AP World History : Migration, Settlement, and Demography 1450 to 1750

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP World History

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Migration, Settlement, And Demography 1450 To 1750

The Age of Sail, in which European populations moved to the Americas, _____________.

Possible Answers:

was unimportant to the development of European societies

was facilitated by the enhanced lethality of European firearms

was advantageous to many indigenous American groups

was considered unremarkable by many indigenous Americans they came into contact with

helped calm competition between European monarchies

Correct answer:

was facilitated by the enhanced lethality of European firearms

Explanation:

Resistance by indigenous groups to the settling of Europeans in the Americas was futile as the Europeans possessed firearms. The Age of Sail was advantageous to Europeans at the expense of indigenous Americans, who were decimated by, among other things, the speed and power of European military might. The Age of Sail was important to European societies because it added to their wealth, by cultivating the natural resources of the Americas, but it did not lead to European peace; rather it became another theater of war in which the Spanish, Dutch, British and French competed.

Example Question #2 : Migration, Settlement, And Demography 1450 To 1750

Which of these did not contribute to the outbreak of the Black Death in 14th century Europe?

Possible Answers:

Poor sanitation standards, and unsophisticated medical technology

Rats crossing the Mediterranean on merchant vessels

Nordic Vikings transmitting goods and animals from North America

Bacteria transmitted along the Silk Road

Overpopulated European cities

Correct answer:

Nordic Vikings transmitting goods and animals from North America

Explanation:

While numerous factors led to the outbreak of the plague, theories agree that the diseases originated in Asia, not North America. Historians and scientists agree that the plague was transmitted to Europe via both land and sea trade routes, and the poor sanitation standards of European cities caused the plague to be rapidly transmitted among the populace.

Example Question #3 : Migration, Settlement, And Demography 1450 To 1750

Which of these is not an example of a stateless nation? 

Possible Answers:

The Yoruba People

The Kurds

The Sikhs

The Catalans

The Aztecs

Correct answer:

The Aztecs

Explanation:

The Aztec's had a centralized government with geopolitical boundaries centered on Tenochtitlan (present day Mexico City). All of the other nations listed cannot claim any specific territory as their sovereign land. The Catalans seek sovereignty in Eastern Spain; the Kurds in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey; The Sikhs in Northern India and Pakistan; and the Yoruba in West Africa. 

Example Question #1 : Migration, Settlement, And Demography 1450 To 1750

Throughout the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, one country stood out as the single largest state in the European/Middle Eastern spheres. Select this country from the choices provided.

Possible Answers:

Mongol China

The Ottoman Empire

Austria-Hungary

The Russian Empire

Prussia

Correct answer:

The Ottoman Empire

Explanation:

The Ottoman Empire was the single largest country in the European/Middle Eastern spheres of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. This vast empire stretched from Baghdad across the Arabian and Balkan Peninsulas into Northern Africa, where it controlled all the land from Egypt to Algiers. The Ottoman Empire first emerged as a power to be reckoned with in the eleventh century, when various Ottoman tribes left Asia and moved into the Mediterranean and Northern African regions. Soon, the Ottomans began to gain more and more territory, and the Empire’s conquest of the city of Constantinople in 1453 signaled the permanence of their dominance to all the other European states. From that time onward, various European countries struggled against Ottoman incursions (both territorially and economically). At times, the Ottoman Empire seemed unstoppable, especially due to its lucrative control over much of the vast Middle Eastern and Asian trade routes, which provided Europe with much coveted luxury goods, such as silks and spices. But the Ottomans made a dreadful mistake in 1683, when they attempted to conquer the Austrian city of Vienna. Their invasion was a disastrous failure and marked the beginning of the Empire’s long, agonizingly slow decline from power. All throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, many European countries, including Russia and Austria, began to chip away at the Ottoman’s sphere of control, challenging them for control of various ports and seeking alternate trade routes, especially in newly-discovered North and South America. The Ottomans’ grip on power began to slowly but steadily slip.

Example Question #4 : Migration, Settlement, And Demography 1450 To 1750

Modern-day New York City was initially founded by __________.

Possible Answers:

the French

the English

the Germans

the Spanish

the Dutch

Correct answer:

the Dutch

Explanation:

Modern-day New York City was established on the island of Manhattan by Dutch settlers in 1625. It was called New Amsterdam and was the capital of the Dutch North American empire, called New Netherland. It was ceded to the English in 1667 after it had been captured by English forces a few years earlier. The English settlers renamed it New York.

Example Question #5 : Migration, Settlement, And Demography 1450 To 1750

Ferdinand Magellan is famous for being the first European to __________.

Possible Answers:

reach the Americas

arrive in Ceylon

reach the Indian Ocean

traverse the Pacific Ocean

set foot on Antarctica

Correct answer:

traverse the Pacific Ocean

Explanation:

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who made a famous voyage, on behalf of the Spanish crown, around the tip of South America (through the Strait of Magellan) and across the Pacific Ocean. This voyage was the first to successfully circumnavigate the earth, but, unfortunately for Magellan, he was killed in battle in the Philippines and thus did not complete the circumnavigation personally.

Example Question #7 : Migration, Settlement, And Demography 1450 To 1750

Bartolomeu Dias was a Portuguese explorer who was the first European to __________.

Possible Answers:

reach the Americas

circumnavigate the world

sail across the Pacific Ocean

reach the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope

reach Oceania

Correct answer:

reach the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope

Explanation:

Bartolomeu Dias was a Portuguese explorer who, in 1488, became the first European known to have sailed around the Cape of Good Hope (at the tip of South Africa) and reached the Indian Ocean. His voyage was part of the early era of European exploration and colonialism that established Portugal as a leading maritime empire.

Example Question #4 : Migration, Settlement, And Demography 1450 To 1750

After the arrival of Europeans in the Americas _______________.

Possible Answers:

the population remained static, as most of the native population migrated deeper into the interior of the continent

the population declined dramatically, primarily due to warfare and forced labor

the population declined dramatically, primarily due to the spread of infections disease

the population rose slightly, as the Europeans shared new technologies with the native population

the population rose dramatically, as the Europeans introduced many new crops to the native population

Correct answer:

the population declined dramatically, primarily due to the spread of infections disease

Explanation:

After the arrival of Europeans in the fifteenth century the population of the Americas declined dramatically in the following decades. The Europeans contributed to this widespread death directly by exterminating and enslaving the native population, but the bulk of the damage was done by deadly contagious diseases that the European explorers and settlers brought with them. Diseases like smallpox were not native to the Americas and the local population had no natural resistance to the disease. By most historians’ estimates, within two centuries of the arrival of Europeans the population of the Americas had declined by ninety percent.

Example Question #8 : Migration, Settlement, And Demography 1450 To 1750

Christopher Columbus’ voyages were sponsored by _____________.

Possible Answers:

Louis XIV

Henry VIII

Ferdinand and Isabella

Pope Gregory II

William and Mary

Correct answer:

Ferdinand and Isabella

Explanation:

Christopher Columbus’ voyages to the new world were sponsored by the Spanish crown, which at the time was led by Ferdinand and Isabella.

Example Question #8 : Migration, Settlement, And Demography 1450 To 1750

What country is now what used to be the "Holy Roman Empire"?

Possible Answers:

Italy

Germany

Turkey

France

Correct answer:

Germany

Explanation:

The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved after Napoleon conquered it, and eventually replaced with the German Federation, which became the German Republic in 1918, and was divided into East and West Germany after World War II. The modern country of Germany was finally created with reunification in 1990, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. 

Italy is also a country with a complicated history, and might be a tempting answer for "Holy Roman Empire" due to Rome; however, after the collapse of the Roman Empire many distinct claims to its successor lived on, with the city of Rome, Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire, and the Germanic tribes that had conquered Rome in the Early Middle Ages. The latter is what eventually led to the Holy Roman Empire.

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