Edexcel GCSE History · Option P1

Spain and the ‘New World’, c1490–c1555

50 exam-style questions with answers for Option P1 Spain and the ‘New World’, c1490–c1555 in Edexcel GCSE History (spec 1HI0). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below. Not official Pearson material.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Option P1, Key topic 1.1
Explain how the Reconquista created a crusading spirit in Spain c1490. [2 marks]
Answer:
Spain had spent centuries fighting to drive Muslims out, ending with the capture of Granada in 1492 (1); so many Spaniards saw it as their duty to spread Christianity and win glory abroad (1).
Question 2 · Option P1, Key topic 1.1
State two of Spain's foreign ambitions c1490. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: to find a sea route to the riches of Asia (1); to compete with Portugal (1); to spread Christianity (1); to gain gold and new lands (1).
Question 3 · Option P1, Key topic 1.1
Explain why Columbus struggled to gain sponsorship. [2 marks]
Answer:
Experts believed he had underestimated the distance to Asia (1); Portugal had already rejected him and Spain was busy fighting Granada (1).
Question 4 · Option P1, Key topic 1.1
Who sponsored Columbus’s voyage of 1492? [1 mark]
Answer:
Isabella of Castile.
Question 5 · Option P1, Key topic 1.1
State Isabella's main reason for sponsoring Columbus. [1 mark]
Answer:
She wanted to spread Christianity to new peoples (and gain wealth for Castile).
Question 6 · Option P1, Key topic 1.1
State two problems Columbus faced on his first voyage in 1492. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: the crew feared they would never get home and nearly mutinied (1); the voyage took longer than expected (1); the Santa María ran aground and was wrecked (1).
Question 7 · Option P1, Key topic 1.2
Where did Columbus land in October 1492? [1 mark]
Answer:
In the Bahamas (an island he named San Salvador), then he explored Cuba and Hispaniola.
Question 8 · Option P1, Key topic 1.2
What was La Navidad? [2 marks]
Answer:
The first Spanish settlement in the Americas, built on Hispaniola from the wreck of the Santa María in 1492 (1); when Columbus returned in 1493, all 39 settlers were dead (1).
Question 9 · Option P1, Key topic 1.2
Describe relations between the Spanish and the Tainos. [2 marks]
Answer:
At first the Tainos were friendly and traded gold (1); relations broke down as the Spanish demanded gold and treated them brutally (1).
Question 10 · Option P1, Key topic 1.2
Who were the Caribs? [1 mark]
Answer:
An Indigenous people of the Caribbean who resisted the Spanish fiercely and were accused by them of cannibalism.
Question 11 · Option P1, Key topic 1.2
What was the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An agreement dividing newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a line west of the Cape Verde Islands.
Question 12 · Option P1, Key topic 1.2
Explain why the Treaty of Tordesillas was significant. [2 marks]
Answer:
It avoided war between Spain and Portugal (1); and gave Spain the right to claim almost all of the Americas (1).
Question 13 · Option P1, Key topic 1.3
Describe Columbus's role as governor of Hispaniola. [2 marks]
Answer:
He was a poor governor who could not control the settlers (1); he was accused of cruelty, arrested and sent back to Spain in chains in 1500 (1).
Question 14 · Option P1, Key topic 1.3
Why was the founding of Santo Domingo (1496) significant? [2 marks]
Answer:
It became the first permanent Spanish settlement in the Americas (1); and the capital and base for later Spanish exploration and conquest (1).
Question 15 · Option P1, Key topic 1.3
State two effects of Spanish settlement on Indigenous peoples. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: forced labour in mines and fields (1); violence and killing (1); smallpox and other diseases that killed huge numbers (1); loss of land and culture (1).
Question 16 · Option P1, Key topic 1.3
Why did smallpox kill so many Indigenous people? [1 mark]
Answer:
They had no immunity to European diseases.
Question 17 · Option P1, Key topic 1.3
State two features of Spain's imperial policy in the Caribbean. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: exploration needed royal permission (1); a royal monopoly on trade through Seville (1); Spanish laws and governors were imposed (1); slavery of Indigenous and then African people (1).
Question 18 · Option P1, Key topic 1.3
What was the Casa de Contratación? [1 mark]
Answer:
The House of Trade in Seville, set up in 1503 to control trade with the Americas.
Question 19 · Option P1, Key topic 1.3
What was the role of Catholic missionaries in the Americas? [2 marks]
Answer:
They converted Indigenous peoples to Christianity (1); some, such as the Dominicans, protested against the cruelty of the settlers (1).
Question 20 · Option P1, Key topic 2.1
What did Balboa do in 1513? [2 marks]
Answer:
He crossed the Isthmus of Panama and became the first European to see the Pacific from the Americas (1); he claimed the Pacific and all lands around it for Spain (1).
Question 21 · Option P1, Key topic 2.1
Who led the conquest of Cuba (1511)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Diego Velázquez.
Question 22 · Option P1, Key topic 2.1
What was the significance of Magellan's voyage (1519–22)? [2 marks]
Answer:
It was the first voyage around the world, though Magellan himself was killed in the Philippines (1); it gave Spain a claim to the Philippines (1).
Question 23 · Option P1, Key topic 2.2
What was Cortes's expedition of 1519? [2 marks]
Answer:
Cortes sailed from Cuba to Mexico with about 500 men, disobeying Velázquez (1); he burned or sank his ships so his men could not turn back (1).
Question 24 · Option P1, Key topic 2.2
Explain why Montezuma did not resist Cortes at first. [2 marks]
Answer:
He may have believed Cortes was the god Quetzalcoatl returning (1); he tried to buy off the Spanish with gifts and welcomed them into Tenochtitlan (1).
Question 25 · Option P1, Key topic 2.2
Why were the Tlaxcalans important to Cortes? [2 marks]
Answer:
They were enemies of the Aztecs (1); thousands of Tlaxcalan warriors fought alongside the Spanish (1).
Question 26 · Option P1, Key topic 2.2
Who was La Malinche? [2 marks]
Answer:
An Indigenous woman who acted as Cortes's translator and adviser (1); she helped him understand Aztec politics and make alliances (1).
Question 27 · Option P1, Key topic 2.2
What was La Noche Triste (1520)? [2 marks]
Answer:
The 'night of sorrows' when the Spanish were driven out of Tenochtitlan (1); hundreds of Spaniards were killed as they fled (1).
Question 28 · Option P1, Key topic 2.2
State two reasons why Tenochtitlan fell in 1521. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: smallpox killed many Aztecs (1); the Spanish siege cut off food and water (1); thousands of Indigenous allies (1); Spanish steel weapons, horses and guns (1).
Question 29 · Option P1, Key topic 2.3
Describe Cortes's actions as Governor of New Spain (1523–28). [2 marks]
Answer:
He rebuilt Tenochtitlan as Mexico City (1); he gave his followers encomiendas of land and Indigenous labour (1).
Question 30 · Option P1, Key topic 2.3
State two consequences of the Spanish conquest for the Aztecs. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: millions died from disease (1); their temples were destroyed and Christianity imposed (1); forced labour (1); loss of land and wealth (1).
Question 31 · Option P1, Key topic 2.3
Why was the founding of Panama (1519) significant? [2 marks]
Answer:
It was the first Spanish city on the Pacific coast (1); and became the base for expeditions south to Peru (1).
Question 32 · Option P1, Key topic 3.1
Why was the death of Huayna Capac significant? [2 marks]
Answer:
The Inca emperor died of smallpox around 1527 (1); his sons Atahuallpa and Huascar fought a civil war over the throne (1).
Question 33 · Option P1, Key topic 3.1
How did the Inca civil war help Pizarro? [2 marks]
Answer:
The Inca empire was divided and weakened when Pizarro arrived in 1532 (1); some Incas who supported Huascar helped the Spanish (1).
Question 34 · Option P1, Key topic 3.1
What happened at Cajamarca (1532)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Pizarro's 168 men ambushed Atahuallpa's unarmed followers, killing thousands (1); Atahuallpa was captured (1).
Question 35 · Option P1, Key topic 3.1
What happened to Atahuallpa? [2 marks]
Answer:
He paid a huge ransom of gold and silver to be freed (1); but Pizarro had him executed in 1533 (1).
Question 36 · Option P1, Key topic 3.1
What was the siege of Cuzco (1536–37)? [2 marks]
Answer:
The Inca leader Manco Inca rebelled and besieged the Spanish in Cuzco for about ten months (1); the Spanish held out, and the revolt failed (1).
Question 37 · Option P1, Key topic 3.1
State two effects of the conquest on the Incas. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: disease killed many (1); the Inca empire collapsed (1); forced labour in mines (1); Christianity imposed (1).
Question 38 · Option P1, Key topic 3.2
What was a viceroy? [1 mark]
Answer:
The king's representative who governed a large part of the Spanish Empire, such as New Spain or Peru.
Question 39 · Option P1, Key topic 3.2
Who was the first viceroy of New Spain? [1 mark]
Answer:
Antonio de Mendoza, appointed in 1535.
Question 40 · Option P1, Key topic 3.2
What was the encomienda system? [2 marks]
Answer:
Spanish settlers were given groups of Indigenous people (1); who had to work for them, in return for 'protection' and Christian teaching (1).
Question 41 · Option P1, Key topic 3.2
Who was Bartolomé de Las Casas? [2 marks]
Answer:
A Dominican friar who had been a settler (1); he campaigned against the cruel treatment of Indigenous people (1).
Question 42 · Option P1, Key topic 3.2
What were the New Laws (1542)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Laws to protect Indigenous peoples, banning their enslavement (1); and ending new encomiendas, though settlers resisted and they were weakened (1).
Question 43 · Option P1, Key topic 3.2
Why was the discovery of silver at Potosí (1545) significant? [2 marks]
Answer:
It was the richest silver mine in the world (1); it made the empire hugely profitable for Spain (1).
Question 44 · Option P1, Key topic 3.2
Why was La Paz founded in 1548? [1 mark]
Answer:
As a stopping point on the route carrying silver from Potosí.
Question 45 · Option P1, Key topic 3.2
Where was silver discovered in Mexico in 1546? [1 mark]
Answer:
Zacatecas.
Question 46 · Option P1, Key topic 3.3
Explain why gold and silver were important to Spain. [2 marks]
Answer:
The Crown took a fifth (the quinto) of all bullion (1); it paid for Charles V's wars to defend his European empire (1).
Question 47 · Option P1, Key topic 3.3
State two negative effects of New World bullion on Spain. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: inflation (1); Spain relied on bullion rather than developing industry (1); the wealth went to pay foreign bankers (1).
Question 48 · Option P1, Key topic 3.3
State two goods brought from the Americas to Spain. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: sugar (1); tobacco (1); cocoa (1); maize (1); potatoes (1); dyes (1).
Question 49 · Option P1, Key topic 3.3
Why did the slave trade to the Americas grow? [2 marks]
Answer:
Indigenous populations collapsed from disease and overwork (1); so African slaves were imported to work on plantations and in mines (1).
Question 50 · Option P1, Key topic 3.3
What was the Council of the Indies? [1 mark]
Answer:
The council set up in 1524 to govern Spain's American empire on behalf of the king.

← Option B4 Early Elizabethan England, 1558–88 Option P2 British America, 1713–83: empire and revolution →

Spain and the ‘New World’, c1490–c1555

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