U.S. History Unit 1 Test

What are two reasons that Europeans come to the New World to establish colonies?

- Money ( Joint stock companies)
- Religious Freedom

How does Columbus’ discovery of the New World affect the indigenous people living there?

Columbus wanted to take over the people and treat them as servants. Also he wanted to convert them to Christians

What is the Columbian Exchange? Provide examples.

The exchange of goods (and bads) from the New Land and Europe

From the new land to Europe- potatoes, pumpkin, tobacco, peanuts, avocado, pineapple, vanilla, sunflowers

From Europe to the New Land- horses, pigs, cattle, chickens, bananas, citrus fruits, diseases, weeds(crabgrass, etc.)

Describe the economy of colonial New England. How is that different from the economy in southern colonies?

The economy in colonial New England was like a small, self-sufficient town, while the southern colonies were more like giant farms focused on making money from crops.

What is the significance of the House of Burgesses?

The beginning of representative branch; people wanted a say in how the colony ran

What is the significance of the Mayflower Compact?

The Mayflower Compact is the basis of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

Explain the circumstances surrounding the Salem Witch Trials.

A few people freaked out, people got scared, and a whole town started accusing each other of being witches. It ended with lots of unnecessary deaths, and everyone later realized it was a huge mistake

Explain the system of Indentured Servitude.

People with poor life expectations, who worked for a period of 4-7 years in exchange for their passage to the New World

What is a Joint Stock Company Colony? How is that different from a Proprietary Colony

Joint Stock Company Colony: A business project owned by a group of investors looking to make money. An example of this is Virginia

Proprietary Colony: A land gift run by an individual or a small group who had nearly full control over the colony’s governance. An example of this is Pennsylvania

Explain the connection between the economy of the southern colonies and the rise of slavery.

Word of bad conditions spread to what would be indentured servants, as a result indentured servants became less reliable. Planters looked to the Caribbean where racial slavery was common. The south also failed to attract indentured servants