Colonial America Practice Questions I

After Columbus discovered the Americas in 1492, many countries sought to establish colonies throughout the world.  What is a colony?

• a.       A piece of land that is controlled by a larger country that is far away

• b.       An area of land that has its own government and its own culture

• c.       A piece of land that is controlled by the country directly beside it

• d.       A colony is something that was taken away from Native Americans

Which of the following is NOT a reason why Europeans were able to so easily defeat the native people?

• a.       They brought diseases which the native people were not immune to

• a.       Many native people thought the Europeans were god-like, so they cooperated

• a.       The superior weaponry of the Europeans were of no match to the native people

• a.       The native people were not trained fighters, thereby making them easy to defeat

Because of a lack of food, John White returned to England to gather more supplies.  When he returned to the island, what did he find?

• Nothing but the words “CROATOAN” on a tree

• Everyone was there to greet him

•   He found the dead bodies of all the colonists

• He found a clan of Native Americans living in the houses that the colonists had built.

  Twenty years after Sir Walter Raleigh received a charter from Queen Elizabeth, King James, issued a charter to the Virginia Company, a type of joint-stock company.  What is a joint-stock company?

• A company that is responsible for mining gold and silver

•     A company that buys and sells stocks in the stock market

•    A group of people who put their money together in order to buy the ships that are needed to explore the New World

• A group of investors who bring their money together with hopes of making a profit on the riches of the New World

King James of England signed a charter that setup Jamestown.  What is Jamestown best known for?

• a.       It was successful because of the gold and silver that was discovered there

• b. Although it was not easy, the colonists made a permanent peace with the native people who lived in the New World

• c. Even though Jamestown came very close to failing, it represents the first successful English colony in North America

• d. Jamestown is the only area where Big Foot is guaranteed to live

 Life at Jamestown was not easy.  Which of the following describes the area where Jamestown was built?

• a. Jamestown was built in a swampy area near James River. Initially, this made it difficult to grow crops.

• b. Jamestown was built on the side of the mountain. The rocky soil made it impossible to have successful harvest

• c. Jamestown was built in between two Native American tribes who were at war – this caused the colonists to undergo countless raids and attacks

• d. The colonists spent almost 2 years clearing out trees, bushes, and rocks in order to build the settlement

Jamestown was the first _________________ colony by the ______________________.

• a. successful, Spanish

• b. human, Aliens

• c. diseased, French

• d. successful, English

Georgia was founded as a ________________________________________.

• a. colony where Catholics could worship freely

• b. colony where debtors could go and work to repay their debts

• c. colony where Quakers could worship freely

• d. colony where people could specialize in fishing

Pennsylvania was founded as a _________________________________.

•       a.  colony where Catholics could worship freely

• b. colony where debtors could go and work to repay their debts

• c. colony where Quakers could worship freely

• d. colony where people could specialize in fishing

Pennsylvania was founded as a _________________________________.

• a. colony where Catholics could worship freely

• b. colony where debtors could go and work to repay their debts

• c. colony where Quakers could worship freely

• d. colony where people could specialize in fishing