Empire and Its Costs · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Who paid for empire

History · The Modern World · ages 14-16
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which pair identifies ways colonial rulers extracted wealth from people they ruled?

    • Growing crops and sharing all profits with workers
    • Seizing land and forcing people to work
    • Returning land and ending forced labour

  2. In the usual Europe-Africa-Americas-Europe model, which list matches the shipments to their destinations?

    • Goods to Africa; enslaved people to the Americas; crops to Europe
    • Enslaved people to Africa; crops to the Americas; goods to Europe
    • Crops to Africa; goods to the Americas; enslaved people to Europe

  3. An abolition campaign demanding an end to slavery is a form of resistance.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A plantation owner and a merchant profit from sugar grown by enslaved workers. Which statement describes the workers' loss of freedom?

    • They could freely leave for another employer.
    • They could not freely refuse the work imposed on them.
    • They controlled the sugar sales and shared the merchant's profits.

  5. A government bans importing enslaved people but leaves laws allowing slavery unchanged. What does this mean for people already enslaved?

    • They are freed when the next ship docks.
    • They are all freed, but must leave the colony before working.
    • They are not automatically freed by the import ban.

  6. The estimate of about 12.5 million people counts only those who arrived alive in the Americas after the Atlantic crossing.

    Circle one:   True   False

  7. Tom says, 'Exporting raw materials proves that colonial rule benefited everyone in the colony.' Which response best checks his claim?

    • Exports show who gained and who bore all the human costs.
    • We need evidence about who gained and who bore the costs.
    • Only the destination of exports tells us who gained in the colony.

  8. A European merchant earns money selling sugar grown overseas by enslaved workers. Which link explains how the merchant's profit depended on their labour?

    • Enslaved workers grew the sugar that the merchant sold.
    • The sale proves that the workers freely agreed to work.
    • The merchant's distance from the plantation removed any link to its labour.
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Who paid for empire W1-mt_i3Yw06vg5I-s1

  1. Seizing land and forcing people to work · Taking control of land and compelling people to work transferred resources and labour to colonial rulers and businesses.
  2. Goods to Africa; enslaved people to the Americas; crops to Europe · The model links European goods sent to Africa, enslaved Africans carried to the Americas, and plantation crops sent to Europe.
  3. True · The campaign challenges slavery by demanding its end. Resistance included campaigning as well as escape and revolts.
  4. They could not freely refuse the work imposed on them. · Enslaved workers were compelled to work. Low-paid employment with freedom to leave is not the same legal position as enslavement.
  5. They are not automatically freed by the import ban. · The import ban restricts bringing enslaved people into the territory. It does not change the stated laws allowing people already there to remain enslaved.
  6. False · The estimate counts people forced aboard ships in Africa. Many died during the crossing, so the number who arrived alive was lower.
  7. We need evidence about who gained and who bore the costs. · Export income does not show how benefits and costs were distributed. Owners or merchants could profit while other people lost land or freedom.
  8. Enslaved workers grew the sugar that the merchant sold. · The workers produced the sugar sold by the merchant. Their work and the merchant's profit were connected even though they were far apart.
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