AP US History (APUSH) Unit 1: Period 1, 1491-1607 Practice Questions with Explanations
Questions
APUSH Period 1 (1491–1607) focuses mainly on which theme?
- Conflict between Britain and its colonies over taxation
- The founding and growth of the thirteen English colonies
- The westward expansion of the new United States
- Contact among Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans
Period 1 ends in 1607, the year that
- the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth
- Spain founded St. Augustine in Florida
- the English founded Jamestown in Virginia
- Columbus first reached the Caribbean
Which European power dominated colonization of the Americas during most of Period 1?
- England
- The Netherlands
- France
- Spain
The spread of maize cultivation from present-day Mexico northward into the American Southwest most directly encouraged which development?
- A shift toward nomadic hunting across the region
- The rise of large, horse-mounted buffalo-hunting societies
- Permanent settlements with more complex social structures
- A sharp decline in trade between Native peoples
Which statement best describes Pueblo peoples of the Southwest before European contact?
- They hunted buffalo on horseback across the open Plains
- They lived in palisaded longhouse villages in thick northern forests
- They relied mainly on salmon runs and coastal whaling
- They built multistory adobe homes and irrigated maize fields
Why did many peoples of the Great Basin and Great Plains develop mobile hunting-and-foraging lifestyles before contact?
- European settlers had already pushed them off their farmland by 1400
- They used horses to follow the buffalo herds year-round
- Their religious beliefs forbade building any permanent homes
- Their dry lands could not easily support large-scale maize farming
Which factor best explains how Pacific Northwest peoples such as the Chinook supported permanent villages without relying heavily on farming?
- Extensive trade with nearby Spanish missions
- Large irrigated maize fields along the coast
- Abundant salmon and forest resources
- Herds of domesticated cattle and sheep
Native societies of the Northeast and Mississippi River Valley before contact are best described as
- fully nomadic, following buffalo herds across the Plains without fixed homes
- dependent on irrigation canals in a desert climate
- mixing farming with hunting and living in permanent villages
- organized into one centralized empire like the Aztecs
The Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) of the Northeast typically lived in
- longhouses within permanent farming villages
- portable tipis moved with the seasons
- adobe pueblos built into canyon cliff walls
- stone temple cities ruled by a god-king
Which was NOT one of the original Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy?
- Seneca
- Onondaga
- Cherokee
- Mohawk
Which statement accurately describes the role of women in Iroquois society?
- Women served as the main hunters and warriors
- Women were barred from owning or farming land
- Women had no role at all in political or clan decisions
- Clan mothers chose and could remove male leaders
Cahokia, near present-day St. Louis, is best known as
- an Inca fortress built high in the Andes
- a Spanish mission built to convert local peoples
- the capital city of the Aztec Empire in central Mexico
- a large Mississippian city with huge earthen mounds
The "Three Sisters" grown together by many Native farmers were
- tobacco, cotton, and indigo
- wheat, barley, and oats
- maize, beans, and squash
- potatoes, rice, and sugarcane
Many Native societies viewed land primarily as
- the personal property of a single hereditary king
- worthless unless it held valuable deposits of gold or silver
- a commodity to be bought and sold by individuals
- a resource for shared use rather than private property
The wide variety of Native American societies in North America before 1492 is best explained by
- adaptation to very different environments
- the influence of early Spanish missionaries
- regular migration from Europe across the Atlantic
- one empire assigning roles to each region
Cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde and great houses at Chaco Canyon were built by
- the Chinook
- Ancestral Puebloans
- the Aztecs
- the Iroquois Confederacy
The Hohokam of present-day Arizona are notable for
- forming a confederacy of five nations
- hunting whales along the Pacific coast
- constructing stepped pyramid temples across the Yucatán Peninsula
- digging extensive irrigation canals to farm in the desert
Maize was first domesticated in
- the Andes
- the Great Plains
- Mesoamerica
- the Eastern Woodlands
The capital of the Aztec (Mexica) Empire was
- Chichén Itzá
- Cahokia
- Cuzco
- Tenochtitlan
The Inca Empire was centered in
- the Andes Mountains of South America
- the Valley of Mexico
- the Yucatán Peninsula
- the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys of North America
Which was a notable achievement of the Inca Empire?
- A vast road network across its mountain lands
- Large herds of horses used in warfare
- Iron weapons forged in large foundries
- The first phonetic alphabet in the Americas
Peoples along the Atlantic seaboard before contact generally
- combined farming with hunting, fishing, and gathering
- survived mainly by herding domesticated animals
- lived under one empire ruled from the coast
- relied entirely on large-scale irrigation agriculture in dry valleys
Compared with peoples of the Great Plains, Pueblo peoples of the Southwest were more likely to
- follow migrating herds across long distances
- lack any trade connections with other groups
- rely on salmon fishing for most of their food
- live in permanent, farm-based settlements
Which were features of Mississippian societies such as Cahokia?
- Horses used to carry goods along trade routes
- Iron tools obtained from European traders
- Large earthen mounds used for ceremonies and elite homes
- Maize-based farming that supported dense populations
Horses were common among Native peoples of the Great Plains before European contact.
Cahokia was located in central Mexico.
The Cherokee of the Southeast before contact were primarily
- seafaring traders along the Pacific coast
- farmers living in towns along river valleys
- nomadic buffalo hunters on the open Plains
- herders of sheep and goats in the desert
Shells, copper, and obsidian found far from their sources suggest that before 1492 Native peoples
- had no contact with groups beyond their villages
- used gold coins as a standard currency
- took part in long-distance trade networks
- traded mainly with Norse settlers in Greenland
Shoshone and Paiute peoples of the Great Basin survived mainly by
- trading furs with French merchants in Quebec
- deep-sea fishing from permanent coastal villages
- large-scale maize farming supported by extensive irrigation canals
- seasonal foraging, small-game hunting, and gathering seeds
In some Native societies, maize surpluses helped produce
- a complete and lasting end to warfare between neighboring groups
- the immediate disappearance of hunting
- social classes and specialized jobs beyond farming
- an economy based on European currency
The potlatch, a ceremonial gift-giving feast that displayed status, was associated with
- the Iroquois
- Pueblo peoples of the Southwest
- Pacific Northwest peoples
- the Aztecs
Which pair correctly matches a region with its pre-contact way of life?
- Northwest Coast: fishing villages
- Great Plains: irrigated maize towns
- Southwest: whaling and salmon fishing
- Great Basin: large stone cities
Which best describes the main motives for European exploration in the 1400s and 1500s?
- Finding farmland for Europe's growing population
- Wealth, spreading Christianity, and national power
- Setting up penal colonies for convicted criminals
- Escaping religious persecution and founding democracies
The Ottoman capture of Constantinople in 1453 encouraged European exploration mainly because Europeans
- wanted sea routes to Asia that avoided Ottoman-controlled trade
- received Ottoman funding for Atlantic voyages
- were inspired by Ottoman maps that showed the Americas in detail
- needed new lands to settle refugees from the war
Which technology did NOT contribute to European voyages of exploration in the 1400s?
- Steam-powered ships
- The caravel
- The magnetic compass
- The astrolabe
The caravel was important to exploration because it
- was powered by oars and needed no wind
- was armored with iron plates to protect it against enemy cannon
- could sail into the wind and travel long distances
- could carry thousands of colonists at once
Prince Henry the Navigator helped Portugal lead early exploration by
- personally sailing around the Cape of Good Hope
- signing the Treaty of Tordesillas with Spain
- sponsoring voyages and advances in navigation
- founding the first colony in North America
In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to
- reach the islands of the Caribbean
- sail all the way around the globe
- see the Pacific Ocean from Panama
- sail around the southern tip of Africa
Vasco da Gama's voyage of 1497–1499 was significant because it
- founded Spain's first colony in the Americas
- opened a direct sea route from Europe to India
- proved the Americas were a separate continent
- located the Northwest Passage to Asia
Columbus's 1492 voyage was sponsored by
- Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain
- Francis I of France
- Henry VII of England
- John II of Portugal
Columbus believed his first voyage had
- found a continent unknown to Europeans
- reached islands off the coast of Asia
- landed on the west coast of Africa
- located the Northwest Passage to China
How did the completion of the Reconquista in 1492 affect Spanish exploration?
- It ended Spain's interest in spreading Christianity
- It forced Spain to abandon all overseas voyages
- It gave Spain control of Portugal's African trading posts
- It freed resources and strengthened religious zeal
The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
- banned the enslavement of Native peoples by Spain
- ended the Hundred Years' War between England and France
- divided newly claimed lands between Spain and Portugal
- granted England the right to settle North America
Why did Brazil become a Portuguese colony while most of South America became Spanish?
- Native peoples in Brazil invited Portuguese rule
- Portugal defeated Spain in a long war over South American territory
- Brazil fell on Portugal's side of the Tordesillas line
- Spain sold Brazil to Portugal to pay off war debts
John Cabot's 1497 voyage gave which nation a claim to parts of North America?
- The Netherlands
- France
- Spain
- England
Jacques Cartier's voyages up the St. Lawrence River in the 1530s supported later claims by
- Portugal
- France
- Spain
- England
In 1513, Vasco Núñez de Balboa became the first European to
- conquer the Inca Empire in Peru
- cross Panama and reach the Pacific Ocean
- sail around the southern tip of Africa into the Indian Ocean
- explore the Florida peninsula
The expedition begun by Ferdinand Magellan in 1519 was the first to
- explore the Mississippi River
- sail around the world
- map the St. Lawrence River
- reach India by sea
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado's 1540–1542 expedition into the Southwest and Plains was searching for
- escaped enslaved Africans in Texas
- a water route to the Pacific through Canada
- the Fountain of Youth in Florida
- the legendary Seven Cities of Gold (Cíbola)
Juan Ponce de León is associated with the 1513 Spanish exploration of
- the Mississippi River
- Peru
- Florida
- Newfoundland