Exam 1 American History Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

Exam 1 American History Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers Exam 1 American History How many languages did Native American groups in North America speak in 1492? The groups in Mexico and above spoke between 300 and 350 different languages. So we can't think of American Indians as simply one group-it is exactly the opposite. Which Pre-Columbian culture is most known for the human sacrifice and cannibalism? (Aztecs) Spaniards were particularly appalled at the Aztec's practices of human sacrifice, connected with their fertility rituals. What was the level of cultural advancement of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas compared to other Indian groups ( and the Spanish)? The Indians were more set in their ways. The Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas were more advanced. Their "communities" "cities" "land" was more elaborate and larger than the Indians. What was the main characteristic of the "New Monarchs" compared to previous rulers in Europe? These Monarchs recruited national armies(not private like before) imposed national taxes, and also brought about national court systems. They brought about a measure of control and political stability, so there was actually less fighting-even though wars would now be in larger scale. Essentially now instead of thousands and thousands of little kingdoms under local control we now have the equivalent of the modern nation-state, which is much more likely to foster things like exploration and discovery. Technological advances were becoming more frequent. These were not only new advances, scholars had rediscovered many Greek, Roman, and Arab texts that changed the Europeans views of the natural world. Also the printing press was invented by Gutenberg in the 1440s which helped spread knowledge and thus accelerating technological advancements. Who were the first Europeans to explore West Africa and exploit African Labor? The first Europeans to sail the coast of West Africa were the Portuguese. The Portuguese were interested in gold and slaves, but the African Nations were too strong for Portugal to simply take these militarily. The Portuguese would deal with the local African elites. As slaves became needed, local leaders found more ways to collect the numbers. What was Columbus's major miscalculation on his first voyage? Columbus thought that Asia was 3000 miles west of Spain, when it was actually 10000 miles west of Spain. He thought the world was actually a lot smaller than it actually is. He did not realize anything lay between Europe and Asia. What did the treaty of Tordesillas (1494) do? Spain claimed all of this new territory (America) even before they knew what or where it was. Portugal also claimed the new territory thinking it was a new route to India which they claimed control of. To avoid war the two countries got arbitration from the pope (head of the Christian church) and in the treaty of Tordesillas the New World was divided between the Spanish and the Portuguese. Because they didn't know what all of this looked like Spain received almost all of the New World and Portugal received only part of brazil. Who was the German Monk who started the Protestant Reformation in Europe? Martin Luther (1517) Wrote 95 thesis to the church door in Wittenburg, Germany. These were public complaints against abuses, especially indulgences. Luther went a step further and criticized the idea of penance- where a priest would assign a specific task to absolve him of that particular sin. He suggested that the term "do penance" should be interpreted as simply "repent". Luther believed that god made every decision and that man actually didn't decide things like his own salvation. What came about as a result of the Act of Supremacy (1534)? In 1534 Henry VIII with parliamentary support enacted the act of supremacy in which Henry declared himself head of the Church of England. After several very confusing years following Henry's death his daughter Elizabeth came to the throne and brought about political stability. There was still controversy over whether England was Catholic or Protestant. They had switched a couple of times after Henry's death. Who wrote the Institutes of the Christian Religion? John Calvin (1536) Predestination meant that god had chosen some people to be saved and some to be damned. Individuals did not have the right to choose god, instead god chose them. Calvinists were forever searching for a sign that they were in fact among the elect ( chosen ones). So essentially they said that if you