AP European History: Age of Exploration

Which of the following characterizes the role of Europe in the system of world trade prior to the voyage of Columbus?

• Europe served as the most important market for products because it produced few goods.

• Europe was the major western node of the trading system that produced high-quality textiles and metalwork desired by others.

• Europe provided the banking and financial services that sustained the world trading system.

• Europe was a minor outpost that produced few products desired by other civilizations.

Which major change in the world economy prompted European exploration in the late fifteenth century?

• A decline in the Chinese population led to a shrinking market in Asia for European goods.

• The Mongols discouraged trade between China and the West.

• The Genoese took over the spice trade from Venice.

• The Ottomans expanded territorially and dominated trade routes.

What impact did the reconquista have on Spain’s exploration and conquest?

• It encouraged the Spaniards to immediately attack the Ottoman Empire.

• It meant that there were fewer opportunities for ambitious young men within Spain.

• The conquest of Granada was accompanied by anti-Muslim riots.

• Spain acquired huge sums of money to fund Columbus’s voyages.

• Many of the conquered Spanish Muslims acted as navigators and pilots.

How did technology and better scientific information fuel the explorations?

• The magnetic compass allowed sailors to calculate their longitude.

• Ptolemy’s Geography gave a reasonably accurate estimate of the distance from Europe to Asia

• The recent European invention of the astrolabe made sea navigation possible.

• Caravels with lateen sails were more maneuverable and could carry more than previous ships.

• Cannons proved useful in almost every climate and condition.

For Spain, the most important consequence of Magellan’s voyage was that

• Portugal ceded Goa to Spain

• It led to the immediate conquest and colonization of the Philippines.

• Spain became discouraged from competing with Portugal for the Asian spice trade.

• Spain focused more on the Asian trade rather than on the New World for the next passage to Asia via the Atlantic Portugal ceded Goa to Spain

The Spanish set up the encomienda system in the New World to create

• A system of forced labor for the Amerindians

• The sugar plantation system in the Caribbean islands

• The outright enslavement of the Amerindians

• The establishment of churches for the Amerindians with services in their languages

• The use of African slaves as laborers

What characterized French colonization efforts in the Americas during the sixteenth century?

• Despite large numbers of settlers, the colonies were not a success.

• The French government sponsored large-scale settlement of Canada

• Most French settlement and exploration took place in the Caribbean

• Only a small number of French settled permanently, but the French traded and explored over vast distances.

How did Michel de Montaigne respond to the civil anarchy and war of the sixteenth century?

• He accepted that disunity and conflict were part of human existence.

• He promoted skepticism and cultural relativism.

• He felt confidence in the ultimate victory of absolute truth.

• He emphasized persistence to overcome conflict.

What best describes the nature of the cultural changes that followed the European presence in the Americas?

• Native cultures were essentially destroyed by warfare.

• Native cultures were transformed by disease and warfare, but those societies also influenced European development.

• Native cultures were transformed by contact, while European cultures remained essentially unchanged.

• Both European and native cultures were devastated by disease and conflict related to their contact.

What role did viceroys play in colonial New Spain?

• They had largely symbolic duties.

• They were the chief religious authorities in the colonies.

• They served as military commanders who answered to corregidores.

• They had broad civil and military authority.