History 101: Western Civilization European Expansion:  Study Questions

2. Economic effects of the European expansion included
a. a great increase in the standard of living for the mass of people
b. a shift from agricuture to commerce and industry as the primary economic role of most of the population
c. a growth in the numbers of nouveaux riche.
d. all of the above

3. Place the following in correct chronological order:
    1. the bank of England is established
    2. da Gama sails around Africa to India
    3. Henry the Navigator sends voyages down the African coast
    4. Cortes conquers Mexico
a. 1,4,2,3
b. 3,2,4,1
c. 2,1,3,4
d. 1,3,4,2

4. That a mythical kingdom existed in Africa was
a.  a story Cortez brought back from Mexico.
b.  probably related to tales of Atlantis.
c.  the impetus behind Magellan's voyage.
d.  part of the legend of Prester John.

5. Probably LEAST important in European expansionist activities of the sixteenth century was the
a.  spice trade.
b.  Crusading tradition.
c.  desire to end power of intermediaries in trade.
d.  attempt to escape the Black Death.

6. Technological innovations that aided in European expansion in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries included
a. the application of gun powder to military force
b. seven-oared galleys
c. the steam engine
d. all of the above

7. Which of the following was NOT associated with Portuguese exploration?
a. Dias
b. da Gama
c. Pizarro
d. Prince Henry the Navigator

8. What occured in the year 1492?
a. he expulsion of Jews from Spain
b. the conquest of the last Muslim stronghold in Spain
c. Columbus's first voyage
d. all of the above

9. Lesser gentry in Spain who desired landed estates were called _____________________.

10. Bartolome de las Casas is best known for
a. castigating Spanish cruelty to the Indians
b. sailing with Columbus on his first voyage
c. being a member of the Calvinist Church in Spain
d. all of the above

11. The origin of a plantation system that used slave labor could be found in
a.  Venetian contacts with the Balkan peninsula landowners.
b.  Hungarian landholding in Serbian areas.
c.  Genoese sugar colonies in Crete and Cyprus.
d.  Brazilian practices.

12. Considering the nature of the slave trade, which of the following is most correct?
a.  the Europeans raided far inland to find slaves.
b.  African slaves fell victim to European infections just as the Indians had.
c.  the American system of slavery in the South was just as brutal as that practiced in the West Indies.
d.  in Brazil and the West Indies slaves were worked to death.

13. The voyage of slaves from Africa to the New World was known as the
a. Horrible Holiday
b. Middle Passage
c. Voyage of Doom
d. Vacation from Hell

14. According to your text, which country had captured 50% of the African slave trade?
a. Britain
b. France
c. Spain
d. China

15. The so-called "price revolution" of the sixteenth century is associated with
a. massive inflation
b. effective government activity to control prices
c. depopulation
d. all of the above

16. Grants of authority over native Americans in Spanish America were called
a. salvillas
b. villanuovos
c. inquiremos
d. encomiendas

17. Economically, the sixteenth century generally featured
a. deflation
b. inflation
c. depression
d. little change

18. The older method of dividing land into strips, which were worked in common by the peasants was called the
a. open field system
b. closed field system
c. collectivization
d. terracing

19. Enclosure was the
a. method of navigating a sailing ship
b. type of clothing worn by peasants
c. changes in methods of landholding and agriculture
d. penalty imposed for theft under English common law

20. Prosperous farmers in English society were called
a. kulaks
b. yeomen
c. sandlots
d. ramps

21. The English practice by which the eldest son inherited all the land was called
a. primogeniture
b. partibility
c. entail
d. probate

22. The manufacturing procedure by which merchant-capitalists distributed raw materials to a number of households in which they were turned into finished or semi-finished goods was called the
a. factory system
b. quillen system
c. putting-out system
d. carnival system

23. Among the innovations in business in the fourteenth-sixteenth centuries was/were
a. more sophisticated banking operations
b. double entry bookkeeping
c. maritime insurance
d. all of the above

24. Your text defines capitalism as essentially a system of
a. public investment
b. government coercion
c. subsistence agriculture
d. private enterprise

25. All of the following are examples of POPULAR culture except
a. cockfighting
b. Carnival
c. chivalry
d. charivari