BP Conquistadors

1. Which word best describes how the conquistadors treated the people they conquered?

• a. Fairly

• b. Cruelly

• c. Generously

• d. Indifferently

2. Which European was the first to arrive in the Americas?

• a. Francisco Pizarro

• b. Hernán Cortés

• c. Christopher Columbus

• d. Hernando de Soto

3. Why did the king of Spain want so much gold and land?

• a. He wanted to make the conquistadors rich and powerful

• b. He wanted to build expensive new palaces

• c. He wanted to impress female suitors

• d. He wanted to dominate other European empires

4. Why would the conquistadors bring this man with them to the Americas?

• a. To help the Spaniards hold religious services

• b. To perform weddings between Spanish soldiers and native women

• c. To teach the Spanish soldiers about Christianity

• d. To convert the native peoples to Christianity

5. If a Native American society refused to convert to Christianity, what would usually happen to them?

• a. They'd be allowed to worship their traditional gods

• b. They'd be destroyed

• c. They'd be forced to attend religious education classes

• d. They'd be allowed to convert to Judaism instead

6. Which of the following items did Europeans have, and Native Americans lack?

• a. Horses

• b. Kings

• c. Religion

• d. Weapons

7. Why did smallpox kill so many of the natives in the Americas, but so few conquistadors?

• a. The conquistadors had been vaccinated against smallpox

• b. The natives had poor hygiene, while the Spanish were very clean

• c. The smallpox virus was designed to only infect native populations

• d. The natives had never been exposed to European diseases

8. Why do so many people in Latin America speak Spanish or Portuguese?

• a. They are subjects of the kings of Spain and Portugal

• b. Their countries were once Spanish or Portuguese colonies

• c. They are descended from Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors

• d. They are immigrants from Spain and Portugal

9. Encomiendas were most similar to:

• a. Slave plantations in the old American South

• b. Large factory farms in the American Midwest

• c. Collective farms in the old Soviet Union

• d. Rice paddies in Southeast Asia

10. By the end of the 19th century, most Latin American countries were:

• a. Still under Spanish control

• b. Conquered by Portugal

• c. Independent from Spain

• d. No longer Spanish-speaking