Colonial Era Quiz
Instructions: How well do you recall the people and events of the colonial era?
- 1.
Which was the first permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607?
AJamestownBSalemCRoanokeDPlymouth - 2.
Which ship brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620?
ASpeedwellBSusan ConstantCMayflowerDSanta Maria - 3.
What was the agreement for self-governance signed aboard the Mayflower?
AArticles of ConfederationBDeclaration of IndependenceCConstitutionDMayflower Compact - 4.
Which Native American woman helped the Jamestown settlers and married John Rolfe?
ASacagaweaBPocahontasCSquantoDMalinche - 5.
Which event in 1773 was a protest against British taxation of tea?
AStamp Act RiotsBBoston MassacreCTownshend Act ProtestsDBoston Tea Party - 6.
Who founded the colony of Pennsylvania as a haven for Quakers?
AWilliam PennBJohn WinthropCRoger WilliamsDLord Baltimore - 7.
Which colony was founded by Roger Williams after he was expelled from Massachusetts for his religious views?
ANew HampshireBMarylandCRhode IslandDConnecticut - 8.
What was the series of witch trials held in Massachusetts in 1692?
APuritan InquisitionBSalem Witch TrialsCPlymouth TrialsDBoston Witch Hunts - 9.
Which crop became the economic foundation of the Jamestown colony?
ATobaccoBCottonCCornDRice - 10.
What was the 1765 act that imposed direct taxes on the American colonies for the first time?
ATea ActBStamp ActCTownshend ActsDIntolerable Acts - 11.
Which colonial leader helped establish the city of Savannah and the colony of Georgia?
ALord BaltimoreBJames OglethorpeCJohn SmithDWilliam Penn - 12.
Which 1770 event saw British soldiers kill five colonists in Boston?
ABoston MassacreBBunker HillCLexington and ConcordDBoston Tea Party - 13.
What was the first representative assembly in the American colonies, established in 1619?
AHouse of BurgessesBContinental CongressCTown MeetingDGeneral Court - 14.
Which war between the French and British (1754-1763) determined colonial control of North America?
AKing Philip's WarBFrench and Indian WarCQueen Anne's WarDPontiac's War - 15.
How many original colonies declared independence from Britain in 1776?
A12B11C10D13
Answer Key
Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in North America, established by the Virginia Company in 1607.
The Mayflower carried 102 passengers, known as Pilgrims, from England to Plymouth, Massachusetts, arriving in November 1620.
The Mayflower Compact, signed on November 11, 1620, was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony and an early step toward democratic self-governance.
Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan, helped bridge relations between the Powhatan people and Jamestown settlers and married colonist John Rolfe in 1614.
The Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773, saw colonists dump 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor to protest the Tea Act's taxation without representation.
William Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1681 as a Quaker colony that promoted religious freedom and peaceful relations with Native Americans.
Roger Williams founded Rhode Island in 1636, establishing it as a colony with complete religious freedom and separation of church and state.
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 resulted in the execution of 20 people, becoming one of the most infamous episodes of mass hysteria in American history.
Tobacco, cultivated by John Rolfe beginning around 1612, became Jamestown's cash crop and the economic foundation of colonial Virginia.
The Stamp Act of 1765 required colonists to pay a tax on printed materials, sparking widespread protests and the cry of 'No taxation without representation.'
James Oglethorpe founded the colony of Georgia in 1733, originally intended as a haven for debtors and a buffer against Spanish Florida.
The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770, when British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists, killing five men. It became a rallying point for independence.
The House of Burgesses was established in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 as the first representative legislative assembly in the American colonies.
The French and Indian War (Seven Years' War in Europe) ended with Britain gaining control of French territories in North America through the Treaty of Paris in 1763.
Thirteen colonies declared independence from Britain on July 4, 1776, forming the United States of America.