AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1
Question 1 is based on the map below.
1. The map above shows the major participants and the major battles of the Thirty Years’ War, 16181648. Using the map and your knowledge of European history, answer parts A, B, and C of the
question below.
A) Briefly explain ONE way in which the Thirty Years’ War became an international struggle.
B) Use at least ONE historical example to support your explanation.
C) Briefly explain ONE consequence of the Thirty Years’ War.
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1
Learning Objective
Historical Thinking
Skill
OS-3 Explain how political revolution and war from the
17th century on altered the role of the church in political
and intellectual life and the response of religious
authorities and intellectuals to such challenges.
Historical Causation
Key Concepts
in the
Curriculum
Framework
1.3.III.C
Appropriate use of
Relevant Historical
Evidence
Interpretation
Answer
A/B) Explanations and examples of ways in which the Thirty Years’ War became an international
struggle may include the following:

Multiple European monarchs and nobles attempted to use a shifting balance of power
away from the Habsburg monarchies as their opportunity to aggrandize themselves.
o The assumption of the Bohemian throne by Frederick, the Elector of the
Palatinate, was an attempt to expand his dynasty’s power and influence in
Europe.
o The French monarchy sought to use the fighting in the Holy Roman Empire as a
means to weaken its Habsburg rivals in both the Empire and Spain.
o The Swedish king, Gustavus Adolphus, sought to use the conflict as a means to
gain a dominant position in northern Germany and gain a position of prominence
in European affairs for himself and his country.
o Many Protestant German princes used the Emperor’s attack upon Bohemia as a
pretext to assert their own independence from his power.

Religious conviction motivated various rulers and subjects to intervene on behalf of their
denominational compatriots and pursue the defeat of their religious rivals in the name of
what each viewed as the “true” Christian faith.
o The King of Spain, partly motivated by religious ideals, sought to aid his
Austrian cousins in suppressing the Protestant religion in the Holy Roman
Empire.
o The Kings of Denmark and Sweden attempted to assume a role as champion of
Lutheranism by coming to the aid of the Lutheran princes of northern Germany.
o Although the initial conflict was over the throne of Bohemia, the Emperor
Ferdinand II attempted to use the opportunity to impose his will upon all of
Germany and mandate a return to Catholicism, as seen in the Edict of Restitution
(1629) ordering all Protestant lands to be returned to Catholicism.
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1
C) Analysis of the consequences of the Thirty Years’ War may include ONE of the following:

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

The German population was decimated by the conflict, with estimates of up to 30% of the
population lost through combat, rapine, disease, and famine.
The German economy was ravaged by the excesses and needs of the various armies that
traversed the countryside during the war. The damage to the farms and towns of Germany
would take decades to repair.
The aftermath of the fighting saw attempts to establish a “balance of power” among the
competing nations of Europe in the hope that it would prevent future conflicts.
The conflict bankrupted the Spanish monarchy, and Spain’s military and territorial losses
from the war signaled the decline of the Spanish from their once preeminent position in
European politics.
The conflict severely strained the finances of the various European monarchies. France,
England, Sweden, and the Austrian Habsburgs all ran into conflict with their own citizens
over the financing of the wars.
The Peace of Westphalia, ending the Thirty Years’ War, enshrined the concept of the
freedom to practice one’s religion openly--albeit not universally recognized or enforced.
The Thirty Years’ War proved to be the last major conflict motivated largely by religion.
Thenceforward, European rulers realized the costliness of attempting to enforce religious
unity and the difficulty in achieving it.
The turmoil and settlements from the Thirty Years War ensured that Germany and the
Holy Roman Empire would remain fragmented and stubbornly protective of individual
state independence.
The Thirty Years’ War saw a shift from the small armies of Europe’s feudal past to the
mass armies that would be the future for European conflicts with all the expense and
danger these armies would entail.
Question 2 is based on the passage below.
“15. In order to bring peace into the holy Roman Empire of the German Nation between the Roman
Imperial Majesty and the Electors, Princes and Estates, let neither his Imperial Majesty nor the Electors,
Princes, etc., do any violence or harm to any estate of the empire on the account of the Augsburg
Confession, but let them enjoy their religious belief, liturgy and ceremonies as well as their estates and
other rights and privileges in peace; and complete religious peace shall be obtained only by Christian
means of amity, or under threat of punishment of the imperial ban.
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1
16. Likewise the Estates espousing the Augsburg Confession shall let all the Estates and Princes who
cling to the old religion live in absolute peace and in the enjoyment of all their estates, rights and
privileges.”
The Peace of Augsburg, 1555
2. Use the passage above and your knowledge of European history to answer parts A, B, and C.
A) Select ONE of the groups below and briefly explain the significance of the Peace of Augsburg.
 Lutherans (adherents of the Augsburg Confession)
 Catholics
 The Habsburg Emperors
 German princes
B) Briefly evaluate the extent to which the Peace of Augsburg was a source of continuity for the
group you selected in A) above.
C) Briefly explain why ONE group from that period would have been dissatisfied with the terms of
the Peace of Augsburg.
Learning Objective
Historical Thinking
Skill
SP-3 Trace the changing relationship between states and
ecclesiastical authority and the emergence of the
principle of religious toleration.
Historical Causation
SP-11 Analyze how religious and secular institutions and
groups attempted to limit monarchical power by
articulating theories of resistance to absolutism, and by
taking political action.
Key Concepts
in the
Curriculum
Framework
1.3.II.A
Patterns of
Continuity and
Change over Time
Interpretation
Answer
A) Explanations of the significance of the Peace of Augsburg to ONE group may include the following:
Lutherans
 The Peace of Augsburg officially recognized Lutheranism as an accepted religion within
the Holy Roman Empire.
 Lutheran princes/nobles were granted the right to establish their faith as the official
religion within their territories.
 Lutherans were free to move from a territory that professed Catholicism as the official
religion.
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1

The Peace of Augsburg provided at least a temporary respite from the conflict between
Catholics and Protestants in the Holy Roman Empire.
Catholics


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Catholics were forced to accept the nominal equality of Lutherans as a religious group
within the Empire.
Catholics were free to move from a territory that professed Lutheranism as the official
religion.
The Peace of Augsburg provided at least a temporary respite from the conflict between
Catholics and Protestants in the Holy Roman Empire.
The Habsburg Emperors
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The Habsburg, Holy Roman Emperors of this era, no longer could assert that they could
dictate the religion of the Empire.
The Peace of Augsburg signified a victory for the rights of nobles over the prerogative of
the Emperor.
The Peace of Augsburg provided at least a temporary respite from the conflict between
the Protestant princes and the Catholic supporters of the Holy Roman Emperor.
German princes
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The Peace of Augsburg guaranteed the rights of nobles against the centralizing aims of
the Emperors.
The princes gained the right to dictate the official religion in their territories.
The Peace of Augsburg provided at least a temporary respite from the conflict between
the Protestant princes and the Catholic supporters of the Holy Roman Emperor.
B) Analysis of the Peace of Augsburg as a source of continuity may include the following.
Lutherans
 Lutherans were able to continue the practice and growth of their religion following the
Peace of Augsburg.
 Lutheran princes/nobles were granted the right to establish their faith as the official
religion within their territories.
Catholics

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Catholics continued to be the largest religion group within the Empire.
The Empire continued to be ruled by the Catholic, Habsburg dynasty.
The Habsburg Emperors

The Habsburg Holy Roman Emperors of this era continued to be faced by powerful
nobles opposed to an expansion of the Emperor’s power.
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1

The Habsburg dynasty continued to rule a vast, decentralized empire.
German princes

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The Peace of Augsburg guaranteed the traditional rights of nobles against the centralizing
aims of the Emperors.
The German princes continued to be the dominant force in imperial politics and
maintained their rights to control their territories independently.
C) Explanations of dissatisfaction with the Peace of Augsburg may include the following.
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Some hard-line Lutherans were not content with simply achieving recognition of their
religion, but sought greater independence and freedom for their states to develop in their
own direction.
Many Catholics, including the Emperor and Pope, were displeased with the formal split
within Christianity that the Peace of Augsburg confirmed.
Many people of both religions despised the fact that it was the rulers that dictated the
religion of their region. Thus, they were forced to either convert to the prescribed religion
or leave their homes.
Calvinists, despite being the largest Protestant denomination at that point, were left out of
the agreement, giving them no legal standing within the Empire and nowhere that they
could officially reside.
Question 3 is based on the passage below.
“That those of Confession of Augsburg, and particularly the inhabitants of Oppenheim [Lutherans], shall
be put in possession again of their Churches, and Ecclesiastical Estates, as they were in the Year 1624, as
also that all others of the said Confession of Augsburg, who shall demand it, shall have the free Exercise
of their Religion, as well as in publick Churches at the appointed Hours, as in private in their own
Houses, or in others chose for this purpose by their Ministers, or by those of their Neighbours, preaching
the Word of God.”
Article XXVIII, Treaty of Westphalia
3. Use the passage above and your knowledge of European history to answer parts A, B, and C.
A) Explain one similarity between the Peace of Augsburg and the Treaty of Westphalia.
B) Explain one difference between the Peace of Augsburg and the Treaty of Westphalia.
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1
C) Briefly explain how the Treaty of Westphalia illustrated a shift in religious policy by political
rulers.
Learning Objective
Historical
Thinking Skill
Key Concepts in
the
Curriculum
Framework
OS-3 Explain how political revolution and war from the
17th century on altered the role of the church in political
and intellectual life and the response of religious
authorities and intellectuals to such challenges.
Historical
Causation
1.2.I.B
SP-1 Explain the emergence of civic humanism and new
conceptions of political authority during the Renaissance,
as well as subsequent theories and practices that stressed
the political importance and rights of the individual.
Interpretation
Comparison
SP-2 Explain the emergence of and theories behind the
New Monarchies and absolute monarchies, and evaluate
the degree to which they were able to centralize power in
their states.
SP-3 Trace the changing relationship between states and
ecclesiastical authority and the emergence of the principle
of religious toleration.
Answer
A) Explanations of ONE similarity between the Peace of Augsburg and the Treaty of Westphalia may
include the following:



Each agreement attempted to resolve the conflict between Protestants and Catholics
within the Holy Roman Empire.
Both treaties were forced upon the Emperor after failed attempts to enforce Catholic
orthodoxy within the Empire.
Both treaties gave the ruler the right to dictate the official religion in his territory.
B) Explanations of ONE difference between the Peace of Augsburg and the Treaty of Westphalia may
include the following:
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1



The Treaty of Westphalia addressed the status of Calvinists and other reform groups that
were not considered in the Peace of Augsburg.
The Treaty of Westphalia provided for the free practice of religion for those Christians
who did not follow the religion of their ruler whereas the Peace of Augsburg left only the
option to convert or leave.
The Treaty of Westphalia included some significant territorial settlements, including the
independence of the Netherlands, whereas the Peace of Augsburg was a primarily
religious settlement.
C) Explanations of the Treaty of Westphalia as an illustration of changing religious policy may include
the following:



The Treaty of Westphalia was a first step in outlining the right to free practice of religion.
The tenets of the Treaty of Westphalia showed that rulers were losing interest in
attempting to enforce religious orthodoxy within their territories as it proved to be an
unachievable goal.
The Treaty of Westphalia, and the Thirty Years’ War as a whole, showed how political
concerns were beginning to outweigh religious concerns in government decision-making.
Question 4 is based on the passage below.
“Now as to the popes of Rome, who pretend themselves Christ’s vicars, if they would but imitate his
exemplary life, in the being employed in an unintermitted course of preaching. In the being attended with
poverty, nakedness, hunger, and a contempt of this world; if they did but consider the import of the word
pope, which signifies a father; or if they did but practice their surname of most holy, what order or
degrees of men would be in a worse condition? . . . Though indeed the church has no enemies more
bloody and tyrannical than such impious popes, who give dispensations for the not preaching of Christ;
evacuate the main effect and design of our redemption by their pecuniary bribes and sales; adulterate the
gospel by their forced interpretations, and undermining traditions; and lastly, by their lusts and
wickedness grieve the Holy Spirit, and make their Saviour’s wounds to bleed anew.”
Desiderius Erasmus, The Praise of Folly, 1511
4. Use the passage above and your knowledge of European history to answer parts A, B, and C.
A) Explain the point of the passage in the context of religious reform.
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1
B) Briefly explain how a supporter of the criticism in the passage could use ONE piece of evidence
from the period to support the need for reform.
C) Briefly explain how an opponent of the view expressed in the passage could use ONE piece of
evidence from the period to support the need for reform.
Learning Objective
Historical Thinking
Skill
OS-2 Analyze how religious reform in the 16th and 17th
centuries, the expansion of printing, and the emergence
of civic venues such as salons and coffeehouses
challenged the control of the church over the creation
and dissemination of knowledge.
Historical
Argumentation
Key Concepts
in the
Curriculum
Framework
1.3.I.A
Appropriate Use of
Relevant Historical
Evidence
OS-11 Explain how and why religion increasingly shifted
from a matter of public concern to one of private belief
over the course of European history.
Answer
A) Explanations of the passage in the context of religious reform may include the following:



Erasmus criticized the abuses of power and the corruption of Christianity caused by the
actions of the impious popes of the Renaissance period.
Erasmus, through his criticism of the popes, questioned the reliance of Christianity upon
authority and formal Church hierarchy.
The impious acts of the popes led to a call for reform, or even abolition, of the papacy.
B) Explanations of how a supporter of the criticism in the passage could use ONE piece of evidence
from the period to support the need for reform may include the following:
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1

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The sale of Indulgences as approved by various popes of the period was a sign of placing
economic gain ahead of the interests of the Church’s followers.
The actions of Pope Julius II in leading armies in the conquest of territories in Italy stood in
stark contrast to the role of peaceful, spiritual leader that most believers expected from a
pope.
Pope Alexander VI, through his own actions and those of his Borgia children, impugned the
moral integrity of the papacy and showed a thirst for conquest and territorial expansion.
The building projects and focus upon the beautification of Rome by the Popes led many to
believe they cared more for luxury and wealth than for religion.
C) Explanations of how an opponent of the view expressed in the passage could use ONE piece of
evidence from the period to support the need for reform may include the following:
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Indulgences and the collection of money for the benefit of the Church and papacy were
long-standing traditions within the Catholic faith.
The turmoil of the Great Schism necessitated that the Popes reassert their temporal and
political authority in Italy.
The financial exactions of the Church beautified and glorified Rome and God. The works
of the renaissance artists, paid for by the Church, did as much or more to inspire the
faithful as any sermons.
5. Using your knowledge of European history, answer parts A, B, and C.
A) Briefly explain ONE feature of Baroque art.
B) Briefly explain ONE additional feature of Baroque art.
C) Briefly explain how Baroque art reflected religious and political developments in seventeenthcentury Europe.
Learning Objective
Historical
Thinking Skill
OS-5 Analyze how the development of Renaissance
humanism, the printing press, and the scientific method
contributed to the emergence of a new theory of
knowledge and conception of the universe.
Contextualization
SP-1 Explain the emergence of civic humanism and new
conceptions of political authority during the Renaissance,
as well as subsequent theories and practices that stressed
the political importance and rights of the individual.
Interpretation
Key Concepts
in the
Curriculum
Framework
1.1.III.C
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1
Answer
A/B) Explanations of TWO features of Baroque art may include the following:

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Baroque art attempted to inspire awe amongst its observers.
Baroque art attempted to engage the viewer as a sort of interactive religious experience.
Baroque art attempted to convey the drama of religious scenes that mirrored the drama of
contemporary life.
The passion of saints and religious events was conveyed to inspire the same emotions in
the observers of Baroque art.
C) Explanations of how Baroque art reflected religious and political developments in seventeenthcentury Europe may include the following:




Baroque art epitomized the contrast between Protestant and Catholic churches of the
seventeenth century. The cold, sterile Protestant churches paled in comparison to the
elaborately decorated Catholic churches.
To Catholics, the art and adornments of churches was an aid and inspiration to believers
while most Protestants viewed such adornments as a distraction from the message of
Christianity.
The arrival of Baroque art and its adaptation throughout Europe signaled and paralleled
the reassertion of traditional Catholic mores throughout all facets of the Catholic
experience.
Baroque art was part of a larger movement to inspire and awe the congregations of
church services. In addition to the lively art work of the Baroque artists, this attempt
included impressive music as well as rich and lavish ceremony.
6. Using your knowledge of European history, answer parts A, B, and C.
A) Briefly explain ONE reason Portugal was successful in establishing a commercial empire in the
sixteenth century.
B) Briefly explain ONE reason Spain was successful in establishing a commercial empire in the
sixteenth century.
C) Briefly explain ONE similarity in the acquisition of commercial empires by Portugal and Spain.
Learning Objective
Historical
Thinking Skill
INT-1Assess the relative influence of economic,
religious, and political motives in promoting exploration
and colonization.
Historical
Causation
Interpretation
INT-3 Analyze how European states established and
Key Concepts in
the
Curriculum
Framework
1.4.III.A
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1
administered overseas commercial and territorial
empires.
Comparison
INT-6 Assess the role of overseas trade, labor, and
technology in making Europe part of a global economic
network and in encouraging the development of new
economic theories and state policies.
INT-11 Explain how European expansion and
colonization brought non-European societies into global
economic, diplomatic, military and cultural networks.
SP-15 Assess the impact of war, diplomacy and overseas
exploration and colonization on European diplomacy and
balance of power until 1789.
Answer
A) Explanations of ONE reason Portugal was successful in establishing a commercial empire in the
sixteenth century may include the following:




Portugal, due to its limited resources and restricted territory, had no choice but to pursue
overseas trade as a means to enrich its kingdom.
Portugal possessed inspired leadership, in the form of Prince Henry the Navigator, who
promoted, sponsored, and regulated attempts at exploration and trade.
The caravel, astrolabe, compass, and quadrant gave the Portuguese the technological
means to accomplish their voyages of discovery.
The Portuguese practice of establishing trading posts along the African coast on the route
to India provided them with resupply points on their route as well as trade goods from
those regions.
B) Explanations of ONE reason Spain was successful in establishing a commercial empire in the
sixteenth century may include the following:
 Spain possessed a larger, more unified kingdom than most of its competitors by the late
fifteenth century.
 The completion of the reconquista, the conquest of the Muslim territories in the Iberian
Peninsula, rewarded the Spanish monarchy with an influx of captured wealth and freed
up resources for other ventures, namely exploration and trade.
 The completion of the reconquista closed territorial expansion on the mainland for the
Spanish, leaving only overseas expansion as a viable route for territorial and trade
growth.
 The dominance already established over the African trade route by the Portuguese, left
only westward as a viable route for reaching the Orient for the Spanish. This route, in the
end, had the advantage of no European competition at the time for the Spanish explorers.
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1

The Spanish approach of conquest and colonization in the Americas gained greater
resources and wealth than could have been gained through trade alone.
C) Explanations of ONE similarity in the acquisition of commercial empires by Portugal and Spain may
include the following.
 Both Portugal and Spain relied upon the expertise and daring of individual explorers,
such as da Gama or Columbus, to accomplish the aims of the monarchy.
 Both kingdoms succeeded in exploration and trade through their adoption of new
navigational technology and techniques.
 Both the Spanish and Portuguese had no qualms about taking advantage of indigenous
peoples in the newly explored territories for the benefit of trade.
7. Using your knowledge of European history, answer parts A, B, and C.
A) Briefly explain the perspective of Anabaptists in terms of the relationship between church and
state.
B) Briefly explain the perspective of Calvinists in terms of the relationship between church and state.
C) Evaluate the extent to which the views of groups such as the Anabaptists contributed to change in
the social perspective in 16th century Europe.
Learning Objective
Historical Thinking
Skill
SP-2 Explain the emergence of and theories behind the
New Monarchies and absolute monarchies, and evaluate
the degree to which they were able to centralize power in
their states.
Patterns of
Continuity and
Change over Time
Periodization
SP-3 Trace the changing relationship between states and
ecclesiastical authority and the emergence of the
principle of religious toleration.
SP-11 Analyze how religious and secular institutions and
groups attempted to limit monarchical power by
articulating theories of resistance to absolutism, and by
taking political action.
IS-10 Analyze how and why Europeans have
marginalized certain populations (defined as “other”)
over the course of their history.
Key Concepts
in the
Curriculum
Framework
1.3.II.B
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1
Answer
A) Explanations of the perspective of Anabaptists in terms of the relationship between church and state
may include the following:
 Most Anabaptists felt that religion must be separate from political life.
 Many Anabaptists withdrew from society to establish their own, simpler communities
devoid of the corrupting influence of politics and society.
 Some Anabaptists refused to hold government offices, swear loyalty to any noble or
government, or participate in the military.
B) Analysis of the perspective of Calvinists in terms of the relationship between church and state may
include the following:
 Calvinists thought that religion should in no way be subordinate to the state.
 Most Calvinists inverted the relationship and felt that the state must be subordinate to the
precepts of religion.
 Under Calvin’s leadership, Geneva became essentially a theocracy ruled by Calvin and
other church leaders and governed by the laws of religion rather than society.
 Calvinist Geneva’s governmental/religious leaders restricted everything from dancing
and song through the normal range of civil crimes.
C) Analysis of the extent to which the views of groups such as the Anabaptists contributed to change in
the social perspective in 16th century Europe may include the following:
 The views of radical reformers of the 16th century reversed the trend of subordinating the
church to the aims of political leaders as seen in some of the Protestant principalities as well
as England under Henry VIII.
 Those reformers who sought to subordinate politics to religious leaders were inadvertently
continuing the policies the popes had been advocating for centuries.
 The desire to separate church and state was a radical departure from social and political
norms of the Middle Ages.
 Those reform groups which withdrew from society to form uncorrupted communities were
continuing in the traditional and ideals of many monastic orders which had preceded them.
8. Using your knowledge of European history, answer parts A, B, and C.
A) Briefly explain ONE economic or demographic issue that led to the rise of the African slave trade
by the mid seventeenth century.
B) Briefly explain ONE justification for the African slave trade supported by Europeans at that time.
C) Evaluate ONE impact that the expansion of slavery had on 17th century European colonial
society.
Learning Objective
Historical
Key Concepts
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1
Thinking Skill
INT-5 Evaluate the impact of the Columbian
Exchange—the global exchange of goods, plants, animals
and microbes—on Europe’s economy, society and
culture.
Contextualization
in the
Curriculum
Framework
1.4.IV.C
Interpretation
INT-6 Assess the role of overseas trade, labor, and
technology in making Europe part of a global economic
network and in encouraging the development of new
economic theories and state policies.
INT-7 Analyze how contact with non-European peoples
increased European cultural and social diversity, and
affected attitudes toward race.
INT-9 Assess the role of European contact on overseas
territories through the introduction of disease, the
participation in the slave trade and slavery, effects on
agricultural and manufacturing patterns, and global
conflict.
INT-11 Explain how European expansion and
colonization brought non-European societies into global
economic, diplomatic, military and cultural networks.
PP-1 Explain how and why wealth generated from new
trading, financial, and manufacturing practices and
institutions created a market and then a consumer
economy.
IS-7 Evaluate how identities such as ethnicity, race, and
class have defined the individual in relationship to
society.
Answer
A) Explanations of ONE economic or demographic issue that necessitated the rise of the African slave
trade by the mid-17th century may include the following:
 Portugal lacked the population to exploit and develop the territories it seized during
exploration. This required acquisition of slaves to work the plantations of new Portuguese
colonies.
 The Portuguese, and later Dutch, viewed the population of Africa as one more resource to
be gained and sold to profit their commercial empires.
AP European History Short Answer Question ANSWERS Period 1



In the territories conquered by the Spanish, the decimation of native populations, by
warfare and disease led to a need for a new labor supply to work the mines and
plantations of the new Spanish colonies.
The relatively small number of Portuguese and Spanish settlers that moved to the New
World necessitated a new source from which to inflate the population of their colonies.
Slavery provided the essential workforce to keep the growing international economy
flourishing.
B) Explanations of ONE justification for the African slave trade supported by Europeans at that time may
include the following:
 Slavery provided the essential workforce to keep the growing international economy
flourishing and, thus, was a necessary evil.
 Some Europeans justified slavery upon religious grounds, that black-skinned people were
condemned to slavery.
 Most Europeans viewed Africans as uncivilized, and some even sub-human, and
therefore not entitled to the rights or protections of civilized society.
 Some Europeans viewed African slaves as conquered peoples and subject to the treatment
of defeated foes as had been carried out for eons. In essence, this was an approach of
“might makes right”; the Europeans could seize and enslave Africans and therefore it was
justified.
C) Analysis of the impact that the expansion of slavery had on 17th century European colonial society
may include the following:
 The introduction of large numbers of slaves forced Europeans to re-evaluate their place in
society in terms of race, which inevitably led to Europeans’ declaring themselves superior to
the inhabitants of the Americas and Africa.
 The rise of slavery introduced a new stratum to the European class system, one that even the
poorest working class citizens could view as below them.
 The work of slaves helped to elevate the income and, therefore, opulence of the European
mercantile and ruling classes.