AP World History : Empires, Colonialism, Imperialism, Decolonization, and Globalization 1450 to 1750

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP World History

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Empires, Colonialism, Imperialism, Decolonization, And Globalization 1450 To 1750

Which European conquered the Incan Empire?

Possible Answers:

Juan Vasquez de Coronado

Hernan Cortes

Francisco Pizarro

 Juan Ponce De Leon

Christopher Columbus

Correct answer:

Francisco Pizarro

Explanation:

Francisco Pizarro conquered and colonized the nation now known as Peru (homeland of the Incan people). Cortez conquered the Aztecs of Mexico, and Ponce de Leon and Coronado are associated primarily with the Caribbean. While similar, Columbus was not a true conquistador and allegedly never saw the Incas.

Example Question #2 : Empires, Colonialism, Imperialism, Decolonization, And Globalization 1450 To 1750

“The Sun never set” on which Empire at its peak?

Possible Answers:

British

Mughal 

French

Ottoman

Aztec

Correct answer:

British

Explanation:

The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire. This phrase refers to the peak of the empire when the colonies were so vast that it was said that no matter the time of day, somewhere in the world the sun was shining on a British colony. 

Example Question #1 : Empires, Colonialism, Imperialism, Decolonization, And Globalization 1450 To 1750

Which nation was not a colonial power in the Americas?

Possible Answers:

The Netherlands

Great Britain

Spain

Portugal

Germany

Correct answer:

Germany

Explanation:

All of these nations, except for Germany had numerous colonies in the Americas and were largely dependent on their natural and economic resources as a source of wealth. You could have answered this question either by knowing that Germany was not a colonial presence in America or by knowing that all of the other nations listed were such presences.

Example Question #3 : Empires, Colonialism, Imperialism, Decolonization, And Globalization 1450 To 1750

What was the first European nation to discover Australia?

Possible Answers:

France

Portugal

Britain

Netherlands

Correct answer:

Netherlands

Explanation:

While the British famously went on to colonize Australia and many of the surrounding islands, they were not the first to discover its existence and relay that information back to Europe. While on a trade expedition to Indonesia Dutch sailor Willem Janszoon was blown off course. It was there he spotted Australia and made landfall. He was promptly attacked by the local aborigines and he returned to Indonesia.  

Example Question #4 : Empires, Colonialism, Imperialism, Decolonization, And Globalization 1450 To 1750

What is the name for the indigenous people of New Zealand?

Possible Answers:

Aborigines

Natives

Polynesians

Maori

Correct answer:

Maori

Explanation:

The Maori are the native people of New Zealand. Unlike in most other colonized nations thought, the culture of the Maori has not been largely extinguished. The Maori culture is still to this day a celebrated part of New Zealand's history. This is evidenced by the fact that New Zealand's national rugby team (New Zealand's most popular sport) performs a traditional Maori war dance before every game.

Example Question #992 : Ap World History

Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conqueror who was able to destroy the Aztec empire with a small number of __________.

Possible Answers:

Chariots

horse archers

Samurai

Sarissa

Conquistadors

Correct answer:

Conquistadors

Explanation:

Hernan Cortes was able to conquer the Aztec empire with a small number of conquistadors.

Samurai were Japanese warriors who did not participate in the destruction of the Aztec empire.

By the time of Cortes's invasion of the Americas, no military used chariots.

The Sarissa were specialized pikemen used by Alexander the Great to conquer Persia, they were not used by Cortes.

Cortes used horses but he also used firearms, not bows and arrows.

Example Question #993 : Ap World History

Which of the following was not a characteristic of the Three Gunpowder Empires (Ottoman, Mughal, and Safavid)?

Possible Answers:

An independent, dynastic system of rule/law

The widespread use of advanced artillery such as muskets and cannons

Democratic governing structures

A population comprised of mostly Muslims

Strong state-run military

Correct answer:

Democratic governing structures

Explanation:

The Gunpowder Empires got their name from their reliance of black powder weapons as the crux of their military might. They were strictly run dynastic empires focused on aggressive expansion of territories. They all three were located in the Middle East and could trace their lineage back to early Turkish tribes. 

Example Question #5 : Empires, Colonialism, Imperialism, Decolonization, And Globalization 1450 To 1750

What term refers to the political, economic, or cultural domination of one nation over another? 

Possible Answers:

Capitalism

Democracy

Communism

Imperialism

Populism

Correct answer:

Imperialism

Explanation:

Imperialism was the movement of Empire making, Western powers built vast colonial networks stretching around the world that offered significant political and financial advantages, while ultimately offering nothing but a weak infrastructure to many of the countries then viewed as "third world" by the colonizing powers.

Example Question #994 : Ap World History

Select the form of national competition in which many European countries engaged throughout the time period of the Renaissance.

Possible Answers:

Military invasions of the Middle East and/or Asia

A. dynastically arranged marriages

Overseas voyaging expeditions

The deliberate build-up of mass armies

Monarchial visits to Rome

Correct answer:

Overseas voyaging expeditions

Explanation:

The many scientific and cultural changes wrought by the Renaissance had a similarly transformative effect on the ways in which Western European nations engaged in competition. During the Medieval Ages, hostility between various countries traditionally broke out along militaristic and/or religious lines – often, these two approaches were combined. Traditional examples of pre-Renaissance era national conflict included influential monarchial visits to Rome in an attempt to leverage Papal Power or military incursions into the Middle East (such as the infamous Crusades). However, as the many developments of the Renaissance permeated national administrations and cultural institutions, many Western European countries began instead to compete on a scientific level – for example, the fastest construction of ships and weapons or the strategic gathering of scholars and artists and highly skilled craftsmen. Eventually, all of these factors coalesced into the ability of national governments to fund voyages overseas, in the hopes of snapping up land, material riches, and primacy of ownership before any other country. Columbus’s discovery of the New World dramatically heightened this trend, and before too long, Spain, Portugal, England, France, and Belgium, along with others, were all competitors in the race to control as many Western Hemisphere lands and peoples as possible.

Example Question #995 : Ap World History

In the wake of transoceanic expansion what treaty between Spain and Portugal in 1492 was meant to divide up the world between the two states?

Possible Answers:

Treaty of the Azores

Treaty of Tordesillas

Treaty of Madrid

Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo

Treaty of Lisbon

Correct answer:

Treaty of Tordesillas

Explanation:

The Treaty of Tordesillas was signed in 1492 by Spain and Portugal and in its agreement drew a line that ran north to south along the entire globe approximately 300 miles west of the Azores Islands off of the west coast of Europe. The agreement in the treaty granted Spain possession of all lands west of the line, and Portugal all lands to the east.

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