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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What happens when Raleigh returns to England after his son's death?
(a) He is knighted.
(b) He is stripped of his knighthood.
(c) He is beheaded.
(d) He is sent away on another voyage.

2. What does Cortez think when he enters the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan?
(a) He thinks it is wonderful and magnificent.
(b) He looks upon it as an impoverished village.
(c) He wonders where the gold is.
(d) He mentally calculates the number of slaves that could be captured.

3. Which of the following quotations reveals Williams' opinion of Cortez?
(a) "...Nothing at the present moment seemed to disturb his aristocratic reserve."
(b) "Spain cannot be blamed for the crassness of the discoverers."
(c) "With the force bred of a determination to face at any cost a situation fast going beyond his control..."
(d) "Courageous almost beyond precedent, tactful, resourceful in misfortune..."

4. What happens when Montezuma asks his people not to fight back against the Spanish?
(a) He is hit on the head by a stone, which kills him.
(b) He stirs the Aztecs to resist even more fiercely than before.
(c) He frightens the Aztecs and they run away.
(d) He convinces the Aztecs to lay down their arms peacefully.

5. Why is Ponce de Leon free to go exploring in Florida?
(a) He has already accomplished all that he came for.
(b) He has been relieved of his job as Governor.
(c) He is not free to go, but goes anyway.
(d) He is independently wealthy and can do as he pleases.

6. How does Montezuma try to get Cortez to stay on the coast and not enter the interior?
(a) He sends troops to attack.
(b) He sends poisoned food.
(c) He sends a threatening letter.
(d) He sends gifts to Cortez.

7. Toward the end of the introduction, Gregory quotes the following passage: "Question him in hell, O Muse, where he has gone, and when there is an answer, sing and make clear the reasons that he gave for that last blow. Why did he send his son into that tropic jungle and not go himself, upon so dangerous an errand?" Why does Gregory include this quote?
(a) To prove that Walter Raleigh was a coward.
(b) To demonstrate that history must judge the actions of historical figures.
(c) To suggest that even Williams cannot answer all of history's questions.
(d) To show the lyricism of Williams' prose.

8. Why does the narrator say that Raleigh is now in Hell?
(a) He broke Queen Elizabeth's heart.
(b) He was an atheist.
(c) He sent his son on a mission that got him killed.
(d) He had no regard for the safety of his colonists.

9. What happens to Columbus on his return from his second voyage?
(a) He has to travel many miles out of his way because of a storm.
(b) He is forced to turn back and sail to the New World again.
(c) He is refused permission to land in Spain even though there was a terrible storm.
(d) He is forced to leave and sail to England instead.

10. What happens when Ponce de Leon and his men first land among the Caribs?
(a) The Caribs kidnap their women and shoot their dog.
(b) The Caribs welcome them with open arms and a big feast.
(c) They make peace with the Caribs and do not have to fight.
(d) They slaughter the Caribs, leaving none alive.

11. Which of the following is NOT a term used by the narrator to describe Queen Elizabeth?
(a) Atheist.
(b) Worm.
(c) Virginia.
(d) Fairy Queen.

12. Who is Thomas Morton?
(a) A writer.
(b) A historian.
(c) A colonist.
(d) A soldier.

13. Who did Ponce de Leon's pilot previously work for?
(a) Columbus and Cortez.
(b) Ponce de Leon's brother.
(c) The King and Queen of Spain.
(d) Montezuma.

14. What does Columbus think of the New World when he reaches it?
(a) He thinks that it is too desolate to have any worthwhile resources.
(b) He thinks that it is far too hot and humid for his taste.
(c) He thinks it is the most beautiful place he has ever seen.
(d) He thinks that he would like to build a house and live there himself.

15. How do many of the Indians react when the Spanish begin to enslave them?
(a) They go into the forest and hang themselves from the trees.
(b) They willingly accept enslavement in order not to be murdered.
(c) They try to negotiate for peace but cannot overcome the language barrier.
(d) They fight back so fiercely that it is impossible to enslave any of them.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Juan Ortiz?

2. What do bows and arrows, corn meal, and belief in a second life all have in common, according to the narrator of "Sir Walter Raleigh"?

3. Where do De Soto and his men retreat to after the Indians burn their camp?

4. What does Cotton Mather think about the gods of the Indian nations?

5. What happens to Columbus when he finally makes it back to Spain?

(see the answer keys)

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