midterm history questions
QUIZ 1
1. Why were North and South America settled later than other continents?
a. they were far away and across oceansb. their terrain was unattractive to humans
c. their climate was unattractive to humansd. their flora (plants) and fauna (animals) were unattractive to humans
2. What continent did the ancestors of most Native Americans probably come from?
a. Asia b. Australia c. Europe d. Africa
3. What event later closed America to further land migration and kept the continent isolated from Eurasia and Africa?
a. the weather got colder (Ice Age) and ice blocked human migration b. an overweight mammoth broke the Bering bridge c. the weather got warmer and rising seas flooded the bridges d. tribal warfare among the Inuit (Eskimo)
4. Which of the following is NOT true of the New World cultures of ancient Mexico and Peru?
a. they did not use iron b. either they had no writing, or their writing systems were hard to use/learn
c. they did not use the wheel (except in a few toys) d. their agriculture had a low yield (inefficient)
Which is NOT true of the supposedly ‘primitive’ stone-age civilizations of the New World, the Mayans and Aztecs of Mexico, and the Inca of Peru?
a. they could perform brain surgery b. they had almost no crime
c. they were using ‘zero’ in math–more than a thousand years before Europe
d. their cities had aqueducts and sewage collection far superior than those of London or Paris
e. they were democratic, and all citizens, including women, could vote
4A Which of the following is NOT a big advantage that domesticated animals such as goats, sheep, chickens, cows, water buffalo, camels, horses and donkeys gave to the Old World?
a. leather b. fuel c. power and fertiliser d. cleanliness e. proteins and fats
5. Before 1500, luxury and exotic goods traveled to Europe
a. from Greece and Africa. b. from Asia, then to Italy
c. by river from central Europe. d. by sea from India.
6. Why did the Spanish go far west through the Atlantic instead of the short way east through
the Mediterranean to get Asian goods?
a. the winds in that area blow west, so it’s easier b. the Pope had awarded the eastern route to the Venetians
c. the Venetians and the Turks blocked them from going eastd. constant bull-fighting and drinking Sangria
disoriented them
7. In the end, the conquest of Central and South America brought Spain
a. bankruptcy and decline b. glory and power c. disease and war d. wealth and knowledge
8. The success of the Europeans in conquering the New World can be explained by
a. luck and numbers b. bravery and religion c. weapons and disease d. unity and purpose
9. Europeans got a number of valuable items from the New World, including
a. iron technology. b. corn and potatoes. c. horses. d. microorganisms.
10. As the Indians died off, the Spanish began to import
a. Spanish laborers. b. indentured servants from Spain. c. African slaves. d. indentured servants from Africa
11. A big difference between the Spanish and British way of starting colonies in the New World was
a. British colonies started off very big while Spanish colonies started off small
b. British colonies were paid for and closely controlled by the king
c. British colonies were started for the purpose of converting natives to Christianity, not to get rich
d. British colonies were started by private investors, not by the king
12. The original reason the English settled in Virginia was to
a. find gold b. convert Indians to Christianity c. block the Spaniards from grabbing America d. find tobacco
13. At the start, the Natives of Virginia could probably have totally destroyed the British, who were helpless; instead
they helped them…why?
a. they knew that there was no hope to ever defeat the Europeans
b. the British could become allies to help them against other native tribes
c. the British offered useful things like iron tools and wool blankets
d. the natives were peaceful and their religion strictly forbade any killing
e. both b and c
14. To go from England to the Chesapeake cost about £5-£12, around what an English servant’s or laborer’s
a. week’s wages. b. month’s wages. c. year’s wages. d. lifetime earnings.
14A In the early days of Virginia Colony, 80 to 90% of the British were dying; despite this fact, which of these
is NOT a reason that hundreds of British did go to Virginia?
a. they were homeless people whose farms had been seized b. there was religious war and discrimination in Britain
c. the Spanish had conquered Britain and the Spanish Inquisition was torturing Prostestants
d. false or exaggerated promises had been made to them
15. Which group was NOT used by the British to make up for the very high death rate in Virginia?
a. African slaves. b. indentured servants c. Native American slaves and British convicts
d.homeless children from London
e. no, all of these were used
16. Indentured female servants were not allowed to
a. work in the fields. b. work while pregnant. c. marry. d. smoke.
17. During the 1660s and 1670s, violence between settlers and Indians increased because
a. Indians wanted to regain their old land. b. the local government encouraged it
c. settlers kept taking Indian land. c. there was a severe food shortage.
18. Which was NOT a factor pushing the constant growth of the British colonies?
a. poor whites trying to ‘squat’ on land not already controlled by the rich
b. the rapid expansion of French Canadac. greedy tobacco planting rapidly ‘burned out’ the land
d. speculators trying to make fast money by grabbing land
e. Native American lack of the idea of ‘private property’
18A. Which is NOT a result of the tobacco industry in the 1600s and 1700s?
a. the addictive drug becomes fashionably popular in Europe b. the price of the drug is quite high at first
c. health problems cause authorities to shut down tobacco plantations
d. high prices of tobacco encourage growers to plant more and more…causing tobacco prices to fall
e. falling tobacco prices cause growers to grow even more tobacco
19. Why was there also fighting between British and British in Virginia in 1676 (Bacon’s Rebellion) ?
a. hatred between Catholics and Protestants had spread to the colonies
b. indentured servants and backcountry poor were angry with the rich governing class
c. the conflict in England between the king and Parliament had spread to the colonies
d. blocked by powerful native tribes, the British turned on each other
20. By 1700, 75% of the population of Caribbean ‘sugar islands’ like Barbados was made up of
a. black slaves. b. white servants. c. free white farmers. d. Indians. e. Spaniards
21. Most English settlers faced were killed by
a. disease and starvation. b. disease and Indians. c. starvation and Indians.
d. starvation and Spanish attacks
QUIZ 2
1. With the end of the Civil War after 1660, the English kings began to
a. tax colonies heavily b. lose interest in the colonies.
c. put more attention/control on the colonies d. stop taxing the colonies
2. The ‘Middle Colonies’ (Pennsylvania, New York, etc) were started later than Virginia and New England, but they quickly caught up in population. Why?
a. warmer weather and more forestb. good land, no slave competition, religious freedom
c. better soil quality and warmer weatherd. no Indians in area
3. Most farms in the middle colonies operated using family labor because
a. slaves were not available b. rice required too much water c. growing wheat wasn’t as labor-intensive d. their religion forbade slavery
4. The ‘money’ of exchange between Indians and British colonists was
a. corn. b. furs. c. gold. d. slaves. e. guns
4A. As Natives hunted more and more to get fur to trade for European goods, which of these did NOT happen?
a. Natives learned how to fire and even repair guns…but became dependent on Europeans for gunpowder
b. gradually killed many animals such as beavers and deer in their own areas, hurting the forest ecology
c. having killed or scared away many animals, were forced to invade neighboring Native lands, causing wars with other Natives
d. Natives used European tools and weapons to build powerful towns beyond the Appalachian Mountains
e. so much fur entered the market that prices dropped, forcing the Natives to hunt even more…
4B. Which of these is NOT an item natives commonly traded for with Europeans?
a. paper b. blankets c. cooking pots d. iron tools e. alcohol
5. Guns and tools sold to Natives made life easier, but in the long-term they may have hurt the Natives because
a. many Natives were killed in accidents with the unfamiliar technology b. they made the Natives more powerful than the Europeans c. they reduced the unity of native tribes d. they damaged the natural balance
6. Lots of land meant that overall, it was possible for the colonial population to grow
a. rapidly but with more poverty than Europe b. slowly and without widespread poverty.
c. slowly but with widespread poverty. d. rapidly and with less poverty than Europe
7. By 1700, 75% of the population of Caribbean ‘sugar islands’ like Barbados was made up of
a. black slaves. b. white servants. c. free white farmers. d. Indians. e. Spaniards
8. The rich ‘Sugar Islands’ were mostly important to British North America because
a. they bought cheap New England fish to feed their large slave forceb. they sold them sugar and molasses c. their large populations bought New England manufactured goodsd. a & b e. b & c
9 What were the Navigation Acts?
a. English regulations that told Americans what, where and how they could sell or buy merchandise
b. English regulations that forced American ship captains to improve safety aboard their vessels
c. English regulations that mapped out the exact routes ships would take across the Atlantic
d. English regulations that forced unemployed Americans to become sailors
10. By 1700, the biggest advantage of slave labor over servant labor was that
a. slaves worked harder than indentured servants. b. servants had a high death rate.
c. slaves worked forever d. servants could run away more easily than slaves.
11. Perhaps he most important fact about eighteenth-century colonial America was its
a. economic underdevelopment b. shortage of available land c. very high population growth.
d. very low level of violence.
12. The fast growth of the colonies’ population was mostly the result of
a. high birth rate and immigrationb. end of fighting with Indians and cheap American food
c. young age of women at marriage d. entire families coming to America instead of individuals
13. Which is NOT true of the British colonies in North America as they grew in population?
a. older, richer settlers shared their land with newcomers b. colonial governments became less democratic c. newcomers that wanted land went to the frontier d. land became more expensive
