Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Listening to the Past: Columbus Describes His First Voyage

Select the best answer. Click Submit for each question to turn in your work.

Question

1. How long did it take Columbus to make the crossing from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct: The answer is b. Columbus reported that the crossing took thirty-three days.
Incorrect: The answer is b. Columbus reported that the crossing took thirty-three days.

Question

2. For which of these did Columbus initially mistake Cuba?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct: The answer is d. Cuba was so big that Columbus was initially convinced he had found the Asian mainland and China.
Incorrect: The answer is d. Cuba was so big that Columbus was initially convinced he had found the Asian mainland and China.

Question

3. Which of these claims by Columbus was a lie?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct: The answer is c. Columbus knew that his readers would want to hear that Hispaniola would be a source of great wealth, so he told them what they wanted to hear.
Incorrect: The answer is c. Columbus knew that his readers would want to hear that Hispaniola would be a source of great wealth, so he told them what they wanted to hear.

Question

4. How did Columbus explain the fact that Hispaniola’s inhabitants had no “iron or steel or arms”?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct: The answer is a. Columbus thought the inhabitants were “amazingly timid” and some of the least war-like people he had ever encountered.
Incorrect: The answer is a. Columbus thought the inhabitants were “amazingly timid” and some of the least war-like people he had ever encountered.

Question

5. How did Columbus characterize the religious beliefs of the inhabitants of Hispaniola?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct: The answer is a. Columbus claimed that the inhabitants of Hispaniola had “no religion” but believed “that power and goodness dwell in the sky.”
Incorrect: The answer is a. Columbus claimed that the inhabitants of Hispaniola had “no religion” but believed “that power and goodness dwell in the sky.”