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WorksheetsThe Age of Exploration and the First North American Colonies
Total questions: 35
Worksheet time: 18mins
Which was not one of the new technologies used in early European exploration?
caravels
astrolabe
compass
sundial
Whose book inspired European traders to travel to Asia to buy and sell goods such as silks and spices?
Christopher Columbus
Marco Polo
Prince Henry
Leif Erickson
Who opened a school for the purpose of making better ships, maps, and tools for navigation?
Christopher Columbus
Marco Polo
Prince Henry
Leif Erickson
Who sailed from Europe in about A.D. 1000 and reached what is now present day Newfoundland?
Christopher Columbus
Marco Polo
Prince Henry
Leif Erickson
Who was able to get the King and Queen of Spain to fund his expeditions?
Christopher Columbus
Marco Polo
Prince Henry
Leif Erickson
Choose the best reason Europeans began to look for a sea route to Asia?
to find a faster and easier trade route
to use the new technology
because it would be more fun than going by land
Choose the best definition for treaty?
a handshake between friends
a written document
an agreement between countries
Which explorer realized he and other explorers had not found Asia but lands not yet known to Europeans. He showed the world was bigger than people thought.
Amerigo Vespucci
John Cabot
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
Ferdinand Magellan
Which explorer was the first to circumnavigate, go around, the world?
Amerigo Vespucci
John Cabot
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
Ferdinand Magellan
Which explorer crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached the Pacific Ocean, although he did not name it the Pacific.
Amgerigo Vespucci
John Cabot
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
Ferdinand Magellan
What is the best definition for conquistador?
a Spanish settler
Spanish explorers and soldiers
Spanish missionaries
Who was the first explorer to set foot on land that became part of the United States and named what is now the state of Florida?
Hernando Cortes
Juan Ponce de Leon
Martin Luther
Which Spanish explorer led the attacks that helped defeat the Aztec Empire?
Hernando Cortes
Juan Ponce de Leon
Francisco Pizarro
Most of the Spanish interactions with the Native Americans were positive.
True
False
The Catholic Church sent missionaries to the new world to spread the Catholic faith.
true
false
What word means is the best choice to the definition: rebel against the leader on one's group?
treason
revolt
mutiny
Why did many European countries and explorers try to find a Northwest Passage?
to find a more scenic route to Asia
to find a way to get more land than other countries
to find a faster way to Asia to gain wealth and power
Which explorer has 2 bodies of water named after him, went on 4 voyages, and ended his explorations by having his crew mutiny and set him adrift never to been seen again?
Giovanni de Verrazano
Jacques Cartier
Henry Hudson
Which explorer found the Northwest Passage?
Jacques Cartier
Henry Hudson
Both of them
Neither of them
What did Spain do to protect its land claims in the Americas?
send missionaries
form colonies
elect government leaders
What is the best definition of colony?
a town
land ruled by the people who live there
land ruled by another country
The first permanent successful colony created by the English was what?
Jamestown
Roanoke
Santa Fe
Workers who came to the colonies and agreed to work without pay for a certain number of years in exchange for their voyage being paid for were called what?
indentured servants
slaves
stock owners
Members of the Virginia Colony created a legislature called what?
Parliment
Congress
House of Burgesses
Why did the Pilgrims want to go to North America?
to gain wealth
to gain religious freedom
to have an adventure
Why was the Mayflower Compact important?
It presented new ideas.
It gave the Pilgrims the right to govern themselves
It gave the Pilgrims the right to build a settlement.
Which was something that Tisquantum (Squanto) did not do to help the Pilgrims?
teach them to get food
teach them to sew clothes
teach them to trade with Native American tribes
The relationship between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans started very positive. What happened to cause it to change?
The colonists wouldn't speak the Native American language.
More colonists arrived and began to settle more of the Native American's land.
Colonists left and went back to England.
Why did French merchants help set up settlements in North America?
They wanted the Native Americans' gold.
They wanted wealth that came from the fur trade.
They wanted to control the route to Asia
They wanted to force the Spanish off their land.
They wanted to control the route to Asia.
What was the aim of Dutch settlers coming to North America?
to profit from the fur trade
to find good farmland
to escape war in Europe
to practice their religion
What kept Marquette and Joilet from reaching the mouth of the Mississippi River?
They got lost.
They ran out of food.
They were attacked by Native Americans.
They feared meeting Spanish soldiers.
What country claimed the colony called Louisiana?
France
England
the Dutch
the Spanish
What was one problem that early French settlements faced?
The regions of Louisiana and New France failed to attract people who wanted to settle there.
Native Americans refused to trade with the French.
Spanish soldiers attacked French forts.
Colonies grew quickly, and good land was scare.
The Native Americans knew they were selling Manhattan Island to the Dutch.
True
False
The main reasons that explorers set out during the "Age of Exploration" were?
God
Glory and Guts (fame and adventure)
Gold
all of the above
