AP European History Practice Quiz: Continuities and Changes to Economic Practice and Development
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Test your understanding with short quizzes. This quiz has 11 questions to check your progress.
Question 1 of 11
All Questions (11)
A) The expansion of the guild system into rural areas.
B) A decrease in the power of merchant intermediaries.
C) An increased supply of food and other agricultural products.
D) The establishment of new government restrictions on farming.
Correct Answer: C
The text explicitly states that 'The Agricultural Revolution raised productivity and increased the supply of food and other agricultural products.' This was its most direct and significant economic contribution mentioned.
A) A system where urban guilds outsourced labor to rural workers to avoid taxes.
B) A government-led initiative to centralize all production in state-owned factories.
C) A process where merchant intermediaries provided raw materials to laborers who worked from their homes.
D) A traditional farming practice where peasants collectively owned and worked the land.
Correct Answer: C
The text defines the putting-out system, or cottage industry, as a system where 'increasing numbers of laborers produced for markets through merchant intermediaries or workshop owners,' which aligns with the description of merchants providing materials for home-based labor.
A) The decline of the cottage industry.
B) The strengthening of traditional government economic restrictions.
C) The development of a more complex market economy.
D) The decrease in agricultural productivity.
Correct Answer: C
The source material connects these developments by stating, 'The development of the market economy led to new financial practices and institutions (e.g., insurance, Bank of England).'
A) Merchant intermediaries and workshop owners.
B) Governments and corporate entities.
C) Peasant laborers and farmers.
D) Banks and insurance companies.
Correct Answer: B
The text states that 'Labor and trade in commodities were increasingly freed from traditional restrictions imposed by governments and corporate entities.' Corporate entities in this context often refers to guilds.
A) By creating food shortages that forced people to find non-agricultural work.
B) By increasing rural productivity, which freed up a portion of the population for non-farm labor.
C) By introducing new government regulations that required families to engage in textile production.
D) By strengthening the guild system's control over farming, pushing workers into other sectors.
Correct Answer: B
This question requires synthesis. The Agricultural Revolution's increased productivity meant that fewer people were needed to produce the same amount of food. This created a surplus labor force in rural areas, which was then available to participate in the putting-out system organized by merchants.
A) Continuity: Guilds controlled all production; Change: The putting-out system was introduced.
B) Continuity: Agriculture remained central; Change: Its productivity and the labor market were transformed.
C) Continuity: Governments imposed strict trade restrictions; Change: The Bank of England was founded.
D) Continuity: Bartering was the main form of exchange; Change: Insurance became available.
Correct Answer: B
Agriculture remained the foundation of the economy (a continuity), but the Agricultural Revolution fundamentally changed its productivity and how labor was organized, which is a major change described in the text.
A) National monarchies.
B) The Bank of England.
C) Urban guilds.
D) Joint-stock companies.
Correct Answer: C
The putting-out system operated largely in the countryside, outside the control of urban-based guilds. This allowed merchants to bypass the guilds' strict regulations on price, quality, and labor, which is an example of trade being 'freed from traditional restrictions imposed by...corporate entities.'
A) A market-driven economy.
B) A feudal manorial system.
C) A state-controlled command economy.
D) A localized barter economy.
Correct Answer: A
All the listed developments—increased food supply, production for distant consumers via merchants, and financial tools like banks and insurance—are hallmarks of a developing market economy where supply, demand, and capital play central roles.
A) Decreasing volume of international trade.
B) Growing risks and capital requirements of market-based commerce.
C) Government's desire to eliminate all private enterprise.
D) Success of the Agricultural Revolution in eliminating all economic risk.
Correct Answer: B
A market economy, especially one involving long-distance trade, involves significant financial risk (e.g., a ship sinking). Insurance is a financial tool developed to mitigate these new and larger-scale risks, facilitating further investment and trade.
A) Guild masters.
B) Feudal lords.
C) Subsistence farmers.
D) Merchant intermediaries.
Correct Answer: D
The text explicitly states that under the putting-out system, laborers 'produced for markets through merchant intermediaries or workshop owners.' These merchants were the organizers and financiers of this new mode of production, thus gaining economic power.
A) Greater economic freedom and market integration.
B) Increased government regulation and economic isolation.
C) A return to traditional, subsistence-based agriculture.
D) The decline of financial institutions and commercial trade.
Correct Answer: A
The key themes are the freeing of trade from restrictions, the rise of production for markets (cottage industry), and the development of financial tools to support commerce. All of these point to a more integrated, freer, and market-oriented economy.