Mr. Locklin
AP US History
Summer Research
The following questions are a good introduction into the beginnings of US History (use the
Internet to find). Please answer with complete detail.
***This will be due the 1st day of school. ***
1) What was the Bering Strait, what was it used for?
2) What groups lived in Peru, Central America and Mexico?
3) What crop did those groups cultivate?
4) Who were the Pueblos?
5) Who were the Mound Builders?
6) Who Was Hiawatha?
7) What did Norse seafarers stumble across? When?
8) How did Christian Crusaders rank high among America’s indirect discoveries?
9) Why were Asian and Middle East goods so expensive in Europe?
10) Who was and what did Marco Polo do?
11) Who was Prince Henry? What was his navigation school?
12) What trade did the Portuguese become heavily involved with?
13) What did Bartholomeau Dias and Vasco de Gama do?
14) What two events united Spain?
15) Why did Spain decide to sail West?
16) What four events or occurrences led to more sea travel and discovery?
17) Who discovered the Americas?
18) What did New World Indians bring to Europeans and what did Europeans bring to
the Americans.
19) What did the Treaty of Tordesillas establish between Spain and Portugal?
20) What were the Spanish conquistadors searching for?
21) What were the accomplishments of a) Vasco Nunez Balboa b) Ferdinand Magellan
c) Juan Ponce de Leon d) Francisco Coronado e) Hernando de Soto f) Francisco
Pizzaro
22) What was the encomieda system?
23) What and whom did Hernando Cortes conquer?
24) What were the mestizos?
25) Who were John Cabot, Giovanni de Verrazano and Jacques Cartier?
26) What other European nations began to challenge Spain for New World domination?
27) What was St. Augustine, Florida?
28) Who was Robert de Lasalle?
29) What two Spanish explorers led Spain’s claims in California?