Atlantic Exploration, Colonialism, and Trade Networks

The Age of Exploration primarily involved exploration by Spain and Portugal, motivated by wealth, new trade routes, and empire expansion.

• TRUE

• FALSE

The Columbian Exchange only involved the transfer of plants and animals between the Old and New Worlds.

• TRUE

• FALSE

European diseases such as smallpox and measles had little effect on the indigenous populations of  the Americas.

• True

• False

The encomienda system was used by European colonizers to exploit indigenous labor in the  Americas.

• True

• False

5. European colonizers justified the exploitation of indigenous people on religious grounds, claiming it was their duty to "civilize" them.

• True

• False

The colonization of the Americas was driven in part by the desire to extract natural resources like gold, silver, sugar, and cotton.

• True

• False

As native populations declined due to disease, European colonists turned to the African slave trade to meet labor demands, especially in mining and agriculture.

• True

• False

Mining operations, such as those in Potosí, had little environmental impact on the Americas. 

• True

• False

The transatlantic slave trade only impacted the Americas and had no effects on African kingdoms or Asian countries.

• True

• False

The exploitation of resources from the Americas helped fuel Europe’s economic growth and laid the groundwork for the First Industrial Revolution.

• True

• False