Ch 2-New Empires in the Americas

What is the most important reason why English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish merchants began searching for sea routes to Asia in the 1400s?

• Overland trade routes had become more dangerous than they had been.

• Direct access to African goods would have increased profits.

• They wanted to bypass merchants who monopolized Asian products.

• Many educated Asians had become interested in European cultures.

The Columbian Exchange affected American Indian agriculture by getting American Indians to

• use fertilizers.

• grow tomatoes.

• produce tobacco.

• farm barley.

Of the following, who or what did not help Hernan Cortes destroy the Aztec Empire?

• Leif Eriksson

• conquistadors

• Malintzin

• smallpox

How did European diseases in the Americas help create the slave trade?

• European diseases frightened native laborers, who refused to work for the colonists.

• European colonists became too ill to work, so another source of labor had to be found.

• European diseases killed so many Native Americans that a new labor force was needed.

• Because Africans were not immune to European diseases, they had to be forced to work as slaves for the colonists.

Which of the following was not a result of the Portuguese slave trade?

• African communities were broken up.

• Warfare increased among African kingdoms.

• Enslaved Africans suffered terrible living conditions in other countries.

• Portugal endured losses in wealth and power.

The main purpose of Columbus's expedition across the Atlantic was to

• learn as much as possible about other cultures.

• bring back exotic plants and animals.

• claim lands and wealth for Spain.

• create up-to-date maps and charts.

Which of these statements about the impact of the invention of the printing press on the Protest Reformation is false?

• The printing press helped spread the ideas of the Reformation.

• The printing press inspired Martin Luther to criticize church authority.

• Protestants printed Bibles and essays explaining their ideas.

• The printing press let more people read and think about the Bible on their own.

What did Bartolome de Las Casas do to try to change Spain's way of governing in the Americas?

• He wrote books and letters defending the American Indians.

• He revised laws regarding the use of African slaves.

• He complained about the treatment of plantation owners.

• He insisted on the use of American Indians for plantation work.

How did the astrolabe aid explorers in finding new continents?

• It allowed ship navigators to estimate distance from land by measuring the ocean's depth.

• It allowed ship navigators to check location by charting the position of stars.

• It allowed ship navigators to tell direction by aligning a magnetic strip with the North Pole.

• It allowed ship navigators to calculate the rate of travel by measuring the speed of headwinds.

What was the main reason the Spanish Crown established the encomienda system?

• to reward settlers for their service to the Crown

• to entice settlers to convert to Christianity

• to give the settlers an incentive to practice slavery

• to ensure settlers' land remained the property of the crown