Section 3-1: the Conquistadores
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Chapter 3 Study Guide
Section 3-1: The Conquistadores
Fill in the blanks:
1. Spanish mercenaries and soldiers who led military expeditions to the Americas were called conquistadores.
2. The Aztecs were a large Native American civilization and empire located in what today is south central Mexico.
3. Hernan Cortes conquered the above civilization in 1519.
4. Moctezuma was the emperor of this civilization.
5. Tenochtitlan was the capital city of this civilization and is the location of Mexico City today.
6. The Incas were a large Native American civilization and empire in the Andes Mountains of South America.
7. Francisco Pizarro conquered the above civilization.
8. Atahualpa was the emperor of this South American empire.
9. Juan Ponce de Leon is credited with claiming Florida for Spain and searching for the mythical Fountain of Youth.
10. Cabeza de Vaca was a conquistador that explored the Gulf Coast, Texas, and New Mexico; captured by and lived with Native Americans for 8 years.
11. Hernando de Soto is credited with being the first European to reach the Mississippi River.
12. Francisco Coronado explored Texas and New Mexico and searched for the mythical Seven Cities of Cibola.
13. Juan Cabrillo was an explorer and conquistador who claimed California for Spain.
Thoroughly answer the following questions:
14. What were some advantages that Cortes and his men had over the Aztecs? Discuss (a) technology, (b) psychology, and (c) other advantages. (a) Aztecs still used Stone Age weapons such as bows and arrows and wooden spears with stone tips; Spanish had muskets, cannons, steel weapons such as swords; Spanish also wore metal armor which better protected them from the enemy (b) Aztecs were afraid of Cortes and his men; thought they might be gods; weapons frightened them; Cortes kidnapped and murdered the Aztec leader, whom the Aztecs considered a god. In their view, only a god can kill another god, leading them to believe that Cortes might be a god himself. (c) Other advantages such as horses, which were important for transportation of people and supplies; Spanish able to recruit various tribes conquered by Aztecs and use them for information and military support
15. (a) What were the primary motivations and goals of the conquistadors? (b) Describe the successes and failures of these men. (c) What else did these men accomplish on behalf of countries like Spain? (a) Primary motivation of the conquistadors was to find wealth and glory for themselves and Spain (b) Some found success, like Cortes and Pizarro; others failed to find massive amounts of wealth and mythical places such as the Fountain of Youth and “cities of gold” (c) Explored and claimed new lands on behalf of Spain in the Americas, added to Spain’s growing empire
16. What caused the deaths of most Native American people, civilizations, and tribes encountered by Europeans? (a) Diseases such as smallpox, measles, etc. caused large numbers of native deaths because they lacked immunity to these illnesses
Section 3-2: Spanish America
Fill in the blanks:
17. The Council of the Indies advised the Spanish king and governed the Spanish territories in the Americas on his behalf.
18. A viceroy is a Spanish royal governor.
19. Towns, settlements, and centers of trade in the Spanish colonies were called pueblos.
20. Settlements dedicated to religious conversion of Native Americans were called missions.
21. Forts designed to protect Spanish settlement in the Americas were called presidios.
22. Philip II was the king of Spain towards the end of the 16th century; proposed marriage to and later declared war on Elizabeth I of England.
23. The encomienda system was a system in which Spanish settlers would use natives for labor and in exchange would teach them Christianity, teach them to farm, and provide them protection from their enemies.
24. Bartolome de las Casas was a Spanish priest that protested the above system’s cruelty and unfairness to Native Americans.
25. Plantations are large farms usually dedicated to the production of a single cash crop.
26. The borderlands were those outlying areas of the Spanish Empire that were far from centers of government control like Mexico City.
27. Juan de Onate founded the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, one of the oldest permanent Spanish settlements in North America.
28. The El Camino Real was a system of roads designed to connect Spanish settlements and towns in the Americas and bring greater Spanish control over their territories.
29. European-born Spanish settlers and citizens in the Americas were called peninsulares and were at the top of the colonial social hierarchy.
30. Spanish settlers and citizens born in the Americas to European parents were called criollos.
31. Those people in the Spanish colonies born to both European and Native American parents were called mestizos.
32. People of European and African parentage in the Americans were called mulattoes.
Thoroughly answer the following questions:
32. Explain why the Spanish (and Europeans in general) began to import African slaves to the Americas. (a) What led to a need for these African laborers in the New World, and (b) what made these Africans well-suited to this type of labor? (a) Europeans began to import African slaves because Native American laborers were dying in large numbers from disease, overwork, and exhaustion (b) Africans were already used to a similar climate and conditions as those found in the Americas; already had somewhat of an immunity to European diseases
33. (a) What was the El Camino Real? (b) Why was it important to the Spanish? (c) What were its specific purposes/benefits? (a) The El Camino Real, or “Royal Road” was a network of roads and highways established in the Spanish American colonies (b) Important because it connected the outlying “borderlands” with centers of government, trade, etc. (c) Allowed for easier and faster transportation of goods, people, and soldiers; Important for defense against hostile natives and other European countries such as France; Allowed for better government control of the borderland regions of Spanish colonies; Allowed for greater spread of missionary work and Christianity to natives in outer reaches of colonies
34. Explain why it was important for the Spanish to settle the areas known as “borderlands”. (a) To gain control of outer regions of colonies; distance from capital often meant less law and order, more government corruption in outlying areas
Section 3-3: Religious and Political Changes in Europe
Fill in the blanks:
35. Martin Luther was a German priest who wanted to reform the Catholic Church.
36. The above priest started a movement to reform the Church called the Protestant Reformation.
37. Henry VIII was an English king who broke from the Catholic Church and formed the Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church.
38. Philip II was the king of Spain at the time of the Reformation and the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
39. Elizabeth I was a queen of England who never married, stood firm and resisted Spanish power, and is considered one of England’s greatest monarchs.
40. The Sea Dogs were English privateers, or “legal” pirates hired to attack England’s enemies at sea, particularly Spanish ships.
41. Francis Drake was the most famous of the above group and became the first Englishman to sail around the world.
42. The Spanish Armada was a massive fleet of Spanish warships sent to invade England in 1588.
43. The term inflation describes the gradual rise in prices of goods or the gradual loss of a currency’s value.
Thoroughly answer the following questions:
44. (a) Who was Martin Luther? (b) Did Martin Luther wish to form an entirely new form of Christianity or simply make changes within the Catholic Church? (c) What practices specifically concerned him? (d) What invention made the Bible more accessible to the masses? (e) Luther’s questioning of Church practices led to what important social/political reform movement in Europe? (a) Martin Luther was a German priest who nailed his 95 theses (conclusions) about Church practices and problems to a church door (b) Wanted to reform, or change, the Catholic Church from within, not create an entirely new branch of Christianity (c) Concerned with the ornamentation of the Catholic Mass; the sale of indulgences to absolve from sin rather than confession; mismanagement of church money; Church was too politically powerful; wanted people to have a closer, more personal relationship with God vs. relying on a priest to act as an interpreter or middle man; wanted people to have greater access to the Bible in their native language (d) The printing press allowed for Bibles to be mass produced in people’s native languages such as English, French, Spanish, German, etc. This allowed more people to read the Bible and interpret it for themselves; also made the Bible more affordable to the average person (e) Led to the Protestant Reformation
45. (a) How did Elizabeth I respond to the aggression of Spain’s Philip II? (b) What event signaled the end of Spain as the world’s most powerful empire? (a) England was less powerful than Spain at the time; rather than declaring war on Spain, Elizabeth I hired privateers known as “Sea Dogs” to attack Spanish shipping around the world; that way, she could deny England’s direct involvement in the attacks (b) The defeat of the Spanish Armada, a huge invasion fleet that was to invade England, in 1588. Spanish put a great deal of resources into the fleet, and with its defeat at the hands of a smaller, faster English navy, this signaled the decline of Spanish power and England’s power would begin to rise
46. Explain how Spanish gold and silver exports to Europe brought about inflation in Spain. (a) So much gold and silver was exported from the Americas to Spain that the price of these metals dropped dramatically due to such a large supply; since much of Spain’s money was in silver and gold coins, the value of their currency dropped dramatically, leading to widespread inflation, or the loss of value in one’s currency and the corresponding rise in prices of goods and services. This led many Spanish to purchase fewer domestic goods, and import cheaper, foreign products, further damaging Spain’s economy
Section 3-4: The Race for Empires
Fill in the blanks:
47. A document that gives official government permission to form a new business, organization, etc. is called a charter.
48. Rene-Robert de La Salle was a French explorer who travelled the length of the Mississippi River and claimed the Mississippi River Basin/Valley for France.
49. Peter Minuit was a Dutchman who purchased Manhattan Island and founded the settlement of New Amsterdam.
50. Walter Raleigh was an Englishman who tried to establish a colony at Roanoke Island in present day North Carolina.
Thoroughly answer the following questions:
51. (a) Where did the French primarily settle in the Americas? (b) What was their main source of income/economic goal? (c) What major city did they found as a port to export goods back to Europe, and where was it located? (a) French primarily settled in areas that today are Canada (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Quebec, etc.) and the Great Lakes region (b) Main source of income was the trapping and trading of furs (c) Founded the city of New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi River, which would become a major trading route for the French fur trade in North America; allowed the cheap and easy transport of goods and people
52. How did the Dutch attract new settlers to New Netherlands? (a) Dutch attracted new settlers to New Netherlands with the promise of religious tolerance and freedom for all of its inhabitants (b) Also, the availability of cheap land and the promise of a new, better life for many Dutch and other Europeans
53. (a) Were the first attempts at English settlement successful? Explain why or why not. (b) Who were two early English leaders who tried to found settlements in North America? (a) The first attempts at English settlement were failures; were not successful because the English were ill-prepared for the hard work and dangers they would face; lack of supplies; conflict with natives; people chose not to work together but instead fend for themselves, looking for wealth and natural resources rather than focusing on own survival (b) Attempts by Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh to settle in what today is New England and the Carolinas