SOL Quiz 2

Exploration & Colonization

1. Which of the following statements about Columbus is CORRECT?

a. Columbus found a new route to Asia.

b. Columbus proved that the world was round.

c. Columbus was unaware that he discovered a New World.

d. Columbus told Europeans that he had discovered a New World.

Columbus was unaware that he had discovered a New World. Most educated Europeans knew that the world was round; Columbus just thought that it was smaller than it turned out to be.

2. European monarchs who wanted to enrich their countries by exporting more than they imported practiced the economic policy known as

a. capitalism

b. feudalism

c. mercantilism

d. fascism

Mercantilism was an economic policy practiced during the 1600s and 1700s by which nations sought to increase their wealth by exporting more than they imported. To carry out this policy, some European nations founded overseas colonies.

3. Which system of labor did the Spanish employ to persuade the Indians to work their plantations in America?

a. encomienda

b. wage labor

c. serfdom

d. indentured servitude

The Spanish employed a system of forced labor known as encomienda. Under this system, the Spanish Crown granted to a Spanish overlord the right to the labor of a certain number of Indians. In time, they supplemented forced Indian labor with African slavery.

4. Which was a primary means of Christianizing the Native Americans in the Spanish colonies?

a. crusades

b. missions

c. inquisition

d. the new birth

he mission system was the primary means of Christianizing the Native Americans in New Spain. The missions were small religious settlements that the Spanish established throughout New Spain.

5. Initially, the MOST successful European colonial power was

a. Portugal

b. Sweden

c. Spain

d. England

During the 1500s Spain was the most successful European colonial power. They conquered the Aztecs and Incas and seized their gold, silver, and other valuables. Spain's success encouraged other western European countries to establish colonies in the New World.

6. In 1608 the French established a colony in modern-day

a. Delaware

b. Maine

c. Florida

d. Quebec

In 1608 the French established a small trading post in modern-day Quebec on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. Although this territory was taken over by Great Britain in 1763, the British allowed the French to stay in Quebec.

7. Which economic activity in New France created the greatest amount of income for France?

a. fur-trading

b. fishing

c. wine-making

d. cattle-ranching

New France created the most wealth for France through fur-trading. The geography and climate of French Canada discouraged agriculture and husbandry. Canada was, however, an ideal habitat for fur-bearing animals such as beavers.

8. The FIRST person to explore the New World for England was

a. Henry Hudson

b. Sir Francis Drake

c. John Cabot

d. Captain John Smith

John Cabot was the first person to explore the New World for England. He was an Italian navigator who convinced the English king, Henry VII, that he could reach Asia by sailing west, just like Columbus.

9. Sir Walter Raleigh attempted to establish the FIRST English colony in the New World. Where was that first attempt made?

a. Roanoke Island

b. Virginia

c. Nantucket

d. Cape Cod

Between 1585 and 1587 Sir Walter Raleigh attempted to establish the first English colony on Roanoke Island -- an island off the coast of what is now North Carolina. When English ships visited the colony in 1590, the Roanoke settlers were nowhere to be found. Consequently, the Roanoke experiment became known as the "lost colony."

10. Who won the French and Indian War (1754-1763)?

a. French

b. Indians

c. British

d. Americans

The British were victorious in the French and Indian War (also known as the Seven Years' War in Europe). In the Treaty of Paris (1763), France gave up its claims to Canada and lands east of the Mississippi River. With France no longer a force in North America, Great Britain and its colonies became the dominant power on that continent.