European contact?

1. The largest civilization was the Pueblo in the present-day American Southwest.
2. North America exhibited less complex social, political, and economic development than South America.
3. Cahokia was one of the world’s largest and most developed cities.
4. Despite varied lifestyles, the people across both continents saw themselves as one connected cultural group.

Answer 1

North America exhibited less complex social, political, and economic development than South America.

Cahokia, while the most significant city in North America, was certainly not more populated than Tenochtitlán. The largest civilization in the Americas at the time of contact was the Inca, spanning over 2,000 miles. While people across the continents had similarities, they saw themselves as distinct groups, identifying most closely with their immediate community. It is true that South America had greater development by the time of contact.*

Question 2

In which of the following regions were people least likely to have permanent settlements?

1. Caribbean
2. Eastern Woodlands
3. Great Plains
4. Southwest

Answer 2

Great Plains

They focused on hunting bison, hence were nomadic and less populated

Question 3

Which of the following regions contained people known for mound building?

1. Atlantic Seaboard
2. Southwest
3. Mississippi Valley
4. Great Plains

Answer 3

Mississippi Valley

Experts believe “mound builders” settled the
Mississippi Valley, or modern Louisiana, about 3,500 years ago. The American Southwest is famous for the Pueblo peoples. Those of the Atlantic Seaboard favored agriculture, some hunting, and fishing. Experts note the people of the Great Plains for bison hunting.

Question 4

Which of the following regions contained the largest city in the Americas before European contact?

1. Eastern Woodlands
2. Great Basin
3. Southeastern
4. Mesoamerican

Answer 4

Mesoamerican

Tenochtitlán, in the Mesoamerican region, was the largest city in the Americas pre-contact.

Question 5

Which of the following bordered the cities Cahokia and Poverty Point?

1. Great Lakes
2. Pacific Ocean
3. Mississippi River
4. Gulf of Mexico

Answer 5

Mississippi River

The cities were near the Mississippi River. Cahokia existed near present-day St. Louis, Missouri. It is north of the site of Poverty Point, which is now an archaeological site and historic monument to the mound-building peoples of the region. Poverty Point is located in modern-day Louisiana.

Question 6

Which statements best explain the pre-colonial Indians’ motivations for building Cliff dwellings?

1. People in the Caribbean needed to build dwellings that could withstand hurricanes.
2. People in the Great Plains needed to build long-term storage areas for bison.
3. People in the Southwest needed homes with water access and plenty of farmland.
4. People in the Eastern Woodlands needed to build apartments for their laborers.

Answer 6

People in the Southwest needed homes with water access and plenty of farmland.

Cliff dwellings like this one were common in the Southwest. The multiple levels minimized the loss of land for farming. While at first glance the other options may sound plausible, they are not. None of the other groups lived near sandstone cliffs. Bison hunters would not likely have permanent settlements with long-term storage.

Question 7

Which of the following is not true for most of the First Americans?

1. Materialistic, status determined by wealth
2. No concept of permanent land ownership
3. Lineage was matrilineal
4. Belief in a single creator that presides over other spiritual beings

Answer 7

Materialistic, status determined by wealth

The Native Americans, or American Indians as many groups prefer as a name today, were not materialistic. In fact, status often depended on how generous a person was to others. Most groups did believe in many spiritual beings, often based in nature, under one single creator. While tribal groups established territories, they believed the land belonged to all and could not be bought or sold. Though there were a few exceptions, most groups were matrilineal in kinship ties.

Question 8

Which of the following is most likely true about this photograph of a man taken on the Northwest Coast?

1. It shows an Iroquois man maintaining his dugout canoe.
2. It shows a Taíno man leaving to visit neighboring islands.
3. It shows a Pueblo man headed out to trade with local tribes.
4. It shows a Chinook man returning from salmon fishing.

Answer 8

It shows a Chinook man returning from salmon fishing.

While the image does show a dugout canoe and the man could be trading, visiting, fishing, or fixing it, only one group makes sense. The Chinook were excellent canoe builders and navigators. They are also the only group in this list that lived in the Northwest Coast region.

Question 9

How were the native peoples of the Americas living prior to European contact?

1. They were organized into two large empires of the Incas and the Aztecs.
2. They had not developed into advanced forms of civilization.
3. They relied primarily on nomadic herding of domesticated animals for their sustenance.
4. They were divided into many diverse cultures speaking more than 2,000 different languages.

Answer 9

They were divided into many diverse cultures speaking more than 2,000 different languages.

Question 10

Which one of the following statements is true of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán?

1. It had a complex system of canals, bridges, and dams, with the Great Temple at the center.
2. It was located in the dense jungle of the Yucatan Peninsula.
3. It had the New World’s first mass transit system.
4. It was far behind European capitals, technologically and architecturally.

Answer 10

It had a complex system of canals, bridges, and dams, with the Great Temple at the center.

Question 11

Which of the following is true regarding the European belief about American Indians and their cultures?

1. All American Indians were gentle and friendly.
2. Native Americans worshipped the same God that Europeans did, although they called him by different names.
3. American Indians failed to make use of the land, so it was acceptable for Europeans to take it and use it.
4. Because American Indian men engaged in masculine pursuits such as hunting and fishing, Indian gender divisions were acceptable.

Answer 11

American Indians failed to make use of the land, so it was acceptable for Europeans to take it and use it.

Question 12

What did both the Aztecs and the Incas have in common?

1. Small in population but sophisticated in infrastructure
2. Large, wealthy, and sophisticated in infrastructure
3. Large in geographic size but sparsely populated
4. Rural with few impressive buildings

Answer 12

Large, wealthy, and sophisticated in infrastructure

Question 13

The Pueblo Indians encountered by the Spanish in the 16th century

1. had been almost completely isolated from any other people before the Spanish arrived
2. used irrigation systems to aid their agricultural production
3. were called mound builders for the burial mounds they created
4. created a vast empire that included control of the Incas

Answer 13

used irrigation systems to aid their agricultural production

Question 14

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, what did the natives of North America have in common?

1. They had elaborate trade networks.
2. They all lived in small family units.
3. Their lifestyles were entirely agricultural.
4. They lived only in coastal areas.

Answer 14

They had elaborate trade networks.

Question 15

Which of the following statements does the image support?

1. Colonization was met with Native American resistance.
2. Native Americans accepted conversion to Christianity.
3. Colonization benefited most Native Americans.
4. Native Americans thought Europeans were evil.

Answer 15

Colonization was met with Native American resistance.

Question 16

“If you do so, you will do well, and that which you are obliged to do to their Highnesses, and we in their name shall receive you in all love and charity … And, besides this, their Highnesses award you many privileges and exemptions and will grant you many benefits.

But, if you do not do this, and maliciously make delay in it, I certify to you that, with the help of God, we shall powerfully enter into your country.”*

Who is the audience for this document?

1. Encomenderos
2. Enslaved Africans
3. Native Americans
4. Spanish monarchs

Answer 16

Native Americans

Yes, the “Requerimiento” was an ultimatum given to conquered Native Americans. In short, it said to accept Spanish authority and religion or be killed or enslaved.

Question 17

“Probably never before, or since, has a mighty emperor…ordered his conquests to cease until it was decided if they were just.” –Lewis Hanke, Colonial Latin America historian

“By any standards, the debate is one of the most extraordinary events in Western political history: A country engaged in conquest is accused of doing so unjustly.” –Robert McAfee Brown, religion and ethics scholar*

Which of the following is a true statement about these two quotes?

1. They are secondary source quotes related to the Valladolid debate.
2. They are secondary source quotes related to the Repartimiento debate.
3. They are primary source quotes related to the Repartimiento debate.
4. They are primary source quotes related to the Valladolid debate.

Answer 17

They are secondary source quotes related to the Valladolid debate.

Question 18

“By any standards, the debate is one of the most extraordinary events in Western political history: A country engaged in conquest is accused of doing so unjustly.” –Robert McAfee Brown, religion and ethics scholar

Why did Brown call the Valladolid debate “extraordinary”?

1. No other culture had ever considered what issues or events would justify warfare.
2. That Las Casas was allowed to speak rather than be assassinated was peculiar for the time.
3. It was not common for absolute monarchs to question their own policies.
4. Open discussion about controversial topics had never occurred before in Europe.

Answer 18

It was not common for absolute monarchs to question their own policies.

King Charles V, an absolute ruler, called for a debate on colonization that was open to the public. It was “extraordinary” because it was not behavior you would expect from a king who could lose revenue or authority.

Question 19

“Over time, Spanish America evolved into a hybrid culture, part Spanish, part Indian, and in some areas part African, but with a single official faith, language, and governmental system.” –Eric Foner, historian

Which of the following is NOT an example of the “hybrid culture” described by Foner?

1. Indian interpreters
2. Encomienda law
3. Syncretic religion
4. Mestizo families

Answer 19

Encomienda law

Question 20

Columbus noted in his journal that the native peoples he met were dark-skinned like people from the Canary Islands. Imagine you are a historian trying to find the origin of applying the word “redskins” to American Indians. Which of the following statements represents the most reasonable conclusion you would draw about the image?

1. You would find no value in this image to your investigation, as it only appears to support what Columbus said much earlier.
2. You would find value in this image because it proves that the Eastern coast of North America could not have been the source of the word.
3. You would find no value in this image since it only shows one member of the entire tribe, which is also one of many in the region.
4. You would find value in this image as it presents the possibility that the color of the ritual skin decoration is the basis for the word.

Answer 20

You would find value in this image as it presents the possibility that the color of the ritual skin decoration is the basis for the word.

Determining whether a piece of evidence is valuable to a line of historical inquiry is an important historical thinking skill. The fact that White shows red painting of the skin makes the possibility seem reasonable to investigate further. While the man does not have skin that we would describe as red, to dismiss the image entirely as having no value ignores the manner of the skin painting. Nor does the image prove that any geographic area is or is not the source of the term. In addition, while the image shows one individual, the number of people that existed in the region is irrelevant to the historical question.

On a side note, historians have in fact considered this very question. Some do believe that the common use of red paint for the skin is the origin. Ives Goddard, respected historical linguist, suggests that the term may derive in fact from American Indian language. What is known is that today the term is considered offensive slang and, therefore, only appropriate in serious historical discussion or when referring to a certain U.S. football team.

Question 21

How would an image such as this one support an aim of colonization?

1. The man’s pose reveals that American Indians wanted to learn about and adopt European ways.
2. The man’s bow and quiver show that there is plenty of game to hunt for and possibly trade.
3. The man’s three head feathers suggest he and his fellows would be open to Christianity.
4. The man’s minimal dress and painting promote the image of natives as uncivilized.

Answer 21

The man’s minimal dress and painting promote the image of natives as uncivilized.

The image supports what the English would have seen as a lack of civility in the man’s lack of adequate clothing and his body painting. Further, they may have even considered the primary focus on hunting as evidence that American Indians did not “properly” use the land by farming it, and thus they could not stand in the way of English claims. As for the other responses, while they note aspects that do exist in the image, the conclusions drawn are inadequately supported.
If the artist wanted to show that the native peoples wanted to be like Europeans, he could have made them look more European than just in stance. The bow and quiver show that hunting was important, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that there were plenty of animals. In fact, the need for a special ceremony before a hunt may even suggest the opposite. Finally, while the three feathers could be interpreted as representing the Holy Trinity in Christianity, the connection is a stretch. Besides, the primary aims of most English colonists were individually economic or social in nature. Evangelism was not an important step to colonization for them as it was with the Spanish.

Question 22

Early French explorations of the New World

1. brought great riches to France
2. focused on the St. Lawrence, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers
3. were in response to an intense rivalry with the Netherlands
4. created no permanent settlements until the 18th century
   5.

Answer 22

focused on the St. Lawrence, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers

Question 23

Which one of the following is true of agriculture in Spanish America?

1. The main crops were vastly different than they had been before Spain’s arrival.
2. Spain did not do any farming in its empire.
3. Catholic priests were forbidden to be involved in farming.
4. American Indian slaves did the work on large-scale farms.

Answer 23

American Indian slaves did the work on large-scale farms.

Question 24

On what did Europeans—particularly the English, French, and Dutch—base their claim to North American Indian land?

1. The Treaty of Tordesillas
2. Financial transactions between Indian peoples and themselves
3. Their view that Indians did not use the land properly
4. Biblical stories such as Noah’s division of the world among his sons

Answer 24

Their view that Indians did not use the land properly

Question 25

Which of the following is a correct characteristic of New France?

1. Constant severe conflicts between French settlers and the American Indians
2. A well-defined line between American Indian society and French society
3. Maintained more peaceful European-American Indian relations than existed in New Spain
4. Main focus was on the Protestant conversion of the American Indians

Answer 25

Maintained more peaceful European-American Indian relations than existed in New Spain

Question 26

The Spanish Empire in America

1. included most of the populated part of the New World but few of its natural resources, making the empire rich in people but poor economically
2. was, unlike the French and English New World empires, a mostly urban civilization society that would improve the settlers’ chances of success, economic and otherwise
3. was centered around ports along the coast of Brazil
4. allowed religious freedom and therefore, attracted colonists from throughout Europe

Answer 26

was, unlike the French and English New World empires, a mostly urban civilization society that would improve the

Question 27

What does the seal of New Netherland, adopted by the Dutch West India Company in 1630, suggest is central to the colony’s economic prospects?

1. Tobacco
2. Fish
3. Fur
4. Timber

Answer 27

Tobacco

Question 28

Just as the Reconquista of Spain from the Moors established patterns that would be repeated in Spanish New World colonization, the methods used in which one of the following countries anticipated policies England would undertake in America?

1. India
2. Scotland
3. Ireland
4. Wales

Answer 28

Ireland

Question 29

As a result of British landowners evicting peasants from their lands in the 16th and 17th centuries (5 points)

1. there was an increase in the number of jobless peasants, whom the British government aided with an early form of welfare.
2. efforts were made to encourage those who had been evicted to settle in the New World, thereby easing the British population crisis.
3. mass numbers of peasants converted from Protestantism to Catholicism, because the Catholic Church took better care of the poor.
4. there was a sharp reduction in the number of sheep and other livestock.

Answer 29

efforts were made to encourage those who had been evicted to settle in the New World, thereby easing the British population crisis.

Question 30

What do the demographics of the 104 English settlers who remained in Virginia in 1607 prove about English colonial aims? (5 points)

1. The settlers were all men, reflecting the Virginia Company’s interest in searching for gold as opposed to building a functioning society.
2. The settlers included women and children because the Virginia Company realized that a stable society would improve the settlers’ chances of success, economic and otherwise.
3. The settlers included representatives from several other countries, part of England’s effort to build a strong network of support in case of Spanish attack.
4. The settlers were all in their early twenties because the Virginia Company believed younger people would be better able to handle the physical work of building and maintaining the colony.

Answer 30

The settlers were all men, reflecting the Virginia Company’s interest in searching for gold as opposed to building a functioning society.

Question 31

What was Virginia’s “gold” that ensured its survival and prosperity?

1. Cotton
2. Fur
3. Tobacco
4. Sugar

Answer 31

Tobacco

Question 32

How did tobacco and other cash crops factor in to the development of slavery in the Americas?

1. The first African laborers came by indenture and taught the European colonists how to tend these types of crops.
2. Such crops required more labor than could be adequately met through immigration or indenture.
3. Europeans had grown these crops in African colonies for centuries using enslaved labor, so it was tradition.
4. Focus on single crops created shortages of food, leading to widespread malnutrition and death of laborers.

Answer 32

Such crops required more labor than could be adequately met through immigration or indenture.

Question 33

How did the Virginia Company reshape the colony’s development?

1. It instituted the headright system, giving 50 acres of land to each
   colonist who paid for his own or another’s passage.
2. It required all settlers to grow tobacco, a highly profitable crop.
3. It gave control back to the king, who straightened out the colony’s problems.
4. It created an executive committee that really ran the colony and a committee of colonists who thought they were running it.

Answer 33

It instituted the headright system, giving 50 acres of land to each colonist who paid for his own or another’s passage.

Question 34

Why did slave labor in the Chesapeake region increasingly supplant indentured servitude during the last two decades of the 17th century?

1. Bacon’s Rebellion reminded leaders of the dangers of allowing racial intermarriage.
2. A monopoly on the slave trade made it easier to import Africans.
3. Indentured servants began forming associations that went on strike for better conditions.
4. Declining death rates made it more economical to purchase a slave for life.

Answer 34

Declining death rates made it more economical to purchase a slave for life.

Question 35

“Put yourself in the place of the planter searching for labor. You can buy either servants or slaves … In the long run, the more expensive slave would have been the better buy.”—James West Davidson and Mark Hamilton Lytle

Why were slaves a smarter choice for Virginian planters, according to Davidson and Lytle?

1. Slaves had a lower risk overall of dying in the first few years of service on plantations.
2. Planters purchased slaves for life and so received more value and labor for their money.
3. Indentured servants were far more likely to rebel and violate their terms of contract.
4. There were extra taxes that planters who managed indentures had to pay the colony.

Answer 35

Planters purchased slaves for life and so received more value and labor for their money.

Question 36

“What we find is that very few Africans come to Virginia in the colony’s first half century. People of African descent made up no more than 5% of the population at any time during those years.”—James West Davidson and Mark Hamilton Lytle

How does the second half century of the Virginia colony compare to the first?

1. The exponential increase of free African people led white settlers to ally with native peoples in an attack.
2. The import of enslaved Africans increased, leading to laws that resolved challenges to English views on slavery.
3. The percentage of Africans decreased until late in the century when tax laws encouraging slavery were introduced.
4. The growth of indentured servitude led to flat growth in African slavery, so the percentage of African people fell.

Answer 36

The import of enslaved Africans increased, leading to laws that resolved challenges to English views on slavery.

Question 37

“That He the said William Buckland shall and will, as a faithful Covenant Servant, well and truly serve the said Thomas Mason his Executors and assigns in the Plantation of Virginia beyond the Seas, for the Space of Four Years, next ensuing his Arrival in the said Plantation in the Employment of a Carpenter and Joiner.”

Which of the following document types best describes this excerpt?

1. Personal letter
2. Colonial law code
3. Indenture contract
4. Slave purchase agreement

Answer 37

Indenture contract

Question 38

“Legislators decided that baptism would no longer free “slaves by birth.” … [This cut] off an important avenue by which African slaves had demanded release from bondage.”—Kenneth Morgan, from Slavery in America

Which of the following is the “avenue” enslaved African people tried using to justify freedom?

1. Fulfilling typical terms of indenture
2. Raising children of mixed ancestry
3. Marriage to an English person
4. Conversion to Christianity

Answer 38

Conversion to Christianity

Question 39

How was Maryland similar to Virginia? (5 points)

1. Both started out as proprietary colonies.
2. Tobacco proved crucial to its economy and society.
3. Both offered settlers total religious freedom.
4. Strong leaders had taken over the colony and organized its settlers to work.

Answer 39

Tobacco proved crucial to its economy and society.

Question 40

“Be it therefore enacted and declared by this present grand assembly, that all children borne in this country shalbe held bond or free only according to the condition of the mother.”

Which of the following is a true statement about this text?

1. It is part of a law created in order to classify as slaves the children of enslaved women.
2. It is part of a law created for the purpose of defining slavery as a life-long condition.
3. It declares that an enslaved woman’s health determined the slave status of her children.
4. It declares that if an enslaved woman was freed, her children would be freed with her.

Answer 40

It is part of a law created in order to classify as slaves the children of enslaved women.

Question 41

Various are the reports and conjectures of the causes of the present Indian war. Some impute it to an imprudent zeal in the magistrates of Boston to Christianize those heathen before they were civilized and enjoying them the strict observation of their laws, which, to a people so rude and licentious, hath proved even intolerable … the magistrates, for their profit, put the laws severely in execution against the Indians, the people, on the other side, for lucre and gain, entice and provoke the Indians to the breach thereof, especially to drunkenness, to which those people are so generally addicted that they will strip themselves to their skin to have their fill of rum and brandy.”

According to Randolph, how did some of the English settlers explain the cause of King Philip’s War?

1. The English caused the conflict by failing to enforce their laws.
2. The English themselves provoked the attacks of the natives.
3. The Indians saw the settlers and their laws as evil and corrupt.
4. The Indians attacked because they were drunken heathens.

Answer 41

The English themselves provoked the attacks of the natives.