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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is De Soto looking for?
(a) Slaves.
(b) Food.
(c) The Fountain of Youth
(d) Treasure.

2. What does the narrator say that Queen Elizabeth did not trust Raleigh enough to let him do?
(a) Serve in the army.
(b) Serve on great councils.
(c) Go on voyages of exploration.
(d) Marry one of her maids.

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

4. When Columbus finally lands in Spain after his second voyage, what happens to him?
(a) He is celebrated and paraded through the streets as a returning hero.
(b) He is arrested, and everything he owns is taken away and sold, even the clothing he wore.
(c) He is attacked by mobs of people who do not approve of his travels to the New World.
(d) He is welcomed but told that the sovereigns cannot afford to pay for another voyage.

5. 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."
(a) To be truly free, you have to be true to yourself and your heritage.
(b) Freedom is based on ideas, not experiences.
(c) To be free you have to break apart from your background and upbringing.
(d) Only staying at home can free you to travel elsewhere.

6. What does the narrator say that the Puritans should be praised for?
(a) Their warmth.
(b) Their intelligence.
(c) Their toughness.
(d) Their spirit.

7. What happens to Thomas Morton as a result of the Maypole celebration?
(a) He is arrested and sent back to England.
(b) He is kidnapped by the Indians.
(c) He is given an award by the colonists.
(d) He is shot in a fight.

8. What does Cotton Mather say is the cause of the degeneracy of the New England community?
(a) Children are becoming undisciplined and grow up to think they can do whatever they wish.
(b) The Devil is making one more try to debauch the Puritans.
(c) People like Thomas Morton are undermining the values of the community.
(d) The Indians are setting a bad example for the colonists.

9. How does Ponce de Leon die?
(a) He is killed by his own men in a mutiny.
(b) He is killed by an Indian arrow.
(c) He dies of old age.
(d) He dies of disease.

10. 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.

11. Which of the following statements shows that Eric the Red has accepted his fate?
(a) "This is my portion. I do not call it not to my liking. Hardship lives in me."
(b) "One or the other of us had to die, under the natural circumstance."
(c) "Eric the Red is a marked man, beyond the law, so it would seem..."
(d) "...this is what they say: Eric, son of evil, come and be forgiven."

12. What does Montezuma do when Cortez enters the capital?
(a) He fights against Cortez and dies.
(b) He forces Cortez to accept Aztec authority.
(c) He makes Cortez the monarch.
(d) He negotiates a peace treaty that makes him equal to Cortez.

13. What adjective does Williams use to describe Champlain?
(a) Opportunist.
(b) Primitive.
(c) Delightful.
(d) Loving.

14. 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"?
(a) They are things all people can do without.
(b) They are necessary to colonization.
(c) They are found in all villages.
(d) They are invented by all peoples.

15. What kind of literature does Gregory say is forced to answer the question of whether or not it is sincere?
(a) Modern literature.
(b) English literature.
(c) American literature.
(d) Classical literature.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Juan Ortiz?

2. How does the narrator describe the descendants of the Puritans?

3. 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?

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

5. How does Freydis handle her quarrel with the two brothers, Helgi and Finnbogi?

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