Basic Economics
A local grocery store runs completely out of umbrellas during a sudden, heavy rainstorm because everyone wants one. What will most likely happen to the price of the umbrellas?
The price will increase because demand is higher.
Because so many workers died during the Black Death, what happened to the economic power of the surviving peasants?
They gained more economic power and higher wages because there were fewer workers available.
In which European country did the Renaissance—a major time of change for art and learning—begin?
Italy
When Christopher Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, what was he mainly looking for?
A direct sea route to Asia.
In the Atlantic trade network, what was the specific name for the terrifying ocean journey used to transport enslaved Africans to the Americas?
The Middle Passage
An economy where one business focuses only on making shoes, another only grows food, and a third only builds furniture is an example of what concept?
Specialization
During the late Middle Ages, a new "middle class" grew in European towns. Which groups of people made up this new social class?
Merchants, artisans, and traders who made money through business.
Instead of just focusing on religious duties and old feudal traditions, Renaissance thinkers emphasized what?
Human potential and individual achievement.
What was the most important and immediate global result of Columbus's voyages across the ocean?
Permanent contact and trade between Europe and the Americas.
Why did the three-sided "Triangular Trade" system develop across the Atlantic Ocean during the 1500s to 1700s?
European colonies in the Americas created a huge demand for labor and raw materials.
What is the term for a system where different countries depend on one another for the resources and products they need?
Interdependence
What do we call a territory that is united under a single centralized government where the people share a common identity or culture?
A nation-state
A writer from the Renaissance named Leon Battista Alberti famously stated, "A man can do all things if he will." What Renaissance viewpoint does this quote reflect?
Humanism
What is the term for the historical movement of plants, animals, foods, and human populations back and forth between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres?
The Columbian Exchange
In the Triangular Trade, what kinds of goods did European traders usually bring to Africa in order to trade for enslaved people?
Manufactured goods (such as guns, cloth, and metal tools).
A student in Maryland buys a smartphone designed in California, built with minerals from Africa, and assembled in Asia. What is this global connection called?
Globalization
Which political change helped cause the rise of nationalism in Europe during the late Middle Ages?
Kings (monarchs) strengthened central governments and took power away from local lords.
How did the new ideas and improvements of the Renaissance help lead directly to the Age of Exploration?
Advances in learning and science encouraged new inventions, mapmaking, and navigation.
According to historical accounts, what happened to Native American villages when Europeans arrived bringing diseases they had never seen before?
Entire villages were devastated and left without survivors because they had no immunity.
What kinds of items were shipped from the American colonies back to Europe during the Triangular Trade?
Raw materials and cash crops (such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton).
What is one major cultural effect of globalization on countries around the world?
Increased cultural exchange (like sharing food, music, and ideas) between countries.
Before nations grew, Europe used a system where local nobles controlled land and peasants had strict duties. What was this medieval system called?
Feudalism
What Renaissance philosophy focuses on everyday, worldly life and non-religious matters, rather than strictly spiritual ones?
Secularism
True or False: The tragic spread of smallpox and other European illnesses to the Americas is considered part of the Columbian Exchange.
True
What is the name of the economic system where European mother countries tightly controlled colony trade to get rich, aiming to export more than they imported?
Mercantilism