8th SS STAAR - Exploration & Colonization

Why did European explorers search for the Northwest Passage?

• To find the legendary Seven Cities of Gold

• To discover new technology for crossing the Atlantic Ocean

• To find the legendary waters of the Fountain of Youth

• To discover a new sea route to Asia

Answer explanation

European explorers were searching for an ocean passage through North America to the Asian spice islands.

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S2491047

In the early days of the colonies, a belief in these rights helped lead to -

• the establishment of royal courts

• the growth of representative government

• the implementation of the mercantile system

• the abolishment of indentured servitude

Answer explanation

The right to life, liberty, and property was wanted by the colonists. This led to them wanting their own local representative governments in the colonies.

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S2491050

Why is this sequence of events important?

• Colonists created a legislature with two houses

• Colonists declared independence from English rule

• Colonists defended the concept of unalienable rights

• Colonists established a tradition of self-government

Answer explanation

The Mayflower Compact was a social contract signed by the Pilgrims in 1620.

A social contract is an example of self-government.

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S2491051

Which geographic feature allowed the Mid-Atlantic colonies to have a longer growing season than the New England colonies?

• Thick forests

• Navigable rivers

• Flat land with rocky soil

• Mild climate

Answer explanation

The Mid-Atlantic (Middle) colonies had a mild climate and good soil for farming.

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S2491099

An immigrant sails to North America in the early 1700s hoping to start a tobacco farm. He has done some research on the best environment for tobacco farming. Where is the immigrant most likely to settle?

• Massachusetts

• Virginia

• Rhode Island

• Pennsylvania

Answer explanation

Virginia is in the southern colonies, which had rich fertile soil and a warm climate allowing for the easy growing of tobacco.

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S2491102

Which factor was a reason for the trade system illustrated on this map?

• Labor demands of the factory system

• Invention of the steamboat

• Labor demands of the plantation system

• Invention of the mechanical loom

Answer explanation

The map shows the movement of slaves from western Africa to the Americas because of the labor demands of the plantation system.

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S2491107

Which group helped establish the colony of Maryland in the 1630s?

• English Catholics seeking religious freedom

• Spanish workers seeking job opportunities

• Irish families escaping a natural disaster

• Russian merchants escaping political conflict

Answer explanation

Maryland was established by the Catholics in the 1630s as an escape from religious persecution. They were seeking religious freedom.

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S2491150

What was the INITIAL reason many European explorers sailed to the Americas?

• To find new trade routes to Asia

• To form military alliances

• To spread Christianity to Africa

• To find new sources of cheap labor

Answer explanation

European explorers were in search of new trade routes to the Asian spice islands and were trying to find a western route.

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S2491047

Which of these describes the primary reason for French colonization of North America?

• To convert American Indians in the Southwest to Catholicism

• To cultivate cash crops in the Chesapeake Bay area

• To extract precious metals from mines in present-day Mexico

• To profit from fur trading in the Great Lakes region

Answer explanation

The French came to North America in search of fur to sell

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S2491047

Which reason best completes this list?

• To spread democratic ideals

• To improve efficiency in manufacturing

• To locate potential military allies

• To claim new territory

Answer explanation

Europeans explored for God, Gold, and Glory.

Glory includes expanding empires and claiming new territory.

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