SS8: Worldview

  1. Chapter 9:

Use the following organizer to answer Question 1.

  1. The common factor in the features above could best be described as:
  1. influence of geographic features on Spanish culture
  2. influences on the development of the Spanish worldview
  3. causes of Spanish imperialist perspective
  4. results of the Spanish “discovery” of the New World
  1. The worldviews of the Aztecs and the Spanish were similar in that both cultures valued:
  1. democratic beliefs
  2. economic equality
  3. military service
  4. religious toleration
  1. Expulsion of Jewish people from Spain and the Spanish Inquisition used to find and punish any who challenged the Christian Church were steps taken by the King and Queen of Spain following the:
  1. Spanish conquest of Grenada and the defeat of the Muslims
  2. Muslim takeover of most of the territory of the Iberian peninsula
  3. discovery of unknown lands to the west of Spain by Columbus
  4. creation of new fighting methods by Spanish armies
  1. A person with the Spanish worldview at the time of the conquest of the Aztecs would most likely have defended the Spanish victory arguing that:
  1. the gold taken from the Aztecs would pay the cost of the conquest
  2. victory over the Aztecs meant they could be converted to Christianity
  3. victory was revenge for previous encounters between the Aztecs and Spanish
  4. the exploration of new lands added to the knowledge of the Spanish

  1. The information on the map would best support the conclusion that:
  1. medieval Spain benefited from the Muslim culture
  2. large areas of Spain were unaffected by Muslim conquerors
  3. medieval Spain was dominated by violence and warfare against Muslims
  4. most areas of Spain were controlled by Muslim forces in 1250

Use the following situation to answer Question 6.

  1. Which of the above goals would have been shared by the Spanish who were involved in the conquest of Mexico?
  1. Goals 1 and 2
  2. Goals 2 and 3
  3. Goals 2 and 4
  4. Goals 1 and 4
  1. The book written by Bartolomé de las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, condemned the actions taken by the Spanish against the Indigenous peoples in the Americas. Which of the following arguments would not have been used by a supporter of the Spanish actions to defend what had occurred?
  1. The Spanish actions were necessary since the people in the Americas needed to be converted to Christianity.
  2. Spain was not the only nation involved in the conquest of the Americas.
  3. Only a few Spanish people committed the actions which the book condemned.
  4. The wealth gained from the conquest of the Americas allowed Spain to improve living conditions for the Indigenous peoples.
  1. If a historian were trying to prove that economic motives were most important in the Spanish takeover of the Americas, which piece of evidence would be most useful?
  1. The attempt to exclude all other beliefs from Spain after the reconquest of the Spanish peninsula from the Muslims.
  2. The belief that a unified Spain would lead to success for the nation.
  3. The quest for gold to pay the armies to protect and expand Spanish territory.
  4. The desire to win fame and military glory on foreign battlefields.

B. Chapter 10:

  1. The correct order of the above events was:

a)Event 1, 2, 4, 3

b)Event 2, 3, 4, 1

c)Event 2, 4, 1, 3

d)Event 3, 4, 1, 2

  1. The immediate Aztec response to Event 2 was to:

a)welcome the Spanish into their capital city

b)attack the Spanish before they reached Tenochtitlan

c)call for assistance from neighbouring groups

d)close causeways and deny entrance to the invaders

  1. Taken together, these steps suggest that the main aim of the Conquistador's Formula was to:
  1. ensure that Spain clearly established trading links with the strongest group in a region
  2. ensure that Spain took over a region, peacefully if possible but violently if necessary
  3. allow Indigenous groups the opportunity to cooperate with the Spanish
  4. assist other groups to win a victory over the most powerful group
  1. In which of the following pairs is an event from the Spanish conquest of the Aztec correctly matched with the step from the Conquistador's Formula?

Event from Spanish conquest of the Aztecs / Step from Conquistador's Formula
  1. Cortés gained allies and fighters from the Tlaxcalan and Totonac groups
/ Step 1
  1. Spanish troops attack Tenochtitlan, killing most of the citizens
/ Step 2
  1. Spanish troops capture Moctezuma and loot gold from the royal palaces
/ Step 3
  1. Cortés and his soldiers enter the city as guest of Moctezuma
/ Step 4
  1. Which of the following statements made by or about Cortés most strongly suggests Cortés's motive for his expedition to Mexico?
  1. “Be assured, Moctecuhzoma, have no fear. We love you greatly. Today our hearts are at peace."
  1. "Almighty God, in whose name it (the war with the Aztecs) will be waged, will give us victory...."
  1. "He (Cortés) was a source of trouble to his parents as well as to himself...."
  1. "I came to get gold not to till the land like a peasant."

To answer Questions 14 and 15, refer to Figure 10-24.

  1. The title that most accurately describes the event shown in this image would be:
  1. The Conquest of the Indies
  2. Different Worldviews of the Spanish and the Aztec
  3. First Contact: the 'Old World' and the 'New World'
  4. Civilizations in Conflict: the Aztec and the Spanish
  1. What characteristics of the Spanish figures were most emphasized by the Aztec artist who created this image?
  1. The desire for gold by the Spanish
  2. The armour and weapons of the Spanish
  3. The religious symbols and beliefs of the Spanish
  4. The Spanish desire to promote peace with the Aztecs
  1. In the 1500s, a majority of people in Spain would have viewed the actions of Cortés as:
  1. positive, because he gained wealth and territory for his king and country
  2. positive, because he gained knowledge and an alliance with new nations
  3. negative, since he destroyed much of the culture of the Aztecs
  4. negative, since he used violence against another civilization

C. Chapter 11:

  1. Three of the following are criticisms of the encomienda system of landholding which was started in Mexico by Cortés after the conquest of the Aztecs. Choose the statement that defends the encomienda system:
  1. Indigenous peoples in the Americas should not be made to work like slaves.
  2. Grants of land to Spanish settlers were necessary to give the Spaniards the means to support themselves.
  3. Forced labour of Indigenous people made it more difficult to convert them to Christianity.
  4. The land grants were used by Cortés to create loyalty among the soldiers to whom he gave the land.
  1. To a person who believes in a modern Canadian worldview, which of the following statements about the Spanish treatment of the Aztecs would be considered the most unfair?
  1. The conquest of the Aztec Empire in battle.
  2. The attempts to convert Aztecs to Christianity.
  3. The enslavement of the surviving Aztec people.
  4. The creation of a Spanish colony in the former Aztec territory.
  1. Immediately after the conquest of the Aztec Empire, the Spanish took steps to:
  1. destroy all traces of the Aztec temples and religious symbols
  2. establish the independence of the new Spanish colony
  3. prevent the intermarriage of Spanish and Indigenous people
  4. preserve the Aztec leadership and political structure
  1. In his treatment of the Indigenous people of Mexico during and after the conquest, Cortés's actions most demonstrated that he was motivated by a belief that:
  1. the Aztecs were opponents who should be treated with honour and dignity
  2. personal gain and power were not as important as service to the state
  3. all cultures deserved the same level of respect for their traditions
  4. the Spanish worldview should be forced upon other cultures

Use the following descriptions of changes that occurred in Mexico

after the Spanish conquest to answer Questions 21 and 22.

  1. The aim that the changes above had in common was the intent to create a colony which:
  1. encouraged equality of all citizens
  2. promoted Aztec cultural values
  3. was based on a Spanish worldview
  4. was tolerant of different perspectives
  1. Which of the above changes was most opposed by the Spanish settlers in the colony?
  1. Change 1
  2. Change 2
  3. Change 3
  4. Change 4
  1. In the centuries which followed the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, creoles, mestizos and Indigenous peoples are terms which best describe the:
  1. economic classes of Mexico
  2. ethnic origin of the Mexican population
  3. variety of religious beliefs in Mexico
  4. political structure of Mexican government
  1. In the years before Mexico became independent in 1821, the main cause of discontent in the Spanish colony was the:
  1. belief that the Indigenous people had too much power
  2. fear that Spain would abandon the colony
  3. desire to stop the payment of taxes to Spain
  4. opposition to Christianity in Mexico
  1. Short Answer:
  1. In Chapters 7, 8 and 9 you have been learning about and working to understand the worldviews of people from the Aztec culture and the Spanish culture. Although both these groups were from vastly different backgrounds, and their differences were very obvious, in other ways their worldviews were similar.

a)In the following chart, identify at least three ways in which the worldviews of the Aztecs and Spanish were similar and three ways in which they were different (6 marks).

Similarities / Differences

Unit 2: The Aztec/ Chapter 9, 10, 11 Practice Exam page 1