AP US History Mr.

Blackmon

Chapter 4Experience of Empire

(Revised 2009)

Mercantilism

1 7W2hich of the following colonial powers exercised the least amount of control over the
commercial and political practices in their colonies?
A. Portugal
B. The Netherlands
C. Great Britain
D. France
E. Spain
2 At the beginning of the eighteenth century, how did the English colonies differ from the
Spanish colonies in the Americas?
A. Spain permitted its colonies a greater degree of self-government
B. While private investment was responsible for the development of the Spanish
colonies, royal money was primarily responsible for the development of the English
colonies.
C. The compact pattern of Spanish settlement sharply contrasted with the English
pattern of far-flung settlements.
D. Unlike the Spanish, the English allowed settlers from a variety of nationalities and
dissenting sects.
E. The Spanish colonies were more responsive to the new circumstances of the
Americas than the English colonies.
3 The economic theory of mercantilism would be consistent with which of the following
statements?
A Economies will prosper most when trade is restricted as little as possible.
B. A government should seek to direct the economy so as to maximize exports.
C. Colonies are of little economic importance to the mother country.
D. It is vital that a country imports more than it exports.
E. Tariff barriers should be avoided as much as possible.
4 The mercantilist system in the eighteenth century led to
A. the restriction of governmental interference in the economy.
B. the protection of Native Americans (Indians) from European economic exploitation.
C. the expansion of the colonial economy.
D. the subordination of the colonial economy to that of the mother country.
E. noncompetitive commercial relations among nations.
5 The major purpose of England's mercantilist policy was to
A. protect the infant industries of England's young colonies.
B. increase England's prosperity.
C. discourage other European powers from colonizing North America.
D. reduce the need to an overseas empire.
E. open the Atlantic to free trade.
6 The fundamental goal of mercantilism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was
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A. to eliminate the obstacles to free trade among the countries of Europe.

B. to have "mother" countries serve as a source of raw materials and the colonists as a
source of manufactured goods.
C. to limit foreign imports and to encourage a favorable balance of trade.
D. to encourage wealthy nations to provide economic assistance to the developing areas
of the world.
E. to discourage the growth of economic nationalism.
7 Which of the following assumptions is a central part of mercantilism?
A the amount of wealth in the world was unlimited
B the goal of each nation was to become self-sufficient
C each nation benefited from the economic success of other nations
D nations should import goods worth the same amount that they exported
E colonies were a drain on the economy of the home country
8 An economic system in which a nation seeks to accumulate precious metals by maintaining
a favorable balance of trade is most descriptive of:
A. capitalism
B. socialism
C. mercantilism
D. feudalism
E. fascism
9 Which of the following statements concerning the British colonial system prior to 1763 is
not true?
A. The colonial system was a secondary concern to Great Britain. British political
attention focused more on the many changes within the British government from
1603 to the 1760s.
B. The struggle of the British House of Commons for increased power provided a
model for the lower houses of the colonial assemblies.
C. The emergence of a two party system in British politics encouraged the acceptance
of the concept of outspoken opposition to the government.
D. Responsibility for governing and controlling the colonies rested clearly and
completely in one part of the British government--the Board of Trade.
E. India was considered to be a more valuable colony than all the North American
colonies.
10 Mercantilism as applied by Britain to its North American colonies meant that the British
government
A subsidized colonial merchants
B encouraged the colonists to trade with other foreign countries
C encouraged the colonies to become economically self-sufficient
D regulated colonial shipping and tobacco production
E barred trade with American Indians
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11 All of the following were main principles of the Navigation Acts EXCEPT
A. trade in the colonies was limited to only British or colonial merchants.
B. it prohibited the colonies from issuing their own paper currencies, greatly limiting
their trading capabilities.
C. all foreign goods bound for the colonies had to be shipped through England where
they were taxed with British import duties.
D. the colonists could not build or export products that directly competed with British
export products.
E. colonial enumerated goods could only be sold in England.
12 By 1760, the biggest problem with the economy of the English colonies was
A. smuggling
B. a trade surplus so large that England was threatening to confiscate American assets
to help balance the English economy.
C. a lack of demand for the vast quantities of high-quality American manufactured
goods now being produced, leading to high unemployment in the American colonies.
D. a huge balance of trade deficit that threatened the solvency of the colonial
currency.
E. a lack of adequate deep-water ports to provide loading and unloading facilities for
the large number of ships now trying to bring goods to or carry goods from the
colonies.
13 The British Parliament enacted which of the following to enforce mercantilist theories?
A. Half-Way Covenant, 1662; Woolens Act 1699; Hat Act, 1732.
B. Navigation Act, 1651; Enumerated Commodities Act, 1660; Staple Act, 1663.
C. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, 1638; Act of Toleration, 1649; Navigation
Act, 1651.
D. Iron Act, 1750; Sugar Act, 1764; Stamp Act, 1765.
E. Stamp Act, 1765; Quebec Act, 1774; Olive Branch Petition, 1775.
14 In the 1790s, Virginia and Maryland exported 130,000,000 pounds per year. In 1775,
165,000 barrels of another product passed through Charleston and Savannah. New England
exported 2,700,000 gallons of its chief product in 1775. These three exports are,
respectively,
A. corn, indigo, and fish.
B. wheat, naval stores, and molasses
C. rice, fish, and wheat.
D. tobacco, rice, and rum.
E. tobacco, naval stores, and fish.
15 The Molasses Act was intended to enforce England's mercantilist policies by
A. forcing the colonists to export solely to Great Britain.
B. forcing the colonists to buy sugar from other British colonies rather from foreign
producers.
C. provide a favorable market for the products of the British East India Company.
D [The secret possible answer which is not, however, the correct answer!]
E. creating an economic situation in which gold tended to flow from the colonies to the
mother country.
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Volume of American Colonies' Exports to England and Imports from England (value in pounds
sterling)

Year New England New York Pennsylvania

Exports Imports Exports Imports Exports Imports
1743 63,185 172,461 15,067 135,487 9,596 79,340
1742 53,166 148,899 13,536 167,591 8,527 75,295
1741 60,052 198,147 21,142 140,430 17,158 91,010
1740 72,389 171,081 21,498 118,777 15,048 56,751

Year Virginia and Maryland Carolina

Exports Imports Exports Imports
1743 557,821 328,195 235,136 111,499
1742 427,769 264,186 154,607 127,063
1741 577,109 248,582 236,830 204,770
1740 341,997 281,428 266,560 181,821

16 According to eighteenth century theories of mercantilism, and in light of England's pattern

of trade with America as shown in the chart above, England's most valuable colony or group
of colonies was which of the following?
A. New England
B. New York
C. Pennsylvania
D. Virginia and Maryland
E. Carolina
17 The Navigation Acts were part of the British policy known as
A isolationism
B capitalism
C mercantilism
D monopolism
E imperialism
18. The North American colonies took advantage of Great Britain's policy of salutary neglect to
A establish religious freedom as a fundamental right
B work out trade arrangements to acquire needed products from other countries
C introduce the practice of slavery into the New World
D establish a standing army
E make favorable territorial settlements with the French
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Section 6 Empire

19 The map below represents European powers in North America in approximately what year?

A. 1600
B. 1682
C. 1713
D. 1763
E. 1783
20 All of the following European powers competed for control of the Caribbean during the
17th Century EXCEPT
A France
B Holland
C Spain
D England
E Sweden
21 The chief significance of French explorer Samuel de Champlain's alienation of the Iroquois
Indians was
A. to prevent the French from establishing a profitable fur trade in Canada.
B. to prevent Champlain from founding any permanent settlement along the St.
Lawrence River.
C. to prevent Champlain from making it back to France alive.
D. to prevent New France from expanding southward into what is now the United
States.
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E. the creation of an alliance of British and French colonists against the Iroquois.
22 In which of the following areas of America did the French mostly settle?
A. Hudson Bay
B. Chesapeake Bay
C. St. Lawrence River Valley and the West Indies
D. Hudson Valley
E. Delaware Valley
23 During the seventeenth century, French settlements in North America were primarily
A. permanent fishing villages shipping fish to the Catholic countries of Europe
B. shipbuilding centers located near the sources of naval stores.
C. places of refuge for French Huguenots wanting to practice their religion.
D. commercial agricultural centers depending upon the exporting of wheat and corn.
E. forts and trading stations serving the fur traders.
24 Prior to successfully colonizing the New World, England defeated a major rival, and just
prior to losing many of its New World colonies, England defeated another major rival. The
rivals were first
A. France and then the United States
B. Spain, then France
C. France, then Holland
D. France, then Spain
E. Portugal, then Spain
25 The tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy were distinctive in that they
A. were less militant Native American (Indian) tribes.
B. all allied themselves with the American colonies against Great Britain in the
Revolutionary War.
C. successfully resisted incorporation into the English fur-trading system.
D. were converted to Anglicanism.
E. formed the most important Native American political organization to confront the
colonists.
26 In the colonial period, westward settlement in the Mohawk River valley west of Albany was
A. blocked by the Iroquois Confederacy.
B. stopped by the Appalachian Mountains.
C. stimulated by the Erie Canal.
D. encouraged by the Northwest Ordinance.
E. accomplished by Scotch-Irish settlers.
27 The Albany Congress of 1754 was convened for the major purpose of
A. adding New York to the Dominion of New England
B. getting the colonies to form a "grand council" to coordinate their western
expansion and their common defense against Indians.
C. uniting the colonies under a "grand council" to resist British economic sanctions and
coordinate activities against British tax officials.
D. cooperating with the French in their efforts to rid western New York and southern
Canada of raiding Indian tribes.
E. writing a proclamation to be sent to King George in protest of the Stamp Act.
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28 The famous cartoon of 1754 by Benjamin Franklin offered warning to the 13 colonies if
they did which of the following?

A. Refused to enter the Seven Years' War

B. continued to follow the British policy of mercantilism
C. did not protest the Stamp Act
D. continued trading with French Canada
E. rejected the Albany Plan
29 Which was not a result of the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War)?
A. France lost Canada
B. Great incurred high war costs.
C. Great Britain gained Louisiana
D. Great Britain saw a need to tighten its administrative system.
E. Great Britain made a decision to reinvigorate the mercantile system.
30 The French and Indian War weakened the ties that bound the English colonies in North
America to the British Empire by
A. shattering the myth of British invincibility
B. bolstering colonial self esteem
C. encouraging the colonists to think of themselves more as Americans than English or
British.
D. eliminating the Spanish from North America
E. A, B, and C
31 The French and Indian War resulted in all of the following EXCEPT
A. new lands in the trans-Mississippi West were opened to the colonists.
B. colonists began thinking of themselves as Americans rather than English or British.
C. Spain gained control of Louisiana.
D. the treaty ending the war eliminated the French from the American colonial frontier.
E. the myth of British invincibility was shattered.
32 A major impact of the French and Indian War on the attitudes of Americans was
A. it led many Americans to question the superiority of English colonial rule and to
support French colonial rule.
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B. it convinced most Americans to avoid further exploration and settlement of the Ohio
and Mississippi valleys until after the American Revolution.
C. it bound the American colonies more tightly to England than ever before and made
most of them realize they needed English protection from foreign powers such as the
French.
D. it led many colonists who had previously independence from England to call for
moderation because they feared that the huge British military presence in the
colonies (brought over from England to fight the French) could now be turned on
rebellious colonists.
E. with the threat of the French now gone from their borders, many colonists now
felt that English protection was unnecessary and they felt free to take a more
independent stand toward Britain than they had taken previously.