Historical and Geographical Knowledge Quiz

During the era of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which area saw the greatest number of enslaved people taken to the Americas from Africa?

• Brazil

• United States

• French-controlled Caribbean islands

• British controlled Caribbean islands

The Panama Canal passes through Gatun Lake, which eventually empties into a larger body of water. According to the map, the Panama Canal begins in

• Miraflores Locks.

• the Caribbean Sea.

• the Pacific Ocean.

• Lake Nicaragua.

The area in green (dark) is home to what European language?

• English

• French

• Portuguese

• Spanish

Which area would be most likely to have the SMALLEST population?

• A

• B

• C

• D

Mexico City's most pressing environmental issue is

• mountain erosion.

• dangerous air pollution.

• erosion along the coastline.

• cutting down of the rainforest.

A study in the 1990s found that residents of Mexico City had higher levels of lead and cadmium in their blood than did residents of any other urban area in the world. What is the MOST LIKELY explanation for this?

• diet

• heredity

• air pollution

• water pollution

What issue would be MOST LIKELY to concern the region within the yellow circle?

• severe drought

• rapid urbanization

• suburban overpopulation

• destruction of the rain forests

The MAIN reason for the deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest is

• the need for housing.

• the need to drill for oil.

• the need to clear land for gold mining.

• the need for pasture land for livestock.

Within a century of the conquests in Latin America by Spain and Portugal, the native population had declined considerably from battle and disease. To offset this loss of labor, Spain and Portugal

• imported slaves from Africa.

• encouraged European immigration.

• improved agriculture through new methods of farming.

• improved living conditions for the native populations.

Unlike Great Britain, a significant motivation for Spain to explore and colonize the so-called "New World" was

• to find new areas of raw resources.

• to find new trade routes to East Asia.

• to spread the power of the Catholic Church.

• to destroy civilizations that posed a threat to Europe.