Test Bank
Born in Blood and Fire
A Concise History of Latin America 

Fourth Edition

John Charles Chasteen 

Test Bank

Born in Blood and Fire
A Concise History of Latin America 

Fourth Edition
John Charles Chasteen

Test Bank by
Carolina Zumaglini
Florida international university

W. W. Norton & Company | New York | London
Copyright © 2016, 2011, 2006, 2001 by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America

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Media project editor: Rachel Mayer

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Contents
Preface	ix
Chapter 1 | Welcome to Latin America	1
Chapter 2 | Encounter	17
Chapter 3 | Colonial Crucible	55
Chapter 4 | Independence	95
Chapter 5 | Postcolonial Blues	127
Chapter 6 | Progress	161
Chapter 7 | Neocolonialism	193
Chapter 8 | Nationalism	233
Chapter 9 | Revolution	267
Chapter 10 | Reaction	297
Chapter 11 | Neoliberalism and Beyond	329

Preface 

Each question measures and links explicitly to a specific competency and is written with clear, concise, and grammatically correct language that suits the difficulty level of the specific competency being assessed. To ensure the validity of each question, no extraneous, ambiguous, or confusing material is included, and no slang expressions are used. In developing these questions, every effort has been taken to create questions that will allow for a thorough examination of each chapter. 
Six Question types based on Bloom’s taxonomy

1. Remembering questions—declarative knowledge, including textbook definitions and relationships between two or more pieces of information. Can students recall or remember the information in the same way it was learned? These questions comprise the smallest part of the test bank, as historians move further away from “recall” based questions. 

2. Understanding questions—pose problems in a context different from the one in which the material was learned, requiring students to draw from their declarative and/or procedural understanding of important concepts. Can students explain the ideas and concepts they have read? 

3. Applying questions—ask students to draw from their prior experience and use critical thinking skills to take part in qualitative reasoning about the real world. Can students distinguish important differences between time periods? 

4. Analyzing questions—test students’ ability to break down and synthesize information from this chapter and see how different elements relate to one another. Are your students more capable of constructing their own arguments?  

5. Evaluating questions—ask students to broaden their analysis of each chapter’s main themes and try to view them within the larger framework of the scope of the class. 

6. Creating questions—pose questions or objectives that prompt students to put elements that they have learned into a coherent argument in order to justify their position, and build on their own ideas. 
Three Difficulty Levels
1.	Easy questions—require a basic understanding of the concepts, definitions, and examples presented in Born in Blood and Fire.
2.	Moderate questions—direct students to use critical thinking skills, to demonstrate an understanding of core concepts independent of specific textbook examples, and to connect concepts across chapters.
3.	Difficult questions—ask students to synthesize textbook concepts with their own experience, making analytical inferences about historical topics and more.

READING THE QUESTION NOTATION
Each question in the test bank is tagged with six pieces of information that are designed to help instructors create the most ideal list of questions for their quizzes or exams. These tags are: 

ANS: This is the correct answer for each question. 
REF: This is the page from which the question was drawn. 
MSC: This identifies the Bloom’s Taxonomy term that best categorizes the question. 

A Final Note
We hope that this test bank and the questions held within will help you produce new ways of thinking about assessment. Norton has a strong commitment to supporting instructors with high-quality material provided at no extra cost. For more information, please visit this edition’s Student Site, or our For Instructors page.

Born in Blood and Fire

Chapter 1: Welcome to Latin America

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Which of the following statements best describes Latin America? 

a. It is a region where people are more or less equal. 
b. It is a region of extreme inequalities.
c. It is a region where people are mostly white. 
d. It is a region with a low contingent of European immigrants.

ANS: b
MSC: Remembering
REF: p. 3

2. Which is the largest country, considering area and population, in Latin America?

a.	Mexico
b.	Argentina
c.	Brazil
d.	Chile

ANS: c
MSC: Remembering
REF: p. 2

3. Which are the two political ideologies that, according to Chasteen, have dominated Latin American history for the past five centuries?

a.	liberalism and neoliberalism
b.	liberalism and nationalism
c.	nationalism and socialism
d.	liberalism and socialism

ANS: b
MSC: Remembering
REF: p. 9–10

4. Neoliberalism 

a.	proved to be very successful for the Latin American people of all social classes.
b.	has rarely produced equitable prosperity in the region.
c.	empowered indigenous groups.
d.	empowered people of African descent.

ANS: b
MSC: Understanding
REF: p. 10

5. Traditionally, the United States has regarded Latin America as a story of failure. Why is this the case? 

a.	Because of the region’s mixed races and lack of work ethic.
b.	Because most people in Latin America do not believe in God.
c.	Because the region is culturally backward in relation to the arts.
d.	Because most of the region has always had populist leaders.

ANS: a
MSC: Understanding
REF: p. 12

6. What does liberalism—“classic liberalism”—mean in the case of Latin America? 

a.	It means that the government should be concerned with the welfare of disadvantaged people.
b.	It means that economic equality should be the ultimate goal of the state.
c.	It means limited government and economic laissez-faire.
d.	It has the same meaning as “nationalism.” 

ANS: c
MSC: Understanding
REF: p. 10

7. Which of the following statements best describes the principles of liberal ideology? 

a.	It favors tradition over progress.
b.	It promotes equality of citizenship.
c.	It consists of a set of values that developed in Spain and Portugal.
d.	It promotes government control over the free market.

ANS: b
MSC: Understanding
REF: p. 10

8. Nationalism

a.	is usually to the left of the political spectrum.
b.	is usually to the right of the political spectrum.
c.	represents the idea that everyone ought to be part of a nation and that nations should rule themselves.
d.	appeals to universal models that ought to be replicated in Latin America.

ANS: c
MSC: Understanding
REF: p. 10–11

9. Do all Latin American countries have a single history?

a.	No, a single history could not possibly capture the ethnic, geographic, and social diversity of the region.
b.	Yes, all Latin American countries had the exact same colonization experience. 
c.	No, they did not gain independence at the same time.
d.	Yes, they all speak the same language. 

ANS: a
MSC: Understanding 
REF: p. 4

10. Between 1940 and 1960, US historians discarded the theory of determinism to explain the “failure” of Latin America. They replaced it with a new theory. What does this new theory argue? 

a.	Latin America would only be able to join the developed world when its people became Protestant.
b.	Latin America was doomed, and always will be, because of its people.
c.	In order to advance to a developed state, the region needed to modernize by dismissing all backward mentalities and traditional social structures. 
d.	It was vital for the region to maintain its traditions and give all power to the landowning elites.

ANS: c
MSC: Understanding
REF: p. 12

11. What aspects of Latin American history do “blood” and “fire,” which appear in the title of the book, represent?

a.	conquest and independence
b.	slavery and the Inquisition
c.	independence and civil war
d.	conquest and slavery 

ANS: d
MSC: Remembering
REF: p. 1

12. What three countries in Latin America comprised the “Southern Cone”?

a.	Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay
b.	Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay
c.	Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru
d.	Chile, Peru, and Bolivia

ANS: a
MSC: Remembering
REF: p. 3

13. Which three countries in Latin America are characterized by a large population of indigenous people? 

a.	Guatemala, Chile, and Bolivia
b.	Guatemala, Bolivia, and Peru
c.	Ecuador, Argentina, and Uruguay
d.	Ecuador, Brazil, and Argentina

ANS: b
MSC: Remembering
REF: p. 3

14. How did some indigenous groups maintain their native language and original customs in Spanish America? 

a.	Because they fought the Spaniards during the conquest.
b.	Because they lived far from the Spanish settlements during the colonial period.
c.	Because the Spanish were very fond of certain groups of natives.
d.	Because they converted to Catholicism early on.

ANS: b
MSC: Understanding
REF: p. 3

15. During the colonial period most slaves arrived to which of the following areas?

a.	They arrived to all Latin American countries in equal numbers.
b.	United States and Mexico
c.	Cuba, Peru, and Brazil
d.	Brazil and the Caribbean

ANS: d
MSC: Remembering
REF: p. 3

16. Roughly how long was the colonization period? 

a.	Colonization is still going on in Latin America.
b.	100 years—it was a short process.
c.	300 years—all Latin American countries were independent by 1810.
d.	300 years—most Latin American countries were independent by 1825.

ANS: d
MSC: Remembering
REF: p. 9

17. How do Latin American nationalists feel about foreign influence? 

a.	They believe in resisting the influence of outside control.
b.	They are indifferent about foreign influence.
c.	They believe it is important to resist all foreign political influence but welcome foreign capital.
d.	They welcome foreign ideas and capital. 

ANS: a
MSC: Understanding
REF: p. 11

18. In 2013, the Roman Catholic Church elected the first Latin American pope. What country is he from? 

a.	Brazil
b.	Mexico
c.	Peru
d.	Argentina 

ANS: d
MSC: Remembering 
REF: p. 2

19. According to Chasteen, how can Latin American history be valuable to the US? 

a.	Because it can make people in the US feel better about themselves.
b.	Because it offers new ways to understand US history.
c.	Because it is important to note the ways in which Latin American became a failure to avoid making the same mistakes. 
d.	Because it shows which political and economic policies the US should not follow.

ANS: b
MSC: Remembering 
REF: p.14

20. In terms of race, which of the following statements is closer to reality? 

a.	Most people in Latin America belong to a similar race.
b.	90% of the population in Latin America come from native communities.
c.	Today, there are very few people of African descent in Latin America.
d.	Latin America is probably the most racially diverse of world regions.

ANS: d
MSC: Understanding
REF: p. 3 

21. Most African slaves traveled to which of the following countries? 

a.	Cuba
b.	Costa Rica
c.	Guatemala
d.	Brazil

ANS: d
MSC: Remembering
REF: p. 3–4

22. Which of the following countries received a large influx of Italian immigrants?

a.	Argentina
b.	Brazil
c.	Guatemala
d.	Paraguay

ANS: a
MSC: Remembering
REF: p. 4 

23. Chasteen argues that nationalism emerged as a great challenge to liberalism. Why is this the case? 

a.	Because liberalism promotes free trade while nationalism promotes national uniqueness.
b.	Because liberalism is to the left of the spectrum while nationalism is to the right.
c.	Because liberalism promotes equality while nationalism favors the elites.
d.	Because nationalism looks at foreign models while liberalism does not. 

ANS: a
MSC: Understanding
REF: p. 10–11

24. Today, nationalists are challenging liberals in different Latin American countries. From what side of the political spectrum are these nationalists coming from? 
 
a.	They come from the right of the political spectrum. They believe in free trade. 
b.	They come from the left of the political spectrum. They believe in free trade.
c.	They come from the right of the political spectrum. They tend to look outside their countries for models to follow.
d.	They come from the left of the political spectrum. They believe in national uniqueness.

ANS: d
MSC: Understanding
REF: p. 10–11

25. What is the religion that is most commonly practiced in Latin America? 

a.	Protestantism
b.	atheism
c.	Judaism
d.	Catholicism

ANS: d
MSC: Remembering
REF: p. 2

ESSAY QUESTIONS

1.
Do all Latin American nations share a single historical narrative?

ANS: All Latin American countries share a wide range of historical experiences, customs, and values. They have had an almost identical story in terms of conquest and colonization. Since independence, they all struggled with similar problems in similar ways. Several trends still characterize the region today. At the same time, Latin American countries present multiple contrasts that become readily apparent when digging deeper into each particular history. Their landscapes and climate vary widely. The same can be said for the makeup and size of their populations.

In terms of racial mestizaje, some differences are apparent within each country. The history of the region showcases Europeans, indigenous people, and people of African descent as protagonists. The contact between these three cultures varied from country to country. While some nations have a deep root in indigenous cultures, others have witnessed a strong European influence. In Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, for example, large populations of indigenous people continue to speak their original language and maintain their customs. These countries did not experience such strong European influence. On the contrary, there is another group of countries, such as Argentina and Uruguay, that received a large influx of Spanish and Italian immigrants by the end of the nineteenth century. Consequently, these countries experienced strong European influence. 

At the same time, the region presents extreme social inequalities within and between countries. For example, the countries of the Southern Cone present higher levels of social development in comparison with Bolivia, Guatemala, and those in Central America. There is also a significant difference when considering the population of each nation. For instance, while Brazil has a population of about 200 million, a quarter of the other Latin American countries have populations lower than 10 million. In this sense, a single story could not hope to capture the differences that exist between nations, despite the fact that all twenty countries in Latin America share many like characteristics, trends, and values. Nevertheless, these ample similarities allow us to discuss the history of the region as one. 

MSC: Analyzing
REF: p. 1–4

2.
Two political ideologies took center stage in the history of Latin America. First, classic liberalism emerged in the nineteenth century. Nationalism, a later invention, emerged in response to the first. In which ways have liberalism and nationalism alternated in ascendancy during the past 150 years? 

ANS: Liberalism, meaning limited government and economic laissez-faire, and nationalism, which is based on the idea that nations should rule themselves, have alternated in ascendancy during the past 150 years. Each ideology favors its own ideas when it comes to the ways in which the government should behave given specific circumstances. While liberalism favors progress, nationalism tends to argue for traditions. Another difference between the two stems from the fact that liberalism tends to favor universal principles and tries to find and follow models from other countries. To the contrary, nationalists tend to look inward, searching to promote national uniqueness.

Liberalism and its principles reigned during the nineteenth century. It promoted free trade, modernization, and the importation of foreign models. Nationalism emerged later on, at the beginning of the twentieth century. This new ideology challenged classic liberalism by promoting all that was national and unique about each country. It particularly attacked free trade. According to the nationalists, economic laissez-faire, a universal model promoted by the US and Europe, tended to benefit the rich and produced more inequality. Throughout the history of the region, the opposing forces of liberalism and nationalism have each helped shape the identities of individual nations and of the continent as a whole.

MSC: Analyzing
REF: p. 9–11

3.
Provide a brief history of the United States’ understanding of Latin America in the past century.

ANS: Until recently, US scholars have regarded Latin America as racially, culturally, and environmentally determined for failure. In the 1930s, studies focusing on race and culture assumed the region could not escape its doomed destiny. According to this analysis, Latin American racial mixtures and lack of self-discipline drove the region away from the type of economic activities that make countries prosper. This view of the region changed between 1940 and 1960. During this period, US historians of Latin America argued that the region’s “failure” laid in its backward mentalities and traditional social structures. Latin American countries needed to modernize if they wanted to join the developed nations of the world. The view of the region radically changed by the 1860s when a group of Latin American scholars came up with the theory called dependency theory. Instead of pinning the blame on Latin America itself, this group of intellectuals searched for explanations outside their borders. They theorized that it was the region’s position as a subordinate player within the global economy that explained its so-called failure. Latin America’s peripheral position in relation to industrialized countries proved its lack of modernization. This theory lost momentum after the Cold War. Today, US analysis of Latin America relates to its own interests. US scholars focusing on the region tend to see Latin America as a justifiable point of comparison to better understand the United States’ history, present, and future.

MSC: Understanding
REF: p. 11–13