Lesson 14 Review 2024–2025

Which of the following best explains why Portugal was the first European country to explore the African coast and expand maritime trade?

• The Portuguese sought to avoid conflicts with Muslim traders in the Mediterranean.

• Portugal was the only European nation with access to the Atlantic Ocean.

• Prince Henry the Navigator encouraged exploration and invested in navigation technologies.

• The Portuguese government required all citizens to become sailors.

Why did Spain and Portugal negotiate the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494?

• to avoid conflicts over land claims in the Americas

• to create an official trade alliance between their colonies

• to ensure the pope couldn’t claim control of new territories

• to stop other European nations from exploring overseas

How did the Columbian Exchange contribute to European dominance?

• It brought new crops and livestock to the Americas, boosting farming.

• It allowed European nations to gain wealth from overseas trade.

• It helped spread European culture and traditions to new lands.

• It caused diseases to spread, weakening indigenous resistance.

What was the main economic purpose of the trans-Atlantic slave trade for European powers?

• to expand religious influence by converting African communities

• to provide a steady workforce for colonial plantations and mines

• to develop new markets for European manufactured goods

• to send criminals abroad and lower crime rates at home

What was one of the main reasons European nation-states supported exploration and colonization?

• to find new routes to Africa to spread Christianity

• to create alliances with indigenous American empires

• to gain direct access to trade goods like spices and gold

• to establish peaceful relations with Asian trading empires

What was the primary reason European explorers sought to bypass the Middle Eastern and Italian traders in the Mediterranean?

• They wanted to avoid paying high prices for luxury goods.

• They sought to convert Middle Eastern traders to Christianity.

• They preferred traveling over land rather than by sea.

• They were forbidden from trading in the Mediterranean.

Which of the following best describes how mercantilism contributed to European colonial expansion?

• Mercantilism encouraged colonies to develop their own independent economies.

• European states sought colonies as sources of raw materials and markets for finished goods.

• Mercantilism promoted free trade and fair competition between European states.

• European governments discouraged overseas expansion to avoid economic imbalances.

How did the trans-Atlantic slave trade change the economies of European colonies in the Americas?

• It provided a cheap labor force for plantation agriculture and mining.

• It led to the elimination of forced labor systems in Spanish colonies.

• It encouraged indigenous groups to establish their own plantations.

• It reduced European profits by increasing the cost of labor.

What was one long-term effect of the Columbian Exchange?

• European economies became dependent on gold and silver from Asia.

• Wars and food shortages led to a decline in the world’s population.

• New crops led to population growth in Europe and Asia.

• Indigenous traditions and customs replaced European cultural practices.

How did Italian city-states such as Venice and Genoa participate in trade during the first global age?

• They carried enslaved people to the Americas in exchange for gold.

• They bought luxury goods from Muslims and traded them in Europe.

• They developed self-sufficient economies to avoid relying on imports.

• They monopolized trade with China through the Silk Road.