Exam 1 Study Guide- Using your own separate papers answer the following questions covering the
materials that will be on the exam. Use available resources such as the internet and your notes/vocab
etc. Be sure once completed to put your name on your work and the guide will be worth 100 points in
the formative category upon completion.
Dark Ages (prologue/Ch 1)
1. Why was the period of time from the Fall of Rome to the Renaissance known as the Dark
Ages?
2. Explain allegory and how it is meant to work?
3. Briefly discuss how the Black Plague impacted European society.
Renaissance (ch 1)
4. Who were the Medici family and what are they best known for?
5. In your own words describe Patronage.
6. Discuss the following artists and some of their best known work:
Leonardo Da Vinci
Brunelleschi
Michelangelo
7. Describe the factors that make up the two separate Renaissance’s:
Northern Renaissance
Southern Renaissance
8. Define the idea of Humanism during the Renaissance.
9. In your own words describe secularism
Reformation (ch 1)
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Explain how Johannes Gutenberg would help spread the Renaissance.
Define Vernacular.
Who is accredited with starting the Protestant Reformation in 1517?
Explain what the 95 Theses were.
Briefly discuss each of the following people of the Reformation:
Henry VIII
John Calvin
Martin Luther
Pope Leo X
15. What was the significance of the Diet of Worms in 1521?
Muslim Empires (ch 2)
16. In your own words describe a “gunpowder” empire.
17. In what region were the Ottomans located?
18. What event occurred in 1453 showing the dominance of Mehmed II and the Ottoman
Empire?
19. Briefly describe who the Janissaries were.
20. Where was the Safavid Empire regionally located.
21. Briefly discuss the Safavid leader Shah Abbas the Great
22. What eventually happened to the Safavid Empire around 1722?
23. Where was the Mughal Empire regionally located?
24. Briefly describe “Divine Faith” established by Akbar the Great.
25. What did Shah Jahan build to honor his wife?
Exploration/Explorers (ch 3)
26. Briefly discuss the following explorers and their sailing routes/areas:
Prince Henry the Navigator
Bartolomeo Dias
Vasco de Gama
Zheng He
Hernan Cortes
Francisco Pizarro
27. Discuss some of the various technology used by these explorers to make sailing easier
28. What treaty in 1494 divided the world and was also known as the Line of Demarcation by
the Pope?
29. Which two major empires benefitted from this treaty and which side of the line did they
receive?
30. Who was the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty in China?
31. Briefly explain the purposes of the Zheng He expeditions.
32. Discuss how Japan started to become unified and identify the 3 key unifiers of Japan.
33. Why did Japan begin to isolate itself from the rest of the World?
New World/Atlantic Slave Trade (ch 4)
34. Explain the pattern of Spanish conquest in the New World.
35. Briefly discuss the following conquistadors and the empires they essentially ended:
Hernan Cortes
Francisco Pizarro
36. Discuss reasons for the success of Spanish conquest in the New World.
37. What was the significance of the Roanoke colony?
38. What was the first successful settlement for England in the New World and who was the
founder (1607)?
39.
40.
41.
42.
What group of individuals came over on the Mayflower and where did they land?
Briefly explain a Joint-Stock Company and provide a famous example of one.
In your own words define the Columbian Exchange.
Identify some of the products of the Columbian Exchange as requested below:
Old World to the New World
New World to the Old World
43. What was the major “resource” provide by Africa in the Columbian Exchange?
44. In your own words discuss the Atlantic Slave Trade and its impacts.
45. Define and discuss Triangular Trade.