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Early America and the Columbian Exchange
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Early America and the Columbian Exchange
Early America and the Columbian Exchange
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1
Question
How did geography shape Native American cultural diversity?
Page 1
Answer
Different climates and landforms encouraged societies to develop distinctive adaptations, economies, and traditions.
2
Question
What was the central biological consequence of European contact?
Page 2
Answer
European germs caused epidemics, and native populations typically declined by 90 percent within a century.
3
Question
How did European motives drive exploration of the Americas?
Page 1
Answer
Explorers pursued Christianity, wealth, Asian trade routes, mines, plantations, and territorial control.
4
Question
Why did maize cultivation support larger populations?
Page 4
Answer
Maize provided reliable nutrition, enabling larger and more densely settled populations where cultivation spread.
5
Question
Which exchange transformed life across the Atlantic world?
Page 1
Answer
The Columbian Exchange transferred animals, plants, and germs between Europe and the Americas.
6
Question
When did the first permanent English settlement begin?
Page 1
Answer
The first permanent English settlement began at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607.
7
Question
How did the Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas differ geographically?
Page 3
Answer
The Mayas developed in the Yucatán Peninsula, the Aztecs in central Mexico, and the Incas in Peru.
8
Question
Which crop particularly supported the Mayas and Aztecs?
Page 3
Answer
Corn (maize) provided a stable food supply for the Mayas and Aztecs.
9
Question
How did irrigation affect societies in the Southwest?
Page 4
Answer
Maize cultivation encouraged irrigation systems, economic growth, and greater social and economic divisions.
10
Question
Why did Northwest Coast societies develop permanent settlements?
Page 4
Answer
Rich food resources from hunting, fishing, and gathering supported permanent longhouses and plank houses.
11
Question
How did Great Plains societies adapt to their environment?
Page 5
Answer
They developed mobile ways of living centered on hunting buffalo and using portable tipis.
12
Question
How did horses change life for Plains tribes?
Page 5
Answer
Horses made it easier for tribes such as the Lakota Sioux to follow buffalo herds.
13
Question
Which political union united several northeastern tribes?
Page 6
Answer
The Iroquois Confederation, or Haudenosaunee, united the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, and later Tuscarora.
14
Question
How did Native American language diversity compare with European diversity?
Page 4
Answer
More than 20 Native American language families included more than 400 distinct languages, unlike Europe’s largely Indo-European language family.
15
Question
What technological changes made Atlantic exploration practical?
Page 8
Answer
Gunpowder, the sailing compass, improved shipbuilding, improved mapmaking, and the printing press supported exploration.
16
Question
Why did religious conflict encourage European colonization?
Page 9
Answer
Catholic-Protestant conflict encouraged competing powers to spread their own versions of Christianity overseas.
17
Question
What event blocked Europe’s overland route to Asia?
Page 9
Answer
The Ottoman Turks seized Constantinople in 1453, blocking the established land route to Asia.
18
Question
How did Vasco da Gama alter European trade routes?
Page 9
Answer
In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India by sailing around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
19
Question
How did the Treaty of Tordesillas divide claims?
Page 10
Answer
The 1494 treaty placed Brazil within Portugal’s claim and assigned Spain the rest of the Americas.
20
Question
Why did Portugal develop sugar plantations using enslaved labor?
Page 10
Answer
Portuguese traders brought enslaved people from West Africa to provide low-cost labor for profitable sugar plantations.
21
Question
How did nation-states differ from earlier political structures?
Page 10
Answer
Nation-states joined a shared culture and common loyalty to a central government.
22
Question
Why did France develop colonies more slowly than England?
Page 12
Answer
French monarchs were occupied by European wars and internal religious conflict between Roman Catholics and French Protestants known as Huguenots. France developed stronger interest in North American claims only during the following century.
23
Question
Which domestic conditions delayed French colonial expansion during the 1500s?
Page 12
Answer
European wars and internal religious conflict consumed the French monarchy’s attention and resources.
24
Question
What motivated Christopher Columbus to sail westward in the 1490s?
Page 14
Answer
He sought a sea route to the lucrative trade with Asia, which had been limited by a long and dangerous land route.
25
Question
How did technological improvements support European oceanic exploration?
Page 14
Answer
Improved shipbuilding, better compasses, and improved mapmaking made long-distance exploration more feasible and encouraged exploratory ambitions.
26
Question
Which Spanish rulers financed Columbus’s westward expedition in 1492?
Page 14
Answer
Isabella and Ferdinand provided the backing, outfitted three ships, and appointed Columbus governor, admiral, and viceroy of the lands he claimed for Spain.
27
Question
What immediate outcome followed Columbus’s first successful Atlantic crossing?
Page 14
Answer
His arrival in the Bahamas brought him a burst of glory in Spain, although later voyages found little gold, few spices, and no simple route to China and India.
28
Question
How did the Columbian Exchange alter relationships across the Atlantic?
Page 15
Answer
It transferred plants, animals, and germs between the Americas and the Old World for the first time. These biological and cultural exchanges permanently changed both hemispheres.
29
Question
How did American crops affect populations in Eurasia and Africa?
Page 15
Answer
Crops such as beans, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and tobacco transformed diets and contributed to rapid population growth across Eurasia and Africa.
30
Question
Which Old World disease became a major consequence of Atlantic contact?
Page 15
Answer
Syphilis was a new disease contracted by Europeans after contact with the Americas.