Exploration & Technology
Name one navigational technology that enabled long-distance ocean voyages between 1450–1750.
Astrolabe / Magnetic compass / Lateen sail (any one)
What was the most deadly disease Europeans brought to the Americas?
smallpox
What Spanish labor system forced Indigenous workers to labor in mines and plantations?
Encomienda
Which empire conquered the Aztec and Inca civilizations?
The Spanish Empire
What precious metal from the Americas became central to global trade?
Silver
What type of ship developed by Portugal was fast, maneuverable, and ideal for exploration?
The caravel
Name one Old World animal that transformed life for Native Americans.
Horses / pigs / cattle (any one)
What labor system, adapted from the Inca, was used by the Spanish in silver mining?
The Mit’a system
What kind of empire did Portugal create in the Indian Ocean?
A trading-post empire
What city connected Spanish silver to the Chinese economy?
Manila
Which European state sponsored early voyages along Africa’s west coast?
Portugal
Which American crop fueled population growth in Afro-Eurasia?
Potatoes (also acceptable: maize or cassava)
What was the “Middle Passage”?
The horrific voyage enslaved Africans took across the Atlantic
Which company dominated trade in Indonesia and the Indian Ocean?
The Dutch VOC (Dutch East India Company)
Name one syncretic religion created during this period.
Vodun / Santería / Sikhism (any one)
What wind patterns did European sailors learn to use for faster voyages?
The trade winds, monsoons and westerlies
True or False: The Columbian Exchange involved the transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases.
True
Name one major cash crop produced by enslaved Africans in the Americas.
Sugar / tobacco / cotton (any one)
Which two European powers searched for the Northwest Passage?
France and England
What was the name of African communities formed by escaped enslaved people?
Maroon communities
Which explorer’s voyage first circumnavigated the globe?
Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition
What environmental consequence did European plantation agriculture cause in the Americas?
Deforestation / soil depletion / loss of biodiversity (any one)
What economic theory said colonies existed to benefit the mother country?
Mercantilism
What was the primary economic system used by the British in India and the Caribbean?
Joint-stock company–based colonialism
What was the name of the social hierarchy in Spanish America based on race and ancestry?
The Casta System