Name: __________________________________________ Date: __________________
Unit 2 – Historical Europe
SS6G8.b., SS6H6.a.b.d., SS6H7.a.
1. In the 1400s, this man helped Portugal take an early lead in exploration by providing
money to study navigation, develop better boars, and encourage voyages along the coast
of Africa. Who was he? ______________________________________________
2. Which was NOT a reason for the establishment of European overseas colonies?
a. Europeans wanted to spread Christianity to other peoples.
b. European industry needed more sources of raw materials.
c. Europeans were interested in learning from other cultures.
d. Europeans thought that colonies would buy European products.
3. When discussing the Age of Exploration, what do the three G’s represent?
___________________________________________________________________
4. The development of new ships helped make world exploration possible in the 1400s.
What were these new ships called? ________________________________________
5. There were many reasons for the exploration of the world by the Europeans starting in
the 1400’s. Some of those reasons are:
- to find a sea route to the spices of Asia
- to find gold, silver, and precious stones
- to expand their knowledge of the world
- to build and control larger empires
- to expand the Christian religion
- to find natural resources for their newly created factories
- to open up new markets for their newly created products.
Which statement best summarizes the reasons for European exploration?
a. European explorers were trying to prove that the earth was not flat.
b. Europeans were looking to find ways to ease overcrowding in their
cities.
c. The monarchs of Europe were trying to develop and use new sailing
technologies.
d. The Europeans were trying to expand their territories, gather riches, and
spread their religion.
6. Which countries exploration and colonization is represented by the map below?
a. Portugal
b. France
c. Spain
d. England
7. Which of the following contributed to the outbreak of World War I?
a. fear of the spread of communism
b. an explosion on the battleship Maine
c. the Japanese invasion of the Philippines
d. European empire building in Africa and Asia
8. Trade with the Far East in the fifteenth century was controlled by Moslem traders who
would sell their Asian spices, silks, jewels, and porcelains only to European traders from
the city states of Venice and Genoa
9. The Great Age of Exploration began at a time when Europe was leaving the Medieval
era and entering the historical period of cultural rebirth called the Renaissance
10. The country of __________________ developed an important school of Navigation
in the 1400’s.
11. Three important goals of the early explorers were to _________________________.
a. Find new routes to Asia, claim land, and introduce Christianity
b. Introduce Christianity, wage war on India
c. Claim land, bring the English language to China, establish democracy in new lands
d. Learn how to sail according to special lunar cycles, find new routes to Asia, claim land
12. Whose voyage proved that the earth really was round? _______________
a. Christopher Columbus
b. Prince Henry the Navigator
c. Ferdinand Magellan
d. Vasco da Gama
13. Spanish explorers conquered what two native empires? ___________________
14. What country once controlled Canada and Louisiana?
___________________________
15. What is the policy of obtaining and occupying colonies to form an empire?
__________________________________
16. Why is the assassination of Austrian Archduke Ferdinand significant?
______________________
17. What treaty forced Germany to accept blame for WWI?
_______________________
18. What was the name of Adolf Hitler’s political party? ___________
Use the following map to answer questions 19 – 22
8
1
5
6
7
2
4
3
19. Which country is located at the “3” on the map?
20. Which number on the map marks the country of Germany?
21. Which of the number countries is northernmost on the map?
22. Which countries share a border?
23. How did nationalism play a part in Europe’s competition to colonize Africa and
Asia?
a. European missionaries were trying to spread their religion
b. Europeans felt a need to “civilize” other parts of the world
c. Smaller countries wanted more land to accommodate growing populations
d. Having colonies made countries feel more important and successful that other
countries
24. What type of government did Czar Nicholas II have in Russia?
__________________
25. Which was a cause of the Russian Revolution?
a. the czar was executed
b. there were food shortages in Russia
c. the Germans showed signs of surrender
d. Soldiers did not know how to use their weapons
26. Which part of the Treaty of Versailles was most damaging to the German economy?
a. Germany lost its colonies
b. the German emperor was to be put on trail
c. the Germans had to pay the Allies large sums of money
d. Germans were not allowed to have a large army and navy
27. Which were effects of the depression?
a. employment rose and wages fell
b. farmers gained land and business grew
c. people had more money and better jobs
d. farmers lost their land and banks closed
28. What happened to people who spoke out against Hitler in Germany?
Use the statements in the box to answer question 29



Hitler promised to rebuild Germany’s military
The Treaty of Versailles angered Germans
Hitler said he would get back Germany’s lost land
29. Which statement explains what these sentences are about?
a. events that led to World War I
b. feelings Germans had about other countries
c. ways that German leaders tried to rebuild their country
d. reasons why Hitler and the Nazis came to power in Germany
30. What war was the result of militarism and nationalism in the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries?
a. Civil War
b. World War I
c. World War II
d. Vietnam War