Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Beyond America’s Borders: “New France and the Indians: The English Colonies’ Northern Borderlands”

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

Question

1. What trade good spurred the French monarchy to establish New France as a royal colony?

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B.
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D.
Correct. The answer is d. The fur trade was the economic backbone of New France in the seventeenth century. French colonists exchanged textiles and metal goods with local Native Americans in exchange for valuable pelts, which were exported for European markets.
Incorrect. The answer is d. The fur trade was the economic backbone of New France in the seventeenth century. French colonists exchanged textiles and metal goods with local Native Americans in exchange for valuable pelts, which were exported for European markets.

Question

2. What accounts for the twenty-to-one ratio of English to French colonists in 1660?

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B.
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Correct. The answer is a. While the English colonies included settlers who grew agricultural crops for consumption and for trade, New France in the seventeenth century did not produce agricultural crops (which required large numbers of workers). Instead, their economic efforts were limited to the fur trade, which required just small numbers of colonists to run the trading posts and maintain relationships with local Indian fur suppliers.
Incorrect. The answer is a. While the English colonies included settlers who grew agricultural crops for consumption and for trade, New France in the seventeenth century did not produce agricultural crops (which required large numbers of workers). Instead, their economic efforts were limited to the fur trade, which required just small numbers of colonists to run the trading posts and maintain relationships with local Indian fur suppliers.

Question

3. How did the relationships between Native Americans and French colonists differ from Native Americans' relationships with English colonists in the seventeenth century?

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B.
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Correct. The answer is c. In contrast to English colonists, who did not hesitate to kill Native Americans in conflicts over land, French colonists were too small in number to exert effective military strength, so they tended to stay on better terms with neighboring Native Americans than their English counterparts. French men also more frequently intermarried with Native American women.
Incorrect. The answer is c. In contrast to English colonists, who did not hesitate to kill Native Americans in conflicts over land, French colonists were too small in number to exert effective military strength, so they tended to stay on better terms with neighboring Native Americans than their English counterparts. French men also more frequently intermarried with Native American women.

Question

4. Although the land north of New England was known as New France in the seventeenth century, the dominant military power in that region were

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Correct. The answer is b. Thanks to their strategic location between New France, New York, and the fur supply, the Iroquois became powerful middlemen in the profitable fur trade by the 1660s. Their military strength came from their ability to mobilize large groups of Indian fur suppliers and allies against their enemies. The small number of French colonists in New France made them no match for the Iroquois.
Incorrect. The answer is b. Thanks to their strategic location between New France, New York, and the fur supply, the Iroquois became powerful middlemen in the profitable fur trade by the 1660s. Their military strength came from their ability to mobilize large groups of Indian fur suppliers and allies against their enemies. The small number of French colonists in New France made them no match for the Iroquois.

Question

5. The goal of French explorer Louis Jolliet’s 1673 voyage down the Mississippi River was

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B.
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Correct. The answer is d. Jolliet’s voyage was specifically intended to expand the boundaries of New France in the west and the south, which would have essentially encircled the English colonies on the East Coast. However, despite Jolliet’s bold claims of conquering the Mississippi valley, New France never actually controlled this territory on the ground.
Incorrect. The answer is d. Jolliet’s voyage was specifically intended to expand the boundaries of New France in the west and the south, which would have essentially encircled the English colonies on the East Coast. However, despite Jolliet’s bold claims of conquering the Mississippi valley, New France never actually controlled this territory on the ground.