European and Native American Cultures: Freedom, Exploration, and Exchange

A set of practice questions focusing on the key themes from the lecture notes: contrasting European and Native American conceptions of civilization and freedom, the early European expansion and exploration era, major milestones (Caravel, Henry the Navigator, Reconquista, Columbus, Vespucci), and the Columbian Exchange including its agricultural transfers and devastating diseases.

What were the three areas highlighted as differences between European and Native American cultures in the slides?

Land, religion, and gender.

How did old-world Europeans characterize Native Americans' notion of freedom?

As liberty without restraint; they were viewed as savage, barbaric, and backwards.

How did Europeans view freedom differently from Native Americans?

They believed in liberty with restraint; freedoms have limits and require order and discipline.

What terms did Europeans often use to describe actions that they believed violated 'order and discipline' in other peoples?

Rioters or looters; such terms were used to justify enforcing law and order.

What did European Christians consider to be the ultimate freedom for themselves?

Freedom from sin, achieved through servitude to God.

What two driving forces were summarized as the expansion of European nation-states (profit and piety)?

Profit (money/trade) and piety (religion/faith).

Which ship technology enabled longer coastwise exploration by the Portuguese?

The Caravel; a smaller, faster ship capable of closer-to-shore sailing.

Who led the early Portuguese exploration program and sponsorship of voyages?

Prince Henry the Navigator.

What was the Reconquista and which rulers completed it in 1492?

The Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from North African Muslims; completed under Ferdinand and Isabella.

Where did Christopher Columbus actually land on his first voyage, and what did he believe he had found?

Landed in the Bahamas (San Salvador)/Hispaniola; believed he had reached Asia (India).

Which explorer demonstrated that the Americas were distinct continents and inspired naming the new lands?

Amerigo Vespucci; argued that the land was not the Indies but a separate continent (North and South America named after him).

What riches did Spain find in the Americas, and how did other European nations react?

Gold and silver from mines in Mexico and Peru; sparked envy and competition among European powers.

What is the Columbian Exchange?

The transfer of crops, animals, and diseases between the Old World and the New World (Old World to New: wheat, rice, sugarcane, horses, cattle, pigs, sheep; New World to Old: corn, tomatoes, potatoes, peanuts, tobacco, cotton).

Why is disease considered the most important element of the Columbian Exchange for Native Americans?

It caused a demographic disaster, with massive population declines (e.g., Mexico's population collapsing) due to no prior immunity.