30 i STEP 2. Determine Your Test Readiness
Americasthat facilitated transportation between
imperialistsand their holdings, furthering the
establishment of empires (B, C). Its construc-
tion involved U.S. intervention in the politics
of Colombia, from which the province of
Panama revolted (D).- A Economic imperialism, or the control of a
country’s economy by the businesses of another
nation, played a major role in the construction
of the Panama Canal because of the desire of
the United States and other nations to facilitate
both travel and commerce by cutting a canal
through Central America. Conservation of
Central American territories was not a motive
(B), nor was laissez-faireeconomics, or the
belief in only minimal government intervention
in the economy. (C). Alignment (D) involves
the Cold War relationship of developing
nations with one of the two superpowers. - C The southern portion of Africa was not part
of Rome’s trade pattern.The Kingdom of Axum
in North Africa (A), India (B), and Malaysia
(D) were all located along trade routes that
connected to the Roman routes. - C Most philosophies of this period were tra-
ditional and relied on religious faith. Movable
type was invented in China around 1000, but
had just been invented in Europe (A). Only
Islamic philosophies were largely spread by
conquest in the period (B). The social contract
was a concept of seventeenth-century philoso-
phy (D). - C By 1500, Islam had extended to all of the
regions listed except for Central Africa. - A The bubonic plague was spread over trade
patterns. It did not spread to West Africa (B).
It began in central Asia, spread to China, then
Europe (C), and caused at least one major out-
break in Great Britain in the seventeenth cen-
tury (D). - A Indo-European, the largest language family,
originated in central Asia, then spread through-
out India and Europe beginning about 2000
b.c.e. Romance languages are branches of Indo-
European (B). Sino-Tibetan spread from cen-
tral Asia to East Asia (C). Semitic languages are
related to the language of ancient Sumer (D). - D The Mongols moved trade routes north
into their territories. The Mongols were skilled
conquerors but not capable administrators (A).
They allowed religious freedom within territo-
ries they conquered (B). They were interested
in Europe but were defeated at the outskirts of
Vienna (C).- B The Aryans invaded the Indus valley,
not Mongol territory. The migrating Bantu
encountered cattle herders in sub-Saharan
Africa (A). Germanic peoples migrated into the
Roman Empire (C). Hittites migrated from
central Asia to Southeast Asia, transmitting the
knowledge of ironworking to the Assyrians (D). - D The traveler, Marco Polo, was describing
his journey to the principal cities of China.
Thirteenth-century China was known for its
craft guilds, numerous merchants, use of paper
money, and effi ciently administered urban areas. - A Both Islam and Christianity introduced by
traders increased their infl uence in Africa, even
as indigenous African religions retained their
popularity and blended with Islamic and Chris-
tian beliefs (D). Eastern African city-states came
under Portuguese domination (B). In central
Africa, stateless societies gave way to centralized
kingdoms such as Kongo (C). - C The northwest passage through North
America was not discovered until the twentieth
century. Captain Cook charted eastern Austra-
lia in the eighteenth century (A) and studied
Pacifi c societies (D). English explorers began
studying the geography of the Pacifi c Ocean in
the sixteenth century (B). - A The spice trade was the main preoccupa-
tion of the Dutch. The Spanish were more
concerned with spreading Christianity (B) and
changing native societies through education
(D). Trade made the Netherlands the wealthiest
European state in the seventeenth century (C). - C The maintenance of the balance of power to
prevent the dominance of one nation was the
hallmark of early modern European politics.
The establishment of empire went contrary to
the concept of a balance of power (A). Absolut-
ism was a characteristic of most European states
(B). Standing armies emerged as a means of
achieving a balance of power (D). - D Song China had the greatest number of
largecities in the world. At the same time,
Europe (A), Russia (B), and Latin America (C)
were more rural.