Which of the following was the largest factor in the Spanish conquest of Native American empires such as the Aztec and Inca?

A. The Spaniards had access to advanced technology such as guns.
Incorrect. While the use of advanced weaponry definitely played a factor, the Spanish were still unable to conquer the Aztecs at first. It was not until the Indians were devastated by disease and the Spaniards gained many Native American allies that the Aztec and Inca were finally defeated.

B. The Indians believed that the Spaniards were gods.
Incorrect. While many children hear this story in school, there is little or no evidence for it. The Indians were unsure in many cases what exactly to make of the Spaniards, but mistaking the Spaniards for gods was not a major factor in the events that unfolded.

C. The Spaniards had superior intelligence and battle tactics compared to the Indians.
Incorrect. In fact, Native groups such as the Aztec displayed great creativity and skill in adapting to the Spanish advantages in weaponry and initially defeated the armies of the Spanish conquistadors.

D. The spread of infectious diseases such as smallpox.
Correct! Having lived in isolation for thousands of years, Indians had no natural immunity to diseases from Europe and Asia, resulting in millions of deaths.

What impact did the Columbian Exchange have on Europeans?

A. Many were wiped out due to infectious diseases.
Incorrect. Actually, it was the Native American population that experienced the largest death toll due to disease.

B. European powers became very impoverished due to the overwhelming cost of sustaining overseas colonies.
Incorrect. In fact, many of the colonies were quite profitable for the Europeans.

C. It led to a population decline in Europe as people moved to the New World.
Incorrect. Actually, the influx of new crops such as corn and potatoes would lead to population increases in Europe.

D. It led to a massive influx of wealth and goods from the new world into Europe.
Correct! The introduction of new foods, minerals, and other forms of wealth led to many European powers becoming much more wealthy and powerful than they were previously.

What motivated Europeans to begin enslaving Africans during the era of the transatlantic slave trade?

A. The Europeans were motivated by a racial hatred of black Africans.
Incorrect. While racist attitudes were certainly used to justify slavery after the fact, the primary motivation for the slave trade was economic.

B. The Europeans were motivated by the profits that could be attained by using Africans as a cheap source of labor on plantations in the New World.
Correct! Sugar plantations in the Caribbean and Brazil as well as rice, tobacco, and later cotton plantations in North America were very profitable for planters who used slave labor.

C. Europeans used African slaves because they did not want to treat the Native population inhumanely.
Incorrect. In fact, the Europeans originally used Native Americans as slaves, but most of them died very quickly from infectious disease.

D. Africans were the only source of labor available to the Europeans.
Incorrect. There were several sources of labor available to Europeans, including Indians, European servants, and others. Among all the options, however, African slaves proved to be the most profitable.

What impact did the Columbian exchange have on Africa?

A. The slave trade brought a new source of wealth to West African kingdoms.
Incorrect. In fact, the slave trade devastated most economies in West Africa, although a few kingdoms who specialized in slave trading with the Europeans did profit from the business.

B. The slave trade brought an influx of crops from the new world such as the banana.
Incorrect. In fact, the banana came from Southeast Asia, not the New World. However, the banana would become a much more widely cultivated crop in Africa in this time period.

C. The majority of West African nations converted to Christianity after their contact with Europeans.
Incorrect. While Christianity would eventually spread throughout Africa, this did not happen immediately as a result of the Columbian Exchange. However, most slaves who were captured were forced to convert to Christianity leading to most enslaved Africans losing their native religion after several generations.

D. The Columbian exchange destabilized West Africa by leading to more war between tribes and shrinking the population (especially among males).
Correct! The slave trade aspect of the Columbian exchange intensified wars between African tribes and also introduced European weapons such as guns to those conflicts. Since most of the slaves were male, there became a gender imbalance in many African communities, with women having to take on more responsibilities.

Which of the following describes the impact of the exchange of animals that occurred as a result of the Columbian exchange?

A. New World animals such as the llama changed European agriculture for centuries.
Incorrect. The llama (the only large domesticated farm animal that existed in the Americas) did not have a serious impact on European agriculture.

B. The introduction of large farm animals such as the horse and cow resulted in the massive growth of those species on the continent and the spread of their use in farming and transportation.
Correct! In fact, animals such as the horse transformed Native American cultures in the Great Plains, who quickly adopted the horse as a major part of their culture.

C. The number of domesticated pets increased in both continents.
Incorrect. Small domestic animals were not a major factor in the Columbian exchange.

D. Animals had a negligible impact on trade because by this time most work was done by steam engines.
Incorrect. Human and animal power was still the primary means of production at the time of the Columbian exchange. The steam engine would not become widely used until the industrial revolution a few hundred years later.