Treaties; Diplomacy; International Organizations

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AP European History › Treaties; Diplomacy; International Organizations

Questions 1 - 10
1

Which of these religious groups was notably excluded from the Peace of Augsburg?

Calvinists

Lutherans

Catholics

All of the groups listed in the other answer choices were excluded.

All of the groups listed in the other answer choices were included.

Explanation

The Peace of Augsburg was signed in 1555. It ended the protracted Civil War that had been raging in the German Prince-led states of the Holy Roman Empire between the Lutherans and the Catholics. The Peace of Augsburg may be understood as an early extension of religious tolerance in Europe based on pragmatism; however, the extension of its tolerance had very strict limits. Firstly, the population of each princely state had little say in the religion its members could practice; that was decided by the ruler, and the rest of the population was then required to follow him. Secondly, all other Protestant denominations were excluded from the Peace of Augsburg—it only extended to Lutherans and Catholics. Calvinists continued to be persecuted by both groups.

2

Which of the following is true about Italy during the Renaissance?

Italy was a conglomeration of various city-states, lacking overall political unity.

All of Italy was ruled by the Holy Roman Empire.

Over the course of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Italy was extremely peaceful.

The pope lost all political authority during the sixteenth century.

Italian city-states transitioned into elected republican governments.

Explanation

During the Renaissance, Italy consisted of five main city-states: Venice, Milan, Florence, the Papal States, and the Kingdom of Naples, each with its own system of government. There were struggles for power among these various political entities, and their internal and external struggles made Italy vulnerable to invasion. Continental powers (notably the French and Austrians under Charles V) fought for territorial control in Italy in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

3

After the final Defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, what meeting took place to decide the future of Europe?

Congress of Vienna

Congress of Osnabrück

Congress of Berlin

Congress of Geneva

Explanation

After the Napoleonic Wars were over an Austrian politician, Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, hosted a meeting of the major powers of Europe to decide how the redraw the map of Europe so as to avoid further wars like the Napoleonic Wars, which had brought Europe to the point of exhaustion.

4

Which of these can best be understood as a precursor to the formation of the European Union?

The European Coal and Steel Community

The Congress of Vienna

The Treaty of Versailles

The European Atomic Energy Community

The Unification of Germany

Explanation

After World War Two, the governments of France and West Germany wanted to integrate their economies so heavily that a future war would not only be impractical, but an economic impossibility. To this end, they integrated their coal and steel production communities under one umbrella organization. The original treaty was signed in 1951 by six countries: West Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. It can be understood as the first step in the transnationalism that later led to the creation of the European Union.

5

During the Peace of Utrecht, the British were granted “Asiento,” which __________.

gave them a near monopoly on the sale of slaves to Spanish colonies in the New World

gave them almost complete control over the Mediterranean and North seas

allowed them to participate in the election of Holy Roman Emperors by granting them a standing vote in perpetuity

granted them exclusive control over the fur trade with Native Americans in French Canada

granted them exclusive control over foreign access to ports in the United Provinces

Explanation

The term “Asiento” is a Spanish term that in British history is used to refer to an arrangement made in the 1713 Peace of Utrecht that Britain was to be given a forty-year contract to provide slaves to the Spanish colonies of the New World. The “Asiento” was an extremely lucrative contract because it gave the British a near monopoly on the valuable sale of goods and slaves to Spanish colonists.

6

What was the significance of the Union of Lublin?

It merged Poland and Lithuania

It unified Germany into one nation

It merged the two Hapsburg kingdoms into one

It brought the Ukraine into Russia

Explanation

The union of Lublin unified the two nations of Poland and Lithuania into one nation under the Jageillonian Dynasty

7

What is the signifigance of the Union of Kreva (1386)?

It joined the royal families of Poland and Lithuania

A Hapsburg prince married a Bourbon princess

It reorganized the Holy Roman Empire

It joined together many small Germanic Principalities

Explanation

The Union of Kreva saw the marriage of the Grand Duke of Lithuania to the daughter of the recently passed Polish king. Jadwiga had no brothers so she was crowned King of Poland, set to rule until she married. Her mother then arranged a marriage with the leader of Lithuania, the Grand Duke Jogalia, thus joining the royal lines of Poland and Lithuania.

8

The League of Nations __________.

came out of the peace after World War I

succeeded because of American support

helped centralize and stabilize the Weimar Republic

prevented the Russian Revolution

was created by Bismarck after the Berlin Conference

Explanation

The Berlin Conference and Russian Revolution both took place before the League of Nations was created. It didn't prevent the collapse of the Weimar Republic and many historians think that the lack of American support weakened the League. However, the League did emerge out of the peace following World War I.

9

The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 was designed to ensure that __________.

the Hapsburg imperial possessions could be inherited by a woman

the French would not become a hegemonic power in Europe

the Italian city states would remain divided and in constant economic competition with one another

the Dutch Provinces would be unable to rebel due to external pressure from the major European powers

the British would not gain territory on the European continental mainland

Explanation

The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 was issued by the Hapsburg ruler Charles VI to ensure that in the event of there being no legitimate male heir, his throne and the various inheritances of the Hapsburgs would pass to his eldest daughter Maria Theresa. Prior to the Pragmatic Sanction, ancient German law prevented a daughter from inheriting lands and titles from her father. Charles VI did indeed die without leaving a legitimate male hair and Maria Theresa did succeed him as ruler of Austria and the diverse Hapsburg lands, but her accession nonetheless resulted in the outbreak of conflict in 1740 with the War of Austrian Succession.

10

Which of these groups was NOT granted favorable terms in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648?

All of these groups were granted favorable terms in the Peace of Westphalia.

Calvinists

The Kingdom of France

Switzerland

The Kingdom of Sweden

Explanation

The Peace of Westphalia (1648) is one of the most important treaties in European history. It brought to an end the brutal fighting of the Thirty Years’ War that had devastated the population of German-speaking central Europe and pitted all the major continental powers of Europe against one another. It included formal religious tolerance for all three major branches of Protestantism, including Calvinism for the first time. It provided territorial gains for the Kingdoms of France and Sweden, who both emerged as dominant European powers during this time period. Finally, it provided de jure independence for the territory of Switzerland that had previously only enjoyed de facto independence.

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