3. The Southern Colonies in the Seventeenth Century, 1601

Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Making Historical Arguments: Why did English Colonists Consider Themselves Superior to Indians and Africans?

Select the best answer for each question. Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

Question 3.6

1. During the seventeenth century, colonists called Native Americans either Indians or

reds.

aboriginals.

savages.

beasts.

Question 3.7

2. In what central way did English colonists define Indians differently than Africans in the seventeenth century?

Indians were defined as not English, while Africans were defined as not white.

Indians were defined as not white, while Africans were defined as not free.

Indians were defined as not free, while Africans were defined as not Christian.

Indians were defined as not Christian, while Africans were defined as not English.

Question 3.8

3. Although Indian and Negro referred to different groups of people in the seventeenth century, what these two words have in common is that they both

derived from Spanish words that initially referred to a type of animal.

homogenized a large group of people with diverse cultures and languages.

can be traced back to Columbus’s fifteenth-century voyage.

sounded extremely similar to preexisting words in each group's respective native language.

Question 3.9

4. How did Virginians’ understanding of slavery change over the course of the seventeenth century?

The kinds of work that slaves could perform increasingly included non-agricultural labor.

Slavery expanded to include not just Africans but also Native Americans.

Colonists increasingly believed that slavery was justified by both Christianity and science.

Slavery came to be defined as both permanent and inheritable from parent to child.

Question 3.10

5. This essay supports which of the following historical arguments?

Racial beliefs about Native Americans have proven more entrenched in the modern era than racial beliefs about Africans.

The most important axis along which colonists defined themselves as different from Native Americans and Africans was skin color.

Modern racial prejudices can be traced back to the earliest encounters between colonists, Native Americans, and Africans.