UNIT 4 PRACTICE SKILLS TEST
Most High and Mighty Sovereigns,
In the first place, as regards the Island of Espanola: Inasmuch as the number of colonists who
desire to go thither amounts to two thousand, owing to the land being safer and better for
farming and trading, and because it will serve as a place to which they can return and from
which they can carry on trade with the neighboring islands:
1. That in the said island there shall be founded three or four towns, situated in the most
convenient places. . .
2. That for the better and more speedy colonization of the said island, no one shall have
liberty to collect gold in it except those who have taken out colonists' papers...
4.That there shall be a church, and parish priests or friars to administer the sacraments, to
perform divine worship, and for the conversion of the Indians.
5. That none of the colonists shall go to seek gold without a license from the governor… of
the town where he lives; and that he must first take oath to return to the place whence he sets
out, for the purpose of registering faithfully all the gold he may have found. . . to render
account and show the quantity of said gold…
6. That all the gold thus brought in shall be smelted immediately, and stamped with some
mark that shall distinguish each town; and that the portion which belongs to your Highnesses
shall be weighed, and given and consigned to each governor in his own town. . . so that it
shall not pass through the hands of only one person. . . and there shall he no opportunity to
conceal the truth.
7. That all gold that may be found without the mark of one of the said towns in the
possession of any one who has once registered in accordance with the above order shall be
taken as forfeited, and that the accuser shall have one portion of it and your Highnesses the
other…
Columbus’ Letter to the King and Queen of Spain, 1494
The passage from Columbus above suggests which of the following?
(A)The Spanish were interested in acquiring as much land as possible in the new world.
(B) The Spanish were interested in the new world for its bullion.
(C) The Spanish were interested in the new world as a place to spread Catholicism.
(D) The Spanish were interested in the new world as a place to engage in the slave trade.
Key Concept 4.3.II.C Theme: Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems.
Chushingura, otherwise known as The Revenge of the 47 Samurai or The Tale of the 47 Ronin,
tells the true story of the vendetta carried out in 1703 by 47 Ronin (masterless samurai). Upon
finding that their master, in breach of the rule of the shogun, had been condemned to commit
seppuku [ritual suicide] for drawing his sword in anger inside the palace, they exacted their
revenge. Subsequently, they too committed seppuku. As there had been peace in Japan for almost
a hundred years, this event captured the imagination of the populace to whom the samurai code
of loyalty and resolute action seemed almost forgotten. The story, Chushingura, became widely
popular and was performed in Kabuki Theaters over the next two hundred years. Because of the
ban on the dramatization of current events that involved the nobility, the theatrical version was
set in the 14th century with a change of names, and the location moving from Edo to Kamakura.
From this description of the Kabuki play Chushingura it can be inferred that:
(A) The play demonstrates the high regard for samurai in Tokugawa Japan.
(B) The play demonstrates the low regard for samurai in Tokugawa Japan.
(C) The play demonstrates the vibrancy of arts and leisure in the city of Edo.
(D) The play demonstrates the ability of Japanese citizens to publicly discuss
contemporary political problems.
Key Concept 4.1.VII.B Theme: Development and interaction of cultures.
The inhabitants are very rich, especially the strangers who have settled in the country; so much
so that the current king has given two of his daughters in marriage to two brothers, both
businessmen, on account of their wealth. There are many wells containing sweet water in
Timbuktu; and in addition, when the Niger is in flood canals deliver the water to the city. Grain
and animals are abundant, so that the consumption of milk and butter is considerable. But salt is
in very short supply because it is carried here from Tegaza, some 500 miles from Timbuktu. I
happened to be in this city at a time when a load of salt sold for eighty ducats. The king has a
rich treasure of coins and gold ingots. One of these ingots weighs 970 pounds...Instead of coined
money, pure gold nuggets are used; and for small purchases, cowrie shells which have been
carried from Persia, and of which 400 equal a ducat. Six and two-thirds of their ducats equal one
Roman gold ounce.
Leo Africanus: Description of Timbuktu, 1526
The passage above indicates that:
(A) Milk and butter are scarce commodities.
(B) Salt is a rare and precious commodity.
(C) Gold is so commonplace it has low value as a commodity.
(D) The city is part of an important trade network.
Key Concept 4.2.II.A Theme: Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems.
This road, known as the Tokaido , is the busiest thoroughfare in all of Japan. It is used not only
by merchants and local villagers, but also by many pilgrims making the long trip from their
homes in Edo to the most important temples and shrines in western Japan…The Shogun -- the
military leader who rules Japan -- does his best to ensure that free travel is maintained
throughout the country. However, although even the poorest peasant is allowed to travel about
the country freely, all of the main roads in and out of Edo are guarded by seki (barriers), where
guards stop all travelers to search for troublemakers and check everyone for weapons…All
travelers who pass through a seki are stopped and questioned in detail by the commander of the
guards. This way, the guards are able to collect a great deal of information which helps the
government maintain its firm control over the country…The guards at the seki carefully check
people for swords or other weapons. The only people who are allowed to enter Edo with
weapons are samurai and a few others who have special permission to wear a sword…
Adapted from the writings of Furukawa Kosho, 1750s.
The image and passage above about the seki indicate that:
(A) The lives of Japanese subjects under Tokugawa were characterized by strict rules.
(B) Tokugawa had little control over his subjects, requiring the use of force to make
them comply.
(C) There was a strict class system imposed by the Shogun, seen in different rules for
different classes, even including sumptuary laws.
(D) The role of the samurai began to lose importance in Tokugawa Japan.
Key Concept 4.2.II.B Theme: Development and transformation of social structures.
Source: Ogier Chiselin be Busbecq, Ambassador from the Holy Roman Empire to the Ottoman Sultan, in
a letter to the government of the Holy Roman Empire, 1555.
“It is the patience, self-denial and thrift of the Turkish soldier that enable him to face the most trying
circumstances and come safely out of the dangers that surround him. What a contrast to our men!
Christian soldiers on a campaign refuse to put up with their ordinary food and call for thrushes […] and
suchlike dainty dishes! […] It makes me shudder to think of what the result of a struggle between such
different systems must be; one of us must prevail and the other be destroyed, at any rate we cannot both
exist in safety.”
The author of the above passage is writing for the purpose of:
(A) Promoting the greatness of his own nation
(B) Warning his home country about a foreign nation
(C) Advocating greater funds be allocated to feeding the Holy Roman Empire’s army
(D) Rallying his own government to go to war
KC: 4.3.I.D, 4.3.II.B Theme: Development and Interaction of Cultures, State-Building Expansion and Conflict
Historical Interpretation
Skill:
Source: Vow of Endorsement, written by several Japanese gentlemen during the Tokugawa Shogunate,
1645.
“We have been Kirishitans [Christians] for many years. But the more we learn of the Kirishitan doctrines
the greater becomes our conviction that they are evil.
We hereby present a statement in writing to you, worshipful Magistrate, as a testimony. Hereafter we
shall not harbor any thought of the Kirishitan in our heart. […] If any falsehood be noted in our
declaration now or in the future, we shall be subject to divine punishment by Bonten, Taishaku, the four
deva kings, the great or little gods in all the sixty or more provinces of Japan, especially our own family
gods.”
The authors likely reference the “four deva kings” and “family gods” because:
(A) They fear they will burn in hell for what they have done
(B) They know that the Magistrate will punish them if the gods do not
(C) The gods will identify the Christians in the various provinces of Japan
(D) They wish to emphasize that they have returned to more acceptable forms of worship
KC: 4.3.I.C Theme: Development and Interaction of Cultures, State-Building Expansion and Conflict Skill: Historical
Interpretation
In the above passage, the authors most likely are giving testimony because:
(A) They have family members in court that they are defending
(B) The Japanese government has cracked down on foreign influences in Japan
(C) Christian priests have been convicted of crimes against Japanese citizens
(D) They wish to prove to the Buddha that they are ready to receive enlightenment
KC: 4.3.I.C, 4.1.VI.B,C Theme: Development and Interaction of Cultures, State-Building Expansion and Conflict Skill:
Historical Interpretation
Source: Decree on Serfs (Russia, 1767)
“The Governing Senate. . . has deemed it necessary to make known that the landlords' serfs and peasants .
. . owe their landlords proper submission and absolute obedience in all matters, according to the laws that
have been enacted from time immemorial by the autocratic forefathers of Her Imperial Majesty and which
have not been repealed, and which provide that all persons who dare to incite serfs and peasants to
disobey their landlords shall be arrested and taken to the nearest government office, there to be punished
forthwith as disturbers of the public tranquillity, according to the laws and without leniency.”
The Decree above most likely references the “forefathers of Her Imperial Majesty” to:
(A) Appeal to family bonds in a Christian society
(B) Remind the audience that the Queen is royal by blood
(C) Give legitimacy to the decree being issued
(D) Compare the Queen favorably to male rulers of the past
KC: 4.2.I.A Theme: Transformation of Social Structures, State-Building Expansion and Conflict Skill: Historical Interpretation
She will endeavor to reform the administration of justice and to invigorate the laws; but her
policies will be based on Machiavellianism; and I should not be surprised if in this field she
rivals the king of Prussia. She will adopt the prejudices of her entourage regarding the superiority
of her power and will endeavor to win respect not by the sincerity and probity [integrity] of her
actions but also by an ostentatious display of her strength. Haughty as she is, she will stubbornly
pursue her undertakings and will rarely retrace a false step. Cunning and falsity appear to be
vices in her character; woe to him who puts too much trust in her.
~French diplomat writing home about Catherine the Great, 18th Century
The tone of the diplomat’s letter is:
(A) Scornful
(B) Admiring
(C) Warning
(D) Threatening
KC: 4.3.I Theme: State-Building Expansion and Conflict Skill: Historical Interpretation
“The entire country will soon be in the hands of your master, Lord Ieyasu. If
this is so, the men who served him will no doubt hope to become daimyo by
his appointment. You should know that if such feelings arise, they are inevitably the beginning
of the end of one's fortunes in the Way of the Warrior. Being affected by the avarice for office
and rank, or wanting to become a daimyo and being eager for such things ... will not one then
begin to value his life? And how can a man commit acts of martial valor if he values his life? A
man who has been born into the house of a warrior and yet places no loyalty in his heart and
thinks only of the fortune of his position will be flattering on the surface and construct schemes
in his heart, will forsake righteousness and not reflect on his shame, and will stain the
warrior's name of his household to later generations. This is truly regrettable.”
–Torii Mototada (1539–1600)
“Because of some business, Morooka Hikoemon was called upon to swear before the gods
concerning the truth of a certain matter. But he said, ‘A samurai's word is harder than metal.
Since I have impressed this fact upon myself, what more can the gods and Buddhas do?’ and the
swearing was cancelled. It is bad when one thing becomes two. One should not look for anything
else in the Way of the Samurai. It is the same for anything that is called a Way. Therefore, it is
inconsistent to hear something of the Way of Confucius or the Way of the Buddha, and say that
this is the Way of the Samurai. If one understands things in this manner, he should be able to
hear about all says and be more and more in accord with his own. A person who is said to be
proficient at the arts is like a fool. Because of his foolishness in concerning himself with just one
thing, he thinks of nothing else and thus becomes proficient. He is a worthless person.
–Tsunetomo Yamamoto (1659–1719)
Comparing the two passages about the samurai shows that:
(A) The position of samurai improved during the Tokugawa rule of Shogun Japan (16031867).
(B) The position of samurai declined during the Tokugawa rule of Shogun Japan (16031867).
(C) The rule of Iyasu was better for the daimyo.
(D) The rule of Yamamoto was better for the daimyo.
Key Concept 4.3.1.D Theme: Development and transformation of social structures.
“The Imperial Ming Dynasty unifying seas and continents, surpassing the three dynasties even
goes beyond the Han and Tang dynasties. The countries beyond the horizon and from the ends
of the earth have all become subjects and to the most western of the western or the most
northern of the northern countries, however far they may be, the distance and the routes may
be calculated. Thus the barbarians from beyond the seas, though their countries are truly
distant have come to audience bearing precious objects and presents. The Emperor, approving
of their loyalty and sincerity, has ordered us, Zheng He, and others at the head of several tens
of thousands of officers and flag-troops to ascend more than one hundred large ships to go and
confer presents on them in order to make manifest the transforming power of the imperial
virtue and to treat distant people with kindness.”
--Inscription on the Temple of the Celestial Goddess in Fujian, China, 1431
The temple inscription supports a conclusion that the Ming Dynasty sent Zheng He to explore
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
to seek converts to Chinese religion.
to gain gold and treasure from foreign lands.
to enhance the prestige of the Chinese state.
to make alliances to defend against foreign enemies.
Key Concept 4.1 IIIA
Theme 3: State Building
Skill: Historical Interpretation
Source A: “…ascertaining the truth, which is the noblest aim of the human intellect. Therefore
we associate at convenient seasons with learned men of all religions, thus deriving profit from
their exquisite discourses and exalted aspirations.”
--Mughal Emperor Akbar, letter to Spanish Emperor Philip II, 1582
Source B: “His Majesty, eager to establish Islam, issued orders to the governors of all the
provinces to demolish the schools and temples of the infidels, and, with the utmost urgency, put
down the teaching and the public practice of the religion of these unbelievers.”
-- Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, Temples Edict, April 9, 1669
Based on these two sources, a historian could conclude that the Mughal Empire by the midseventeenth century had
(A) fostered tolerance between the religions of South Asia.
(B) cut off trade with foreign merchant empires.
(C) forced strict Islamic sharia law on non-Muslims.
)D) accepted Hinduism as the state religion.
Key Concept 4.3 IIB
Theme 2: Culture
Skill: Chronology/CCOT
“Snow is white, and lies in dikes,
and every man lets it lie.
Pepper is black, and has a good smack,
and every man doth buys it.”
--Richard Hill, Commonplace Book, ca 1520 C.E.
The poem above reflects which of the following economic transformations were taking place in
England by the sixteenth century?
(A) England had dramatic climate changes making its weather far colder during the “little ice
age.”
(B) Spices were being increasingly produced on English farms & consumed only by the elite.
(C) Spain was growing spices on large plantations in the Americas which were shipped to
England.
(D) English people’s demand led their merchants to seek a steady supply of spices from Asia.
Which interpretation of the chart above would reflect the growing demand for sugar production
in the Americas after 1450CE?
(A) The slightly larger percentage of Europeans in Brazil
(B) The larger percentage of Mixed-race people in Spanish colonies
(C) The larger percentage of Africans in Brazil
(D) The larger percentage of Native Americans in Spanish colonies
KC 4.1.V.B; T: Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems; S: Appropriate Use of Relevant
The map above BEST explains which of the following about global interaction in the transition from
the fifteenth to the sixteenth centuries?
(A) The importance of the silk routes as an engine of global trade declined as Eurasian
civilizations sponsored transoceanic voyages.
(B) Connections between the Eastern and Western hemispheres were established for the first time
resulting in the transfer of foods and crops known as the Columbian exchange.
(C) Eurasian interest in African trading posts as a source of slave laborers for cash crop
plantations emerged and accelerated global migrations.
(D) Previously established regional trading networks in the Indian Ocean were connected in new
ways to emerging Eurasian markets.
Key Concept 4.1.I
Theme 4: Economy
Skill: Historical argument
The engraving above by the European artist Jan Collaert the Younger from 1599 best exemplifies
which of the following historical processes?
(A) Conflicts between religious and secular authorities during the Scientific Revolution.
(B) European cartographic and navigation technologies that made transoceanic travel possible.
(C) Renaissance artists’ interest in classical Greek and Roman mythological subjects.
(D) Impacts of the Columbian exchange between the Americas and Europe.
Key Concept 4.1.II
Theme 1: Interaction
Skills: Chronology & Contextualization
The map above shows what significant fifteenth century exploration development?
(A) The opening of new routes for the Hajj pilgrimage to Arabia by Muslim merchants.
(B) Chinese naval voyages undertaken to enhance the prestige of the Ming Dynasty.
(C) New trading post empires developed by European explorers along the coasts Africa.
(D) Disruption of existing patterns of Indian Ocean trade.
The engraving above by the European artist Jan Collaert the Younger from 1599 best exemplifies
which of the following historical processes?
(E) Conflicts between religious and secular authorities during the Scientific Revolution.
(F) European cartographic and navigation technologies that made transoceanic travel possible.
(G) Renaissance artists’ interest in classical Greek and Roman mythological subjects.
(H) Impacts of the Columbian exchange between the Americas and Europe.
Key Concept 4.1.II
Theme 1: Interaction
Skills: Chronology & Contextualization
The map above shows what significant fifteenth century exploration development?
(E) The opening of new routes for the Hajj pilgrimage to Arabia by Muslim merchants.
(F) Chinese naval voyages undertaken to enhance the prestige of the Ming Dynasty.
(G) New trading post empires developed by European explorers along the coasts Africa.
(H) Disruption of existing patterns of Indian Ocean trade.
(I) Disruption of existing patterns of Indian Ocean trade.
The “Monument of the Discoveries” designed for the 1940 World’s Fair in Lisbon, Portugal shown
in the picture above uses monumental architecture to reflect national pride in
(A) Zheng He’s voyages in the Indian Ocean which enhanced Chinese prestige.
(B) Prince Henry’s school of navigation that led to increased travel and trade in Africa.
(C) Columbus’ journey to the Caribbean which began the process of imperialism in the Americas.
(D) John Cabot’s explorations of the North Atlantic and journey to what is now modern Canada.
Key Concept 4.1.III Theme 1/2: Interaction & Culture
Skills: Chronology & Contextualization
This engraving by a German artist depicts a Ming Dynasty currency
called a “tael” that was produced with metals acquired from newly
opened Spanish colonial mines. The engraving best illustrates
which of the following features of 18th century economic trade?
(A) Joint-stock companies
(B) The Columbian Exchange
(C) Global circulation of silver
(D) Japanese Daimyos
Key Concept 4.1.IV B Theme 4: Economy Skills: Contextualization & Interpretation
The painting above by the Italian artist Agostino Brunias of the “Linen Market” on the island of Dominca,
Caribbean in the mid-eighteenth century supports which of the following conclusions about the new connections
between the Eastern and Western hemispheres?
(A) European elites remained isolated from their subjects in new maritime empires.
(B) Mercantilism was successful in the creation of a tightly controlled trade in luxury goods.
(C) Gender roles were enforced that excluded women from participating in public life.
(D) African, American, and European peoples mixed in the emerging Atlantic cultural system.
Key Concept 4.1.IV.D
Theme 2: Culture
Skills: Interpretation
The products described in the networks depicted on this map illustrate which of the following
features of mid-eighteenth century North Atlantic trade?
(A) The use of silver as a monetary instrument to purchase Asian goods.
(B) The influence of mercantilism in European control of trade for national advancement.
(C) The links between Eastern and Western hemispheres in the Columbian Exchange.
(D) The increased importance of industrial factory made products on the world economy.
Key Concept 4.1.IV & V
Theme 4: Economics
Skill: Contextualization
Which of the following historical cultural developments was a direct consequence of the trade
networks seen in the map above?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Renaissance art in Europe
Spread of Islam to new regions
The Protestant Reformation
Syncretic religions of the Caribbean
Key Concept 4.1.VI
Theme 2: Culture
Skills: Chronology and contextualization
This image by English engraver Edward Matthew Ward that depicts investors in the early eighteenth
century “South Seas Company” of London could BEST be used by a historian as evidence of
(A) how mercantilist joint-stock companies contributed to the formation of new economic elites as
entrepreneurs rose to prominence in urban port cities.
(B) why the Columbian Exchange increased the population of major European cities through the
introduction of new more nutritional crops.
(C) what influenced revolutionaries of European colonies in the Americas to make formal
declarations of independence from their home countries.
(D) where conflicts emerged between major maritime empires that competed for control over
trade routes such as the Silk routes.
Key Concepts 4.1.IV.C and 4.2.II. A
Themes 4 & 5: Econ/Society
Skill: Interpretation
The map of Africa above best explains which of the following developments in African history?
(A) The migration of Bantu-speaking peoples
(B) The diffusion of culture throughout Dar al Islam
(C) The emergence and growth of West African kingdoms
(D) The growth of coerced labor through chattel slavery
Key Concepts 4.2.D
Theme 4: Economy
Skills: Chronology/Contextualization
The portrait above of Louis Francois Roger Armand Gatereau, a French newspaper editor, on the
island of Saint Dominique would best be used by a historian to demonstrate which of the following
changes caused by global interactions during the latter eighteenth century?
(A) Transformations in diets that resulted from the Columbian Exchange.
(B) Innovations in visual art during the time of the Renaissance.
(C) Restructuring of gender and racial relationships in elite society.
(D) Emergence of challenges to French imperial control of colonial society.
Key Concepts 4.2.II.C/D
Theme 5: Social
Skills: Chronology/Interpretation
This image of Mughal Emperor Akbar greeting the young poet Abdul Rahim during the late
sixteenth century is most comparable to which of the following methods used by rulers to legitimize
their rule?
(A) Patronage by European monarchs who sponsored court literature and Renaissance art.
(B) Recruitment of military professionals in the devshirme system of the Ottoman empire.
(C) The Promotion of Islamic scholarship and trade in the city of Timbuktu by the Songhay empire.
(D) Building of monumental temples for the performance of public religious rituals by the
Mexica.
Key Concepts 4.2.I.A
Theme 2: Cultural
Skill: Comparison
The image above depicting England’s King Charles I from the late seventeenth century best
exemplifies which of the following processes of establishing political authority?
(A) Treatment of different ethnic groups in ways that limited their challenges to state authority.
(B) Recruitment of bureaucratic elites that were centrally controlled by an imperial authority.
(C) Use of religious ideas such as a divine right to rule to legitimize a monarch’s authority.
(D) Incorporation of Enlightenment thought to strengthen popular loyalty to traditional authority
Key Concepts 4.3.I.B
Theme 3: Politics
Skills: Chronology/Interpretation
The image above entitled “The Portuguese Armada” by an unknown Portuguese artist from 1507
illustrates innovations in ship design that allowed Portugal to participate in and disrupt which of the
following regional trade networks through the creation of a trading post empire?
(A) Central Asian Silk routes
(B) Eastern Mediterranean sea routes
(C) Routes of Oceania and Polynesia
(D) Indian Ocean routes
Key Concepts 4.3.II.A et. al
Theme 1/4: Interaction/Econ.
Skills: Chronology/Context
MAJOR AFRO-EURASIAN LONG-DISTANCE TRADE ROUTES (circa 1500 C.E.)
1. Which of the following about Afro-Eurasian trade is supported by the map above?
A. By the 15th century, European nations dominated Indian Ocean trade.
B. The Ottoman Empire continued to play a major role in trade between East and West.
C. Continued warfare in Central Asia cut off the Delhi Sultanate from participating in
overland trade.
D. The Islamic states of East Africa maintained close commercial ties with Korea and
Japan.
2. The image 18th c. above represents which of the following concepts?
A. The emergence of new racial and ethnic classifications in Latin America.
B. The dependence of European men on Latin American women for conducting trade.
C. The improved social status of native Latin American women.
D. The forbiddance of mixed race relationships in Latin American society.
3. The chart to the right was used to determine
A. merit-based administrative structure in
Spain.
B. bureaucratic hierarchy in Mughal India
based on religion.
C. social privilege and rights based on race in
Spanish America.
D. military rank in Tokugawa Japan based on
feudalism.
Peninsulares
creoles
mestizos/mulattos
slaves/Amerindians
4. Which of the following was most responsible for the growth of the above empire during the
15th-16th centuries?
A. The Black Death weakened Europe
B. Hinduism was a unifying force
C. Favorable alliances based on economic connections
D. Superior gunpowder technology
5. Which of the following Western Hemisphere commodities allowed the above empire to
participate in a global network of trade that linked Europe, the Americas, and China by the
late 16th century?
A. Silver
B. Sugar
C. Cotton
D. Tobacco