UNITED STATES HISTORY: END-OF-YEAR ASSESSMENT STUDY GUIDE KEY
SECTION 1: VOCABULARY
1. encomienda: Grant given by the King of Spain to wealthy settlers in New Spain. Gave settlers control of all the Native Americans living on an area of land
2. expedition: Journey made for a special purpose
3. charter: Official document giving a person or group permission to do something
4. persecution: Unjust treatment because of one’s beliefs
5. proprietor: Owner
6. saga: long, spoken tale repeated from one generation to the next
7. caravan: group of traders traveling together, especially in the desert
8. Renaissance: period in Europe beginning in about 1350 during which there was a new desire to learn more about the arts, sciences, and other parts of the world
9. Columbian Exchange: Movement of people, plants, animals, diseases, and ways of life between the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere following the voyages of Columbus
10. conquistador: Spanish word for conquerors who came to the Americas in the 1500s
Directions: Please use your textbook to locate the answers to the questions below. The End-of-Year Assessment encompasses chapters 3-5. (Page numbers are in parentheses.)
11. Who was the first Portuguese explorer to reach India? (114)
In 1498, Vasco da Gama became the first Portuguese explorer to reach India.
12. How did the Portuguese benefit from exploring the coast of Africa? (113)
Once Portuguese ships reached Africa, they began bringing home gold.
13. What were the effects of European ocean trade routes? (115)
European ocean trade routes created lasting contact between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
14. How did the Vikings get to Newfoundland? Why did they leave? (111)
The Vikings reached Newfoundland by ship and left because there were conflicts with the Native American living there.
15. How did the invention of the printing press contribute to the revival of learning? (112)
Once the printing press was invented, books could be made more cheaply and easily. This allowed ideas to spread more quickly.
16. What was the name of the major trading center that became known as “the land of gold”? (107)
Ghana was the major trading center that became known as “the land of gold.”
17. What type of trade was often made in Ghana? (107)
In Ghana traders often traded gold for salt.
18. What did the Europeans bring to trade in North Africa? (108)
The Europeans brought cloth, horses, and other goods to North African ports.
19. What happened as a result of Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage to Africa? (108-109)
As a result of Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca, stronger trade ties developed between Mali and other Muslim nations.
20. Why did Marco Polo go to China? (103)
The Polos were merchants. Their goal was to bring back valuable trade goods from China.
21. What places did the Silk Road connect? (103)
The Silk Road connected China with many other lands. Goods that traveled the road were sometimes found as far away as Rome.
22. What occurred as a result of Zheng He’s voyages? (104-105)
As a result of Zheng He’s voyages, the demand for Chinese trade goods grew.
23. What new things did Marco Polo find in China? What was not new to him? (102-103)
Paper money, coal, and gunpowder were all new to Marco Polo. The gold coins he saw, however, he had seen before.
24. What was the Silk Road? (103)
The Silk Road was China’s major trade route. It was a network of roads that crossed Asia and brought goods as far as Europe.
25. Why did Columbus sail west on his first expedition? (135)
Columbus wanted to find a shorter and cheaper way to get the riches of Asia, and so he suggested sailing west rather than east. He did not know, however, that an unknown land mass (North and South America) lay between Europe and Asia.
26. Why did Columbus continue to return to the West Indies? (136)
Columbus made three more voyages because Spain wanted him to start a colony in the West Indies that would bring profits to Spain. As a result, he brought people and animals to the new land.
27. What is the Columbian Exchange? (136)
The Columbian Exchange was a movement of people, animals plants, diseases, and ways of life between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
28. What were the effects of the Columbian Exchange? (136)
Because of the Columbian Exchange, Europeans enjoyed new foods from the Americas such as corn, potatoes, tomatoes, cocoa, and beans. However, many Indians died from overwork and the diseases brought over by the Europeans.
29. How did Columbus’s voyages impact the Americas? (136-138)
Columbus showed Europeans the way to the Americas, and his discovery changed the world. Europeans began to come to the New World in large numbers and food, ideas, religious beliefs, and diseases were exchanged.
30. How was Cortes able to defeat the Aztecs? (143)
Even though he was outnumbered by the Aztecs, Cortes had metal armor, muskets (rifles), horses, and allies. In addition, many Aztecs caught and died from European sicknesses or diseases. (HARMS)
31. What Spanish conquistador defeated the Incan Empire? (145)
Francisco Pizarro defeated the Incas.
32. Order the groups in New Spain from the most powerful to the least powerful. (148)
The most powerful group in New Spain was the peninsulares, followed by the creoles, mestizos, Africans, and Indians
33. Describe life on an encomienda. (148-149)
The native peoples worked as farm workers, miners, and servants. They had to work without pay and did not always have enough to eat. They could be beaten and forced to work long hours and were expected to become Christians.
34. Why did the Spanish landowners want to keep slaves? (150)
They wanted to keep slaves because the slaves made them rich. They got their labor for free and fed them little.
35. What did Las Casas believe about the Indians in the encomienda system? (149-151)
Las Casas wanted the slavery of Africans and Indians to end. Because of his efforts, Spain passed laws in 1524 requiring native peoples be paid for their work. The laws, though, were never enforced and were later cancelled.
36. Why did the Pilgrims chose to leave England and come to the New World? (169)
The Pilgrims were being persecuted for their religious beliefs. As a result, they decided to come to the New World so they could practice their religious beliefs without the interference of the government.
37. Why did the Pilgrims go to Plymouth rather than Virginia? (170)
The Pilgrims were on their way to Virginia until storms blew their ship off course. After the main mast cracked, they decided it was safer to stay at Plymouth rather than risk going farther south to Virginia.
38. What difficulties did the Pilgrims face at Plymouth that first winter? (170)
The Pilgrims faced hunger, disease, and the cold brought by a snowy winter. As a result, nearly half the settlers died within the first three months.
39. What group helped the Pilgrims survive at Plymouth Colony? (170)
The Wampanoag helped the Pilgrims survive. Samoset introduced them to Squanto who showed them the best places to hunt and fish, and the proper way to plant crops in the thin, rocky New England soil.
40. Why did the Puritans send a small group of colonists ahead of the others? (172)
The Puritans had learned important lessons from the hardships faced by early settlers in Jamestown and Plymouth. As a result, they sent a small group to New England to get the colony started. These people built small buildings and farms so that the Puritans who arrived later did not face a time of starvation.
41. What happened to dissenters of Puritan rules in Massachusetts? (178)
Those like Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, who disagreed with Puritan rules, were forced to leave the colony.
42. Which region had the longest growing season? (177)
The Southern Colonies had the longest growing season. As a result, rice and indigo can be grown there.
43. Describe the New England colonies. (178)
The New England colonies had thick woods and waters rich in fish and whales.
44. Why did the English want colonies in North America? (157)
Like the Spanish, the English wanted to find gold and other resources in North America.
45. Where did the English first try to start a colony? (157)
The very first English attempt at colonization in the New World occurred at Roanoke Island in 1585. This group faced a difficult winter during which they had trouble finding food. They returned home in 1586 and a new group, led by John White, came back in 1587. This group disappeared and is known as the “Lost Colony.”
46. How did the Jamestown settlers avoid starvation? (159-161)
Under the leadership of John Smith, the settlers farmed the land and dug wells for water. This allowed them to avoid starvation.
47. Why were the Spanish angry enough at the English to begin a war in 1588? (158)
The Spanish were angry because Francis Drake was raiding Spanish ship and taking their gold and treasure. The Spanish were also unhappy because the English were setting up colonies in the New World.
48. What two colonies did the French found as a result of searching for the Northwest Passage? (165)
The French founded Montreal (Royal Mountain) and Quebec.
49. What was the Northwest Passage? Was it ever found? (165)
Explorers believed that a waterway that connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans existed and that the country that found it first would reap great riches. Many of the European powers searched for it, founding many colonies in the process. The Northwest Passage was never found because it doesn’t exist.
50. Why did Quebec grow so quickly? (165)
Quebec grew so quickly because there were millions of beavers in the forests of this region. Huron Indians trapped these beavers and brought the furs to Quebec where they traded them for European goods.
51. Why were explorers searching for a Northwest Passage? (165)
Explorers were searching for an easier and cheaper way for ships to sail from Europe to Asia.
52. Why did Dutch settlers choose Manhattan Island as the site of New Amsterdam? (165)
The Dutch settlers chose Manhattan Island as the site of New Amsterdam because its location allowed them to control trade on the Hudson River.