APUSH Reading Quiz 1 (Module 1.1 - 1.2)

How did religious, economic, and political factors shape Portuguese and Spanish claims on the land in Central and South America? 

-Political: Spanish monarches wanted to expand land (just unified after expelling jews and muslims). Portguese was inspired
-Economic: Italty city-states and Portugal dominated existing routes to Africa, so Spain wanted a new route.
-Religous: Pope decided to grant Spanish claims over the newly found land, but a protest from the catholic portugal granted them brazil, and spain the rest of south america. 

How did the societies of North America differ from those of the equatorial region and the Andes Moutain Region? 

-North American societies were smaller 
-American Indians (such as the Mississippians) focused on trading networks (land or river) 
-Many American Indians were dependant on the river for food and made canoes (+ water deities)

In what ways did climate shape early native migrations? 

- 25,000 BCE: Asians migrated to America 
-Climate got colder so glaciers expanded (lowering sea levels)
-Lowered sea levels lead to a land bridge that allowed for a path 
-Other civilizations likely came by boat. 

In what ways were the motivations for Spanish and Portuguese overseas exploration similar? In what ways did these motivations differ? 

- Similarities: wished to explore and obtain goods from Asia and bypass existing but blocked trade routes. 
-Differences: Spain wanted to spread Catholicism 
-Portugal focused on innovations like the caravels and trading with Africa and Asia. 

What differences do you note between these three peoples? 

-Incans lived in the Andes mountains on pacific coast, using moutain valleys for cultivation 
-Mayans developed calender and hierographic writing; declined from drought
-Aztecs used chinampas, or artifical islands, for fertile soil.

What historical factors during the fifteenth century caused Europeans to establish trade with other continents? 

-Rising birthrates and productivity 
-improved climate 
-new approaches top farming, leading to increased food supply

What similarities do you see between the Aztec, Incan, and Mayan civilizations? 

- significant civilizations in the Americas that had emerged by the sixteenth century. 
- All technologically advanced (knowledge in math and astronomy) 
- Contain vast mineral wealth 
-Buils large urban centers
-Religious rituals and complex political systems 

Some American Indian, like the Mississippians, developed extensive trade network over land or along rivers and coastline. Other, such as the Aztec, developed extensive agricultural economies based on Mayan precedents and practiced trade. Other groups, like the Pueblo, battled over scarce resource. How did geographic location shape these differences?

-Mississippians lived in rivers and coastlines, providing the prerequisites for an extensive trade network.

-The Aztec development of Chinampas (artifical islands) allowed for large farming economies and resources to be traded.

-The lack of resources for the Pueblo people were due to its southwest location in dry areas that often faced drought.

Mississippians constructed this mound, located in Locust Grove, Ohio, between 950 and 1200 C.E. Worshippers of the sun, the Mississippians aligned the head of the serpent with the sunset of summer solstice (June 20, 21). Artifacts found at this site indicate the Mississippians extended Hopewell trade networks. Based on this information, what can you conclude about the Mississippian economy during this period?

While overland trade routes had long connected West Africa with the Mediterranean, by the 1430s, the Portuguese had opened a new trade route down the west coast of Africa, and, eventually, around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of the continent, which allowed the Portuguese access to the Indian Ocean. What economic, political, and geographic factor made it possible for Portugal to open a new trade route along the west coast of Africa?