AP European History Practice Test: Period 1 (1450–1648)

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Question 1

Questions 1–4 refer to the passage below:

“Both sides of human consciousness — the side turned to the world and that turned inward — lay, as it were, beneath a common veil, dreaming or half awake. The veil was woven of faith, childlike prejudices, and illusion; seen through it, world and history appeared in strange hues; man recognized himself only as a member of a race, a nation, a party, a corporation, a family, or in some other general category. It was in Italy that this veil first melted into thin air, and awakened an objective perception and treatment of the state and all things of this world in general; but by its side, and with full power, there also arose the subjective; man becomes a self-aware individual and recognises himself as such.”

John Burkhardt, The Civilization in Renaissance Italy, 1860

In what way does Burkhardt see the Renaissance as a break with the past?

A	The Renaissance exposed a previously unknown duality of man.
B	The Renaissance refuted religion.
C	The Renaissance was the first major artistic achievement in Italy.
D	The Renaissance was based on individual identity instead of group identity.

Question 1 Explanation:

The correct answer is (D). The passage references the duality of man but does not say that duality is new. Therefore, (A) may be eliminated. The Renaissance, while secular, was not irreligious, so (B) may also be eliminated. Ancient Rome was known for its art, which means (C) is also incorrect. The contrast between the second and third sentences indicates that the answer is (D).

Question 2

Questions 1–4 refer to the passage below:

The passage above reflects

A	corporatism
B	empericism
C	humanism
D	positivism

Question 2 Explanation:

The correct answer is (C). Corporatism is an economic and political arrangement found in Italy during the early twentieth century, so (A) may be eliminated. Empericism (B) is tied to science but is not relevant to the passage. Positivism (D), depending on the context, may be from philosophy or psychology, but either way, that answer is wrong. Humanism (C) relates to the Renaissance idea of the greatness and dignity of individuals and is the correct answer.

Question 3

Questions 1–4 refer to the passage below:

What is the most likely reason that Burkhardt wrote his history of Italy?

A	Widespread public schooling created a demand for history textbooks by 1860.
B	The rise of the middle class in the mid-nineteenth century marked a time in which people could afford to purchase history books.
C	Italian nationalism was very strong in 1860 and sparked a renewed interest in Renaissance Italy.
D	The first modern Olympics was organized in 1860 and sparked a renewed interest in Mediterranean history.

Question 3 Explanation:

The correct answer is (C). Public schooling (A) was not yet commonplace in 1860, and the first modern Olympics (D) was in 1896. Therefore, both of those answers are incorrect. (B) is plausible, but there was not much of a middle class in 1860. Italy unified in the 1860s, which makes (C) the correct answer.

Question 4

Questions 1–4 refer to the passage below:

A similar analysis of the Northern Renaissance would more likely emphasize

A	artistic expression
B	mathematics
C	religious piety
D	secularism

Question 4 Explanation:

The correct answer is (C). The Italian Renaissance is known for artistic expression (A), mathematics (B), and secularism (D). The Northern Renaissance is known for Christian humanism or religious piety (C), which is the correct answer.

Question 5

Questions 5–8 refer to the passage below:

“For that reason, let a prince have the credit of conquering and holding his state, the means will always be considered honest, and he will be praised by everybody; because the vulgar are always taken by what a thing seems to be and by what comes of it; and in the world there are only the vulgar, for the few find a place there only when the many have no ground to rest on.”

Nicolo Machiavelli, The Prince, 1532

The passage above reflects the emerging scholarly discipline of

A	anthropology
B	economics
C	historiography
D	political science

Question 5 Explanation:

The correct answer is (D). Anthropology (A) is the study of culture; economics (B) is the study of how people and institutions use time, money, and resources; and historiography (C) is the study of history (history being the study of the past). All those answers are wrong. Machiavelli was the first modern political scientist, and (D) is the correct answer.

Question 6

Questions 5–8 refer to the passage below:

Machiavelli’s opinion of common people is

A	disdainful
B	hateful
C	spiteful
D	wistful

Question 6 Explanation:

The correct answer is (A). A prince who conquers is always praised by people, regardless of the methods used to achieve the conquest “because the vulgar are always taken by what a thing seems to be and by what comes of it.” Machiavelli is not hateful (B), spiteful (C), or wistful (D), but he does have a low opinion of common people. Therefore, (A) is the correct answer.

Question 7

Questions 5–8 refer to the passage below:

Which of the following quotes best fits with the passage above?

A	“All’s well that ends well.”
B	“Honesty is the best policy.”
C	“The ends justify the means.”
D	“The vulgar man is always the most distinguished, for the very desire to be distinguished is vulgar.”

Question 7 Explanation:

The correct answer is (C). “All’s well that ends well.” is from Shakespeare and is not related to the passage. “Honesty is the best policy.” was spoken by Sir Edwin Sandys, a founder of the Jamestown colony, and “The vulgar man is always the most distinguished, for the very desire to be distinguished is vulgar.” was said by Gilbert K. Chesterton. Both are actually the opposite of the Machiavelli quote. “The ends justify the means.” has been long associated with Machiavelli, specifically this passage, because Machiavelli advises princes to use whatever methods they must to conquer.

Question 8

Questions 5–8 refer to the passage below:

Which of the following would have been LEAST likely to agree with Machiavelli?

A	Elizabeth I
B	Thomas More
C	Philip II
D	Cardinal Richelieu

Question 8 Explanation:

The correct answer is (B). Thomas More was a Christian humanist and thought leaders should use Christian principles to rule. All the other rulers used Machiavellian principles in governing.

Question 9

Questions 9–11 refer to the passage below:

“So it goes now. Whoever wants to be clever must agree with nothing that others esteem. He must do something of his own. This is what that fellow does who wishes to turn the whole of astronomy upside down. Even in these things that are thrown into disorder I believe the Holy Scriptures, for Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, and not the earth.”

Martin Luther, Table Talk, 1539

In this passage, Martin Luther advocated for

A	justification by faith
B	justification by works
C	development of the science of astronomy
D	the Bible as the sole source of religious authority

Question 9 Explanation:

The correct answer is (D). Martin Luther believed in justification by faith but does not refer to it here, so (A) is wrong. He did not believe in justification by works (B). He condemns modern astronomy in the passage, so (C) may be eliminated. He believes in the authority of the Bible, not the authority of science, so (D) is the correct answer.

Question 10

Questions 9–11 refer to the passage below:

The scientific achievement described above was first discovered by

A	Nicholas Copernicus
B	Galileo Galilei
C	Johannes Kepler
D	Isaac Newton

Question 10 Explanation:

The correct answer is (A). Nicholas Copernicus developed the heliocentric theory. All the other choices were after him.

Question 11

Questions 9–11 refer to the passage below:

The Catholic church’s response to the scientific ideas expressed above was to

A	encourage these scientific ideas, as the church opposed Martin Luther
B	suppress scientific ideas, as the church opposed scientific research
C	privately encourage scientific research but publicly condemn it
D	remain neutral, as science was not related to religion

Question 11 Explanation:

The correct answer is (C). The Catholic Church was often a patron of sciences. However, the Church opposed particular scientific discoveries that it felt challenged its authority and power.

Question 12

Questions 12–15 refer to the following illustration:

The illustration portrays

A	colonialism
B	commercialism
C	imperialism
D	mercantilism

Question 12 Explanation:

The correct answer is (D). All four answers relate to the illustration, but the illustration is of mercantilism, an economic system in which countries establish colonies for the purpose of purchasing raw materials and selling back finished with the ultimate goal of accumulating money.

Question 13

Questions 12–15 refer to the following illustration:

Which of the following countries excelled the most in mercantilism?

A	England
B	France
C	Portugal
D	Spain

Question 13 Explanation:

The correct answer is (A). France and Portugal made attempts at establishing mercantilist policies, but England excelled at it. Spain did not successfully implement a mercantilist system and bankrupted the Spanish treasury.

Question 14

Questions 12–15 refer to the following illustration:

All of the following facilitated mercantilism EXCEPT

A	the compass
B	double-entry bookkeeping
C	the enclosure movement
D	the lateen rig

Question 14 Explanation:

The correct answer is (C). The compass and lateen rig were essential to transoceanic navigation. Double-entry bookkeeping standardized accounting and made business more efficient. The enclosure movement, which was the gradual fencing in and selling of the common land in England, has nothing to do with mercantilism.

Question 15

Questions 12–15 refer to the following illustration:

Who were the chief financiers of mercantilism?

A	The Bank of Amsterdam
B	The Huguenots
C	The landed gentry
D	The Medicis

Question 15 Explanation:

The correct answer is (A). The Bank of Amsterdam was the chief financier of mercantilism. The Huguenots were French Protestants and have little or nothing to do with mercantilism. The landed gentry did not support mercantilism because it compromised their economic position. The Medicis were an Italian banking family, but their bank ceased to exist by the sixteenth century.

Question 16

Questions 16–18 refer to the passage below:

“How violently the restless Jesuits and their followers are exerting themselves to undo, by their absurd interpretations and preposterous attacks, the precious and solemnly ratified Religious Peace [of Augsburg] which was drawn up long years ago for many weighty reasons by his Roman Imperial Majesty and all the estates of the empire, is but too clear. Nay, they would completely abolish it and then do away altogether with our true Christian religion, in which we were born and brought up and in which we would live and die. All this is sufficiently proved by the innumerable, violent, and poisonous books which they issue throughout the Roman Empire, directed against the said Religious Peace and its clear provisions, declaring it to be no more than ad interim, — a temporary concession of toleration, designed to last only until the conclusion of the Council of Trent; even going so far as to imply that his Imperial Majesty of happy memory had no authority to arrange the peace among the estates of the empire without the consent of the pope. Moreover they stir up harsh persecutions hitherto unheard of in the Holy Roman Empire, all with a view to accomplishing their end, — namely, to promote discord among the estates of the Holy Roman Empire, to rouse the several governments against their subjects and vice versa, and to check and suppress our true Christian religion and bring it back into the condition and contempt in which it was before the establishment of the religious and secular peace.

We know, however, that his Roman Imperial Majesty [Rudolf II] and the peace-loving Catholic estates, with their Christian and loyal German feelings, have no pleasure in the dangerous practices of the Jesuits and their adherents... Moreover, since the nature and character of the Jesuits and their followers are as notorious among Catholics as among Protestants, and since what they have been up to in Sweden, Poland, France, the Netherlands, and, recently, in Italy, is well known, they should be estimated accordingly and precautions taken against their dangerous plots.”

John George, the Elector of Saxony, to the Imperial Diet, 1618

John George was of what religious faith?

A	Anglicanism
B	Calvinism
C	Catholicism
D	Lutheranism

Question 16 Explanation:

The correct answer is (D). John George, like many other German princes, was Lutheran. Saxony, being in Germany, would not be Anglican, which is the Church of England, and would be unlikely to be Calvinist compared to France, Scotland, or Switzerland. In condemning the Jesuits, an order within the Catholic Church, it should be obvious that John George was not Catholic.

Question 17

Questions 16–18 refer to the passage below:

John George explains, from his perspective, the causes of the

A	German peasants revolt
B	English Civil War
C	War of the Three Henrys
D	Thirty Years’ War

Question 17 Explanation:

The correct answer is (D). Saxony, being in Germany, allows one to rule out the English Civil War, which was in England, and the War of the Three Henrys, which was in France. The German Peasants revolt is incorrect, as that was before 1618, which marked the beginning of the Thirty Years War.

Question 18

Questions 16–18 refer to the passage below:

With which of the following viewpoints would John George agree?

A	The Counter-Reformation should continue
B	Debate among intellectuals should be admired
C	Each prince should determine the religion of his people
D	The Jesuits should be excommunicated

Question 18 Explanation:

The correct answer is (C). The Jesuits, whom John George condemns, led the Counter-Reformation reformation, so (A) may be eliminated. George does not, however, call for their excommunication (D). He does not seem to value intellectual debate (B), which is something for which the Jesuits were known. He does, however, support the Peace of Augsburg, which allowed each prince to determine the official state religion.

Question 19

Questions 19–20 refer to the French woodcut below:

Which of the following statements is LEAST supported by the woodcut?

A	Skilled trades in Renaissance France were based on a family economy
B	Women contributed to their husband’s businesses
C	Education could lead to a career in skilled trades
D	The lower class was employed in skilled trades

Question 19 Explanation:

The correct answer is (D). The woodcut depicts women (B) contributing to the family economy (A), so both those answers may be eliminated. Skilled tradesmen required an education in reading, mathematics, and their trade, so (C) may also be eliminated. Skilled tradesmen were middle class, not lower class. Therefore, (D) is the correct answer.

Question 20

Questions 19–20 refer to the French woodcut below:

In which of the following countries would you be most likely to find the economic activity portrayed here?

A	England
B	Poland
C	Russia
D	Sweden

Question 20 Explanation:

The correct answer is (A). England was the most middle class country of the four options given.

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Period 2 (1648–1815) >>