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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through The Destruction of Tenochtitlan.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Tenochtitlan like?
(a) It is a fortress located high in the mountains, remote and impenetrable.
(b) It is a masterpiece of engineering; clean, with wide roads and canals, and full of beautiful gardens and markets.
(c) It is a tiny village. The people living there are starving to death, and can offer no resistance to the Spanish.
(d) It is a small town surrounded by stone walls, with a large castle in the middle.

2. What does the following sentence mean? "Rather the ice than their way: to take what is mine by single strength, theirs by the crookedness of their law."
(a) Eric the Red feels remorseful about the murder he committed and willingly accepts punishment.
(b) Eric the Red has chosen to leave Iceland of his own accord.
(c) Eric the Red considers his unjust exile to be more honorable than staying in Iceland.
(d) Eric the Red prefers places that are cold and icy.

3. What does Columbus do when he thinks the ship might capsize?
(a) He has a meeting of his crew and asks everyone to try his best.
(b) He curses the day he ever set out to find the New World.
(c) He prays that the ship will make it back to Spain.
(d) He puts a note in a cask and throws it into the sea.

4. What is Columbus' point when he makes the following statement: "I was twenty-eight years old when I came into your Highnesses' service, and now I have not a hair upon me that is not gray; my body is infirm..."
(a) He is sorry to see that the best years of his life are behind him.
(b) He has been a dedicated servant of the King and Queen for his entire life.
(c) He feels that he should be allowed to see a doctor.
(d) He is worried about who will take on his work after he dies.

5. Williams, referring to the King's and Queen's promises to Columbus, remarks, "What power had such ridiculous little promises to stay a man against that terrific downpour on the brink of which they were all floating?". What promises is Williams referring to?
(a) The promise to pay Columbus in gold for his voyages.
(b) The promise to make sure that Columbus always had seaworthy ships and experienced sailors.
(c) The promise to have Columbus' story printed in the newspapers so that everyone could appreciate his accomplishment.
(d) The promise to make Columbus Chief Admiral of the Ocean Sea and perpetual Viceroy and Governor of all the land he should discover.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following quotations reveals Williams' opinion of Cortez?

2. What is Williams trying to tell the reader about Columbus when he quotes details about how harrowing the storms at sea during Columbus' voyages were?

3. What does Gregory mean when he says that "if anyone is looking for the secret of their good health and the freedom they exert within an individual speech and manner, it may be found in their determination to 'stay at home,' to accept the roots of their being and to grow slowly to their own maturity."

4. What does Eric the Red say that his life is like now that he has been exiled?

5. Who is Freydis?

(see the answer key)

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