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Chapter 1: Meet the Colonists

Total questions: 15

Worksheet time: 8mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which term best describes a person who moves from one country to another to live?

a)

Explorer mapping new lands

b)

Native resident staying put

c)

Immigrant starting a new life

d)

Colonist seeking local trade

2.

By 1750, how many English colonies existed along the East Coast of North America?

a)

Twenty frontier colonies

b)

Ten coastal colonies

c)

Five established colonies

d)

Thirteen English colonies

3.

Which statement explains a major reason many Europeans came to the colonies in the 1700s?

a)

To avoid farm work entirely

b)

To enforce strict trade rules

c)

To gain opportunities and land

d)

To return to their old towns

4.

What proportion of people brought from Africa were enslaved and traveled unwillingly?

a)

About one in five people

b)

About one in two people

c)

About two in five people

d)

Almost none of the people

5.

Most colonial families lived on farms. Which activity best shows their self-sufficiency, or ability to live on their own?

a)

Buying all tools at markets

b)

Importing furniture monthly

c)

Hiring crews to build homes

d)

Making clothes and tools

6.

Look at the harbor illustration. Which detail is related to immigration in the colonies?

a)

Soldiers guarding a fort

b)

Large sailing ships arriving

c)

Closed warehouses inland

d)

Empty docks at sunrise

7.

Which statement best describes how colonists lived?

a)

Farmers relied mainly on imported European goods

b)

Families produced most daily necessities themselves

c)

Plantations bought everything from distant port cities

d)

Villagers depended on government stores for supplies

8.

What reason most increased the size and importance of port cities like Philadelphia in the mid-1700s?

a)

Discovery of gold near eastern seaports

b)

Growth of trade with colonies and other countries

c)

Closure of rural markets and fairs

d)

Military bases replacing fishing villages

9.

Which job was commonly created by expanding trade and shipping activity?

a)

Hunting whales on inland rivers

b)

Teaching Latin in rural parish schools

c)

Planting crops in isolated mountain farms

d)

Loading and unloading cargo at city docks

10.

Immigrant groups began sharing ideas and customs over time. Which example shows this exchange clearly?

a)

Settlers from many countries building Swedish-style log cabins

b)

Colonists returning to Europe to learn architecture

c)

Frontier families adopting royal British fashions

d)

Merchants refusing to copy foreign building methods

11.

Look at the scene of colonists building near log cabins. Which statement best explains how such settlements supported cultural diffusion in the colonies?

a)

Communities banned foreign words and new practices

b)

Settlers lived far apart and rarely shared customs

c)

Colonists avoided contact to protect private traditions

d)

Neighbors exchanged tools and farming methods

12.

What makes American English unique?

a)

American English is the same as other forms of English

b)

American English borrows words from other languages, like Dutch, German, and Swedish

c)

The language is harder to learn

d)

Dutch people were the first people to begin using American English

13.

Why did improved roads in the 1750s help colonists develop a shared identity?

a)

Faster mail spread the same news widely

b)

Roads kept cities isolated from farms

c)

Travel slowed trade between regions

d)

Colonists stopped borrowing new words

14.

Using the map, which colony belongs to the Middle Atlantic region?

a)

Pennsylvania

b)

Georgia

c)

Massachusetts

d)

South Carolina

15.

A newspaper editor in Boston wants the countryside to read city news sooner. Which change would best make this happen in the mid-1750s?

a)

Increase mail delivery from once every other week to weekly

b)

Close muddy roads to reduce wear and tear

c)

Limit printers to publish less frequently

d)

Send messages only by ships along the coast