AP U.S. History Unit 1: Period 1: 1491-1607 Practice Exam

1. Questions 1–3 refer to the excerpt below. 'The introduction of the corn plant... resulted in the development of a distinct culture in the Southwest... These people built multi-story apartment houses of adobe brick and stone... They built a network of roads that linked the many towns of the region... They were master architects, engineers, and masons... showing a complexity of society not seen elsewhere in the region.' — Adapted from a historical analysis of pre-contact Native American societies Which of the following best explains how the spread of maize cultivation, as described in the excerpt, influenced the development of Native American societies in the American Southwest prior to European contact?

2. The demographic changes illustrated in the graph were most directly caused by which of the following?

3. Questions 1–3 refer to the excerpt below. 'The Spanish have a perfect right to rule these barbarians of the New World... who in prudence, skill, virtues, and humanity are as inferior to the Spanish as children to adults, or women to men, for there exists between the two as great a difference as between... apes and men.' — Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, *The Second Democrates*, 1547 The sentiments expressed in the excerpt were most directly used to justify which of the following systems during the 16th century?

4. <b>Questions 1–2 refer to the excerpt below.</b><br><br>“The spread of maize cultivation from present-day Mexico northward into the American Southwest and beyond supported economic development and social diversification among societies in these areas. In the arid Southwest, the Ancestral Puebloans developed complex irrigation systems to water their cornfields, which allowed for the construction of large, multi-story masonry buildings and the support of dense populations in a challenging environment.”<br><br>Which of the following best describes the primary impact of the cultivation of maize on the societies described in the excerpt?

5. <b>Questions 1–2 refer to the excerpt below.</b><br><br>“The spread of maize cultivation from present-day Mexico northward into the American Southwest and beyond supported economic development and social diversification among societies in these areas. In the arid Southwest, the Ancestral Puebloans developed complex irrigation systems to water their cornfields, which allowed for the construction of large, multi-story masonry buildings and the support of dense populations in a challenging environment.”<br><br>In contrast to the society described in the excerpt, native peoples in the Great Basin and western Great Plains regions primarily developed:

6. Questions 1-2 refer to the excerpt below. "I was very attentive to them, and strove to learn if they had any gold. Seeing some of them with little bits of this metal hanging at their noses, I gathered from them by signs that by going southward or steering round the island in that direction, there would be a king who possessed great cups full of it... I decided to go to the southwest to seek the gold and precious stones." — Christopher Columbus, Journal of the First Voyage, October 1492 The excerpt above best illustrates which of the following primary motivations for European exploration and conquest in the late 15th century?

7. The developments described in the excerpt were most directly driven by which broader context of the late 15th century?

8. Based on the excerpt and your knowledge of history, the economic trends described by Bodin most directly contributed to which of the following developments in Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries? **Stimulus:** > "I find that the high prices we see today are due to some four or five causes. The principal and almost the only one (which no one has referred to until now) is the abundance of gold and silver, which is much greater in this kingdom today than it was four hundred years ago... The quantity of gold and silver, which has been brought from the new lands of the West Indies [the Americas], has enriched the Kingdom of France." > > — Jean Bodin, French jurist and economist, *Response to the Paradoxes of Malestroit*, 1568

9. Which of the following best explains the population trend illustrated in the graph for the period 1519 to 1605? **Stimulus:** [Image Cue]: A line graph titled "Indigenous Population of Central Mexico, 1519–1605". The Y-axis represents population in millions, ranging from 0 to 30. The X-axis represents years from 1519 to 1605. The data line begins high at approximately 25 million in 1519 and drops precipitously to approximately 16 million by 1532, continues to fall sharply to 6 million by 1548, and flattens out near 1 million by 1605.

10. Questions 1–2 refer to the excerpt below. 'Into and among these gentle sheep, endowed by their Maker and Creator with all the qualities aforesaid, did creep the Spaniards, who no sooner had knowledge of these people than they became like fierce wolves and tigers and lions who have gone many days without food or nourishment... And this was the insatiable greed and ambition that they [the Spaniards] had, that is to say, to put their hands on gold, and to be able to rise to high estate and riches in a very short time... they have so little regard for the souls of these people that they have treated them... not as beasts... but as the most abject dung and filth of the earth.' — Bartolomé de las Casas, Spanish priest, *A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies*, 1542 The labor system that was the primary subject of Las Casas's criticism in the excerpt is best described as:

11. [Skill: 2.A | Topic: 1.6] **Questions 1–2 refer to the excerpt below.** “The Spanish have a perfect right to rule these barbarians of the New World and the adjacent islands, who in prudence, skill, virtues, and humanity are as inferior to the Spanish as children to adults, or women to men, for there exists between the two as great a difference as between... apes and men. ...Compare, then, these gifts of prudence, talent, magnanimity, temperance, humanity, and religion with those of these little men in whom you will scarcely find a trace of humanity, who not only do not possess a science but do not even have an alphabet or preserve records of their history nor do they have written laws but only barbaric institutions and customs... [T]hey have been born to slavery and not to civic and liberal life.” — Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, Spanish theologian and philosopher, *The Second Democrates*, 1547 The arguments expressed in the excerpt most directly emerged from which of the following contexts?

12. [Skill: 3.A | Topic: 1.6] **Questions 1–2 refer to the excerpt below.** “The Spanish have a perfect right to rule these barbarians of the New World and the adjacent islands, who in prudence, skill, virtues, and humanity are as inferior to the Spanish as children to adults, or women to men, for there exists between the two as great a difference as between... apes and men. ...Compare, then, these gifts of prudence, talent, magnanimity, temperance, humanity, and religion with those of these little men in whom you will scarcely find a trace of humanity, who not only do not possess a science but do not even have an alphabet or preserve records of their history nor do they have written laws but only barbaric institutions and customs... [T]hey have been born to slavery and not to civic and liberal life.” — Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, Spanish theologian and philosopher, *The Second Democrates*, 1547 The views expressed in the excerpt were most directly opposed by which of the following?

13. Questions 1 refers to the excerpt below. 'Nowhere was the connection between the spread of maize cultivation and the development of complex societies more evident than in the American Southwest. By 1000 C.E., the Ancestral Puebloan people had developed sophisticated irrigation systems to water their crops in the arid environment. This agricultural surplus allowed for the construction of large, multi-story stone and adobe dwellings, such as those found at Chaco Canyon, and supported a population that was far denser than that of their hunter-gatherer neighbors.' — Richard White, historian, 'The Middle Ground,' 1991 Based on the excerpt, the spread of maize cultivation most directly led to which of the following developments in the Southwest prior to European contact?

14. Question 2 refers to the graph described below. [Image Cue]: A line graph titled 'Indigenous Population of Central Mexico, 1518–1593'. The Y-axis represents population in millions, ranging from 0 to 30. The X-axis represents years from 1518 to 1593. The data line shows a precipitous drop: starting at approximately 25 million in 1518, falling sharply to roughly 17 million by 1532, dropping again to roughly 6 million by 1548, and leveling out near 2 million by 1593. The demographic trend described in the graph was primarily caused by which of the following?

15. “The Spanish practiced a terrible cruelty... They divided among themselves the Indians of the islands... under the pretense that they should be taught the Christian religion... but in reality, they were sent to the mines to dig for gold, which is an intolerable labor, and the women were used to till the soil and build houses... and thus they died, without faith and without sacraments.” — Bartolomé de Las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, 1542 [Skill: 2.A | Topic: 1.5] The conditions described in the excerpt most directly contributed to which of the following developments in the Spanish colonies during the sixteenth century?

16. The society depicted in the image most directly reflects which of the following developments in pre-Columbian North America?

17. The settlement shown in the image was most likely made possible by

18. Which of the following historical concepts does the image most clearly challenge?

19. Which of the following claims is most directly supported by the evidence in the excerpt?

20. The excerpt best illustrates which of the following historical patterns?

21. The economic incentive for the "brutal system of plantation slavery" mentioned in the excerpt stemmed primarily from the European desire to

22. Which of the following pieces of evidence did Las Casas use in the excerpt to support his argument about the nature of Native Americans?

23. The excerpt is best understood in the context of which of the following?

24. The views expressed by Las Casas in the excerpt were most directly in opposition to the beliefs and practices that created

25. The development of the Spanish caste system was a direct result of

26. Which of the following best explains the primary motivation for the Spanish desire to spread Christianity in the Americas?

27. The development of largely mobile lifestyles by societies on the Great Plains was a direct result of

28. The introduction of new crops from the Americas to Europe, such as potatoes and corn, had the most direct impact on

29. Which of the following best describes the historical context in which European nations began to explore the Americas?

30. Which of the following claims about the period from 1491 to 1607 is most defensible?