Unit 2 - Exploring the New World

Question 1

Which event sparked a renewed interest in European trade after the Dark Ages?

Answer 1

the Crusades

Question 2

What were some of the most valuable trade items in Europe?

Answer 2

spices

Question 3

Where did most spices come from?

Answer 3

the Moluccas, also called the Spice Islands

Question 4

How were goods traded between Europe and the Far East before the Age of Exploration?

Answer 4

Over the Silk Road

Question 5

What were some disadvantages faced by Europeans who used the Silk Road for trade?

Answer 5

high prices and dangerous travel conditions

Question 6

How did the Silk Road spark the Age of Exploration?

Answer 6

The dangers of the Silk Road led Europeans to begin trying to find a sea route to the Spice Islands

Question 7

What was the first European country to begin exploring? Where?

Answer 7

Portugal, along the coast of Africa

Question 8

What was the lasting effect of early Portuguese exploration of Africa?

Answer 8

the slave trade

Question 9

Who did Spain send? When? Where did he land?

Answer 9

Christopher Columbus in 1492. He landed in the present-day Bahamas.

Question 10

In addition to wanting a new route to the Spice Islands (Moluccas), what were three other reasons for European exploration?

Answer 10

1. God – to spread the Christian religion
2. Gold – to acquire the valuable resources of the New World
3. Glory – for fame

Question 11

How were Spanish conquistadors able to easily conquer America’s indigenous people?

Answer 11

They had superior weapons and many natives died or were sickened by European disease, which they had no immunity to.

Question 12

How did many conquistadors treat the natives?

Answer 12

They saw them as savages, and often treated them brutally. Many indigenous people were enslaved or killed.

Question 13

How did mercantilism encourage countries to explore the New World?

Answer 13

Countries wanted to acquire as much wealth as possible so that they could achieve a favorable balance of trade (export more than they import).

Question 14

What is a colony?

Answer 14

a group of people who leave their home country to settle in a new land, but who will still be under the control of their “mother country”

Question 15

What role did colonies play for a mother country?

Answer 15

Colonies would be important sources of raw materials.

Question 16

What is an empire?

Answer 16

an extensive group of countries under the control of a single authority

Question 17

Which country formed an empire in the Americas that made them very wealthy?

Answer 17

Spain, who worked to prevent other countries from exploring

Question 18

What event finally allowed countries such as England, France, & the Netherlands to begin exploring the New World?

Answer 18

The defeat of the Spanish armada (navy), which had controlled Atlantic trade

Question 19

Where did England first claim land in America?

Answer 19

present-day Virginia

Question 20

Describe England’s first attempt at colonizing the New World.

Answer 20

In 1587, John White was sent to start a colony of 120 English people on the island of Roanoke in Virginia.

Question 21

Who was the first English person born in America?

Answer 21

John White’s granddaughter, Virginia Dare

Question 22

What happened to the colony of Roanoke?

Answer 22

White returned to England for supplies and returned to the colony three years later, only to find that the settlers had vanished without a trace. No one knows what happened to them.