NCERT Solutions for Class 11 History - Confrontation of Cultures

1. Compare the civilisation of the Aztecs with that of the Mesopotamians.
Answer

(i) The people of Aztecs civilization worshiped the gods of war and sun while Mesopotamian people worshiped many gods and goddesses.
(ii) In Aztecs civilization canal irrigation was done while in Mesopotamian civilization is a river valley civilization hence canals were also there for irrigation.
(iii) Aztecs society was hierarchical. It includes nobles, priests, warriors and traders while Mesopotamian society was divided into three classes. It included higher, middle and lower classes.

2. What were the new developments helping European navigation in the fifteenth century?
Answer
(i) The invention of magnetic compass in 1380 CE helped in searching and identifying four cardinal directions. These directions were north, south, east and west.
(ii) Development also took places in the manufacturing sailing ships.
(iii) Travel literature and books on geography were also available.
(iv) Ptolemy’s geographical information helped the sailors in about different cardinal directions.
(v) The Travelogue of MarcoPolo also helped a lot in European navigation and created wide interest among the people.

3. Give reasons for Spain and Portugal being the first in the fifteenth century to venture across the Atlantic.
Answer
(i) The rulers of both Spain and Portugal had passion for acquiring wealth in the form of gold and treasure for glory titles.
(ii) They also wanted to establish colonies in the regions.
(iii) Many Christians wanted to bring people of other land into the fold of Christianity.
(iv) The Christian missionaries wanted to venture across the Atlantic.

4. What new food items were transmitted from South America to the rest of the world?
Answer
The food items which were transmitted from south America to the rest of the world were as follows-
(a) Cane sugar
(b) Potatoes
(c) Rubber
(d) Tobacco
(e) Chilies
 

Answer in Short Essay

5. Write an account of the journey of an African boy of seventeen captured and taken to Brazil as a slave.
Answer
The journey of African boys was very rigid. He was made slave and departed with other slaves to a ship. Their journey started from Congo. Their ship sailed in Atlantic Ocean and reach Brazil in South America via Angola.

6. How did the ‘discovery’ of South America lead to the development of European colonialism?
Answer
For Europe, the ‘discovery’ of the Americans had consequences for other besides the initial voyagers. The influx of gold and silver helped further expansion of international trade and industrialization. Between 1560 and 1600, a hundred ships each year carried silver from South American mines to Spain. But it was not Spain and Portugal that benefited. They did not invest their huge income in further trade or in building of merchant navy. Instead, it was the countries bordering Atlantic, particularly England , France, Belgium and Holland, that took advantage of the ‘discoveries’.
Europe also became familiar with new crops from Americas, notably potatoes and chilies.
For the native people of the America the immediate consequences were the physical decimation of local population, the destruction of their way of life and their enslavement in mines, plantations and miles.