Unit 2 Age of Contact Test Review

Match the terms in the word-bank to their best definition or description in the chart below.

• The Columbian Exchange

• This conquistador conquered the Aztec people, built Mexico City on the Aztec capital, and claimed the region for Spain, calling it “New Spain.”

• God, Gold, and Glory

• The system of trade between the Americas and Europe that began with Columbus’ arrival in the Caribbean. New items like fruits, vegetables, livestock, and diseases were transported across the Atlantic.

• Cabeza de Vaca

• For nearly 800 years the Spanish struggled to regain control of Spain from the African Moors.

• The Reconquista

• This conquistador suffered through years of hardship in Texas before escaping to Mexico City. He wrote a book about his experience in which he claimed to have seen Cibola: 7 cities of gold.

• Hernán Cortés

• Spain’s goals for exploration included locating new sources of wealth, gaining power and prestige, and spreading Catholicism.

Match each term on the left with the statement that best identifies its significance

• Horses

• THIS killed millions of American Indians when the Spanish unintentionally carried it with them to the Americas.

• Colonization

• The Spanish successfully took control of land, resources, and people in the Americas gaining more land and incredible wealth.

• Texas

• The American Indians got access to THIS from the Spanish, which transformed how they

• Disease

• His voyages to America encouraged many more Europeans to travel to the Americas in search of wealth.

• Columbus ·

• Spain saw this territory as a distant, dangerous frontier without any valuable resources to increase the country’s wealth.

What do you think are the three most significant effects of Spanish exploration during

Age of Contact? Provide evidence from your reading handout to support your answer.

Practice answering the following questions to prepare for the types of questions you may see on the exam. These questions are based on the new 8th grade social studies STAAR question types.

Which answer provides the best title for the diagram above?

• Effects of the Reconquista

• Reasons for Spanish exploration

• French Expansion and Colonization

• Encounters between the Spanish and American Indians

Practice answering the following questions to prepare for the types of questions you may see on the exam. These questions are based on the new 8th grade social studies STAAR question types.

Which statement provides the primary significance of La Salle’s expedition in Texas?

• La Salle and the French were able to befriend and form alliances with American Indian tribes, unlike many Spanish conquistadors.

• La Salle successfully located stores of gold and established the first mining operations for France in the Coastal Plains.

• La Salle’s presence signaled the threat of French encroachment on Spain’s claims to Texas.

• La Salle immediately undertook expeditions in search of the legendary cities of Cibola.

According to de las Casas, what is the primary obstacle to Spain’s ability to convert American Indians to Christianity?

• Spain’s bad treatment of the American Indian people

• Not enough religious leaders to carry out the task

• Spain’s unwillingness to learn American Indian languages

• All answers are correct

Which quote from the passage gives evidence to support your answer in number one?

• “. . . that the greatest obstacle that stands in the way of the pacification of the new world . . .”

• “. . . the harshness and cruelty of the treatment meted out by the ‘Christians’ to those who surrender.”

• “. . . nothing is more odious nor more terrifying to the people than the name ‘Christian,’. . . “

• “. . . they use in their language the term yares, which means ‘demons.”

Read the list of conquistador actions below. Write the letter of the actions under the correct conquistador in the chart below. ​

• Coronado

• The first European to see the Grand Canyon

• Pineda

• The conquistador who made the first map of the Gulf of Mexico

• Cabeza de Vaca

• The conquistador who wrote a book claiming to see cities of gold

• Cortes

• The conquistador who conquered the Aztecs

Match the following

• Era

• A system of trade across the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and the Americas that began with the arrival of Columbus in the Caribbean

• Conquistador

• A journey or voyage undertaken with a specific purpose like exploration or research.

• Columbian Exchange

• A period of time with a specific set of characteristics that sets it apart from other periods of time.

• Expedition

• Spanish explorers and conquerors who explored the Americas in search of wealth

• Colonization

• The act or process of settling in a new land and claiming the land, the people, and the resources for your own country.

Match the following

• The Reconquista

• A Spanish conquistador known for defeating and conquering the Aztecs of modern-day Mexico and establishing Mexico City in place of the Aztec capital.

• Christopher Columbus

• A large farm that typically grew one or two very profitable cash crops by using enslaved Indigenous labor.

• God, Gold, and Glory

• An Italian explorer who sailed in the name of Spain. He arrived in the Caribbean in 1492, and his expeditions encouraged other Europeans to return to the Americas.

• Hernan Cortes

• Spain’s goals for exploration included locating new sources of wealth, becoming powerful and famous, and spreading their religion.

• Plantation

• The nearly 800-year power struggle between the Spanish and the African Moors to control Spain.