Question 1

The early status of blacks in North America under the British colonies was initially unfree, but they were not slaves. Why was this so?

Accepted Answer

A)  Unlike Spain and Portugal, England had no legal experience with slavery, and had no codes to guide them. 
B)  The British were intent on converting the pagan Africans to Christianity. 
C)  The first arrivals had been stolen from the Spanish, and British common law required that they be set free immediately. 
D)  All of these are correct.

Question 2

What was characteristic of most slaves' daily lives on plantations from 1700-1750?

Accepted Answer

A)  Most slaves lived on small tracts of land and worked closely with their masters. 
B)  Most slaves worked in the homes of their masters. 
C)  Most slaves worked seven days a week, without rest from dawn to dusk, and had other tasks at night to complete before sleeping. 
D)  Most slaves were beaten and abused horribly through physical punishment on a daily basis.

Question 3

How was slavery in the low country different from slavery in the Chesapeake?

Accepted Answer

A)  Slavery was much more lenient, and kept the characteristics of indentured servitude through the American Revolution. 
B)  African slaves outnumbered European whites, most of whom arrived from Barbados. 
C)  The low country never developed a cash crop like the Chesapeake did. 
D)  Christian slaves tended to have many more rights than those who maintained an indigenous religion.

Question 4

What was not true about northern slaves' labor and culture before about 1700?

Accepted Answer

A)  Slave codes were milder and not generally enforced. Some slaves could own property. 
B)  Some slaves could obtain jobs and training in skilled positions in the northern cities. 
C)  Because there were fewer slaves and they were more isolated, less African heritage was preserved. 
D)  When not working for their masters, all slaves lived in large, run-down housing in segregated parts of cities.

Question 5

Who were the largest class of laborers in British North America before 1670?

Accepted Answer

A)  black slaves 
B)  white slaves 
C)  Russian immigrants 
D)  indentured servants

Question 6

In what types of ways did black women's lives differ from black men's under slavery?

Accepted Answer

A)  Black women were limited to domestic labor only, as whites did not think that women should do field work. 
B)  Black women were only allowed to work in the fields, although at very different tasks than men. 
C)  Black women were separated from men at an early age, so that white masters could control the "breeding" process. 
D)  Black women were under constant threat of sexual exploitation.

Question 7

What factor contributed most to the preservation and continuation of West African culture?

Accepted Answer

A)  the increased importation of West African men 
B)  the crackdown on slaves by white masters in the British colonies 
C)  the slaves considering it an important part of their lives 
D)  more balanced sex ratios

Question 8

How did the work of black women vary from that of black men?

Accepted Answer

A)  They never had to work in the fields. 
B)  They frequently had to work longer hours, since their tasks included being domestic servants. 
C)  They had access to some skilled occupations, like carpentry and shoemakers. 
D)  They were not allowed to participate in the annual harvest festival.

Question 9

What was not true about the city of New Orleans under French control in the early 1700s?

Accepted Answer

A)  Most African Americans in Louisiana lived there. 
B)  New Orleans had a large Creole population, many of whom gained their freedom. 
C)  The Louisiana blacks remained in the colony to become a part of the United States. 
D)  New Orleans blacks maintained close cultural and family ties to the Congo region, and trips between those places were common.

Question 10

Why did the British not establish colonies as rapidly as the Spanish?

Accepted Answer

A)  The English monarchy was not as wealthy as the Spanish monarchy. 
B)  The English people were going through a lot of religious turmoil with the Protestant Reformation. 
C)  The climate in North America was far different than that in England. 
D)  All of these are correct.

Question 11

Which statement is true of the colonists at Jamestown in the early months of 1619?

Accepted Answer

A)  The colonists were all white until a Dutch warship brought about 20 Africans to the colony. 
B)  The colonists were roughly half white and half black. 
C)  The colonists included some of African descent. 
D)  The colonists were evenly divided between blacks, whites and Native Americans.

Question 12

Advances in plantation technology tended to:

Accepted Answer

A)  Make life much easier, and work much cleaner, for slaves in general. 
B)  Be quite advanced for the time period, in fact, well advanced from European methods. 
C)  Be used only by the masters, since they did not trust slaves to perform complicated tasks. 
D)  Be concentrated in agriculture, particularly with tobacco and indigo.

Question 13

What types of achievements did Native Americans in North and South America make before the arrival of Columbus?

Accepted Answer

A)  Native Americans actually had an incredibly primitive society, and had accomplished very little at the time Columbus arrived. 
B)  Native Americans had made some simplistic efforts at understanding science, but had very little political organization. 
C)  Native Americans had established religions and large cities, but had made few cultural achievements, like art or literature. 
D)  Native American civilizations had established religions, political systems, and large, complex cities. They had also made many discoveries in science, especially astronomy and mathematics.

Question 14

What statement is true about miscegenation in European colonies?

Accepted Answer

A)  Because of the extreme racism of the British, racial mixing never occurred. 
B)  Miscegenation was more extensive and accepted in French and Spanish colonies. 
C)  Less racial mixing between blacks and Native Americans occurred in Spanish colonies. 
D)  Miscegenation was a rare occurrence, backed up by strict legal rules against it.

Question 15

What factor did not prevent the spread of Christianity among slaves prior to the Great Awakening?

Accepted Answer

A)  Masters had prohibited slaves from converting to Christianity. 
B)  Masters feared that Christianity would bring ideas of freedom and equality to slaves. 
C)  Africans continued to practice their own native religions. 
D)  Catholic leaders at the Vatican refused church admission to non-whites.

Question 16

Which English word does not have African roots or origins?

Accepted Answer

A)  banjo 
B)  violin 
C)  voodoo 
D)  gumbo

Question 17

What does the story of Anthony Johnson, a black man in early Virginia, tell us about blacks in general in the colonies before the 1670s?

Accepted Answer

A)  Blacks never were able to gain their freedom from slavery. 
B)  Blacks had no legal rights in the courts, as opposed to the Spanish system. 
C)  Blacks could own fairly substantial amounts of property, and have their own servants and slaves. 
D)  Blacks were rarely allowed any types of rights, as they were always considered "chattel."

Question 18

___________ Rebellion in 1676, a rebellion by former indentured servants demanding political change, pushed concerned wealthy white men in Virginia to use slavery over the older form of labor.

Accepted Answer

The answer of ___________ Rebellion in 1676, a rebellion by...

Question 19

How would the British have described the race of a person who was part white and part black?

Accepted Answer

A)  The child was always considered the same race as the mother. 
B)  Anyone with black blood was automatically considered black, and therefore inferior. 
C)  That person would be adopted into white society if his or her skin color was light enough. 
D)  As a "mestizo."

Exam 3: Black People in Colonial North America