Chapter 1 Study Guide II
“New World Beginnings”
1. “Peopling the Americas”
a. When and how did the first Americans arrive according to the most plausible theory? What is
a competing theory?
b. According to the textbook’s authors, what was the estimated population of the two American
continents in 1492? (We will compare this with Charles Mann’s estimate)
c. Briefly describe the Aztec society that existed prior to the arrival of Europeans
2. “The Earliest Americans”
a. Explain how the cultivation of maize influenced the development of societies in the
Americas?
b. Briefly summarize some of the significant aspects of various Native American societies that
existed prior to their discovery by Europeans.
c. How did the societies of North America, outside of Mexico, differ from those of the Aztecs?
What might account for this difference?
d. Define - Three-sisters farming
e. Map- “North American Peoples at the Time of First Contact with Europeans” (p.9)
-In what ways does a map such as this contribute to our understanding of Native
American societies?
-What deficiencies might exist in this map of which we should be aware?
f. According to the authors, what was the approximate population of North America in 1492?
(p.10)
g. Explain what is meant by the authors’ statement that Europeans differed from Native
Americans in that they believed that, “humans have dominion over the earth” (p.10).
3. “Indirect Discoverers of the New World”
a. What is meant by the term “indirect discoverers?” Who were they? Why are they labeled as
“indirect discoverers?”
4. “Europeans Enter Africa”
a. When and why did Europeans become increasingly interested in Africa?
b. What effects did the Portuguese have on Africa?
c. What happened in Spain that put them in a position to start competing with Portugal?
5. “Columbus Comes upon a New World”
a. List three factors mentioned by the authors (p.14) as coming together to produce the voyage
of Columbus.
b. Explain what the authors mean by the statement, “. . . an interdependent global economic
system emerged on a scale undreamed-of before he set sail.” What were the components of this
system?
6. “When Worlds Collide”
a. Explain the Columbian Exchange.
b. Look at the chart of “The Columbian Exchange.” (p.15) Choose one item each from the New
World, the Old World, and Africa and briefly explain the impact that the entry of those things would
have on the receiving side.
7. “The Conquest of Mexico and Peru”
a. Treaty of Tordesillas
b. Map- “Principal Early Spanish Explorations and Conquests”
-for each conquistador, identify the geographic area which he explored
c. What was the importance of the Caribbean islands to the Spanish? (p.16)
d. define encomienda
e. How did Aztec-Spanish relations change over time?
f. How did New World bullion transform the world economy? (p.18)
g. Define - mestizos
h. “Yet the invader brought more than conquest and death” (p.21). How was the culture of
Mexico influenced by the encounter with Spain?
11. “Exploration and Imperial Rivalry”
a. What main difference do the authors point out (pp. 23-24) between Spanish interaction with
native peoples and that of the English?
b. What changes had occurred within Spain’s American empire “within about a half century of
Columbus’s landfall?”
c. How did Spain respond to the threat perceived from English and French exploration?
d. What was Popé’s Rebellion?
e. What was the Black Legend? How do the authors interpret it?
12. Briefly summarize any of the important events/people not covered above.