Hard
History
Ancient Civilizations
From Sumer to the Inca — eight questions for the serious history lover.
Sample question
Start quiz
Which river was central to the rise of Ancient Egypt?
Trade Routes and What Moved Along Them
Trade routes carried far more than cargo, and the cargo was rarely the most important part.
About this topic
A trade route is a channel for anything that travels: goods, obviously, but also religions, technologies, writing systems and epidemics. The Silk Road moved Buddhism into China as surely as it moved silk out of it, and the same routes later carried plague. These questions cover the major networks and what actually travelled along them. The recurring lesson is that the goods historians name the route after were often not the most consequential thing moving on it.
Questions & answers
Trade Routes and What Moved Along Them: all 10 questions and answers
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
Play it insteadShow all answers and explanationsHide answers
-
1The Silk Road connected China principally with what?
- A Southern Africa
- B Australia
- C Scandinavia only
- D The Mediterranean world Correct
Answer: D. The Mediterranean world
Why: It was a network of routes rather than a single road, and few traders travelled its whole length. Goods changed hands many times.
-
2Which spice was so valuable it was traded by weight against precious metals?
- A Paprika
- B Cinnamon bark only
- C Black pepper Correct
- D Salt
Answer: C. Black pepper
Why: Pepper drove European interest in sea routes to India. Roman writers already complained about the drain of silver eastward to pay for it.
-
3The Hanseatic League was an alliance of what?
- A Portuguese colonies
- B Merchant towns around the Baltic and North Sea Correct
- C Italian banking families
- D Ottoman ports
Answer: B. Merchant towns around the Baltic and North Sea
Why: At its height it controlled trade across northern Europe and could impose blockades on states that crossed it.
-
4Trans-Saharan trade carried which two goods in greatest volume?
- A Gold and salt Correct
- B Silk and tea
- C Timber and iron
- D Wine and olive oil
Answer: A. Gold and salt
Why: Salt came south from Saharan mines and gold went north from West African fields. Mali grew enormously wealthy on the exchange.
-
5The Incense Route ran principally through which region?
- A Central Asia
- B The Baltic
- C The Andes
- D The Arabian peninsula Correct
Answer: D. The Arabian peninsula
Why: Frankincense and myrrh moved north to the Mediterranean. The cities along it grew rich enough to be worth conquering.
-
6What travelled along the Silk Road besides goods?
- A Only precious metals
- B Nothing else of significance
- C Religions, technologies and disease Correct
- D Only textiles
Answer: C. Religions, technologies and disease
Why: Buddhism reached China this way, paper-making moved west, and the Black Death is thought to have followed the same corridors.
-
7The Age of Exploration was driven substantially by a desire to do what?
- A Locate freshwater sources
- B Reach Asian spice sources without intermediaries Correct
- C Find new farmland
- D Map the poles
Answer: B. Reach Asian spice sources without intermediaries
Why: Ottoman control of overland routes made a sea passage commercially attractive, which is what sent Portuguese ships around Africa.
-
8The triangular Atlantic trade moved enslaved people from where?
- A West Africa to the Americas Correct
- B The Americas to Europe
- C Europe to Asia
- D Asia to Africa
Answer: A. West Africa to the Americas
Why: Manufactured goods went south to Africa, enslaved people west across the Atlantic, and plantation produce back to Europe.
-
9Amber from the Baltic was traded south to the Mediterranean along a route known as what?
- A The Salt Way
- B The Northern Passage
- C The Baltic Chain
- D The Amber Road Correct
Answer: D. The Amber Road
Why: Baltic amber has been found in Egyptian and Mycenaean tombs, evidence of exchange long before written records of the route.
-
10The Grand Trunk Road runs across which region?
- A Western Europe
- B Southeast Asia
- C South Asia Correct
- D Central Africa
Answer: C. South Asia
Why: It has connected the eastern and western reaches of the subcontinent for over two thousand years, rebuilt by successive empires.
Frequently asked questions about Trade Routes and What Moved Along Them
How many questions are in Trade Routes and What Moved Along Them?
Trade Routes and What Moved Along Them has 10 questions and takes about 7 minutes to finish. It is rated Medium and sits in our History category.
How is Trade Routes and What Moved Along Them scored?
Each of the 10 correct answers adds 10 XP, up to 100 XP for a clean run. Wrong answers cost you nothing, and your full question-by-question review is shown at the end.
Are the answers to Trade Routes and What Moved Along Them explained?
Yes. All 10 questions carry a written explanation of why the correct answer is right, so the quiz works as a study sheet as well as a test.
Can I replay Trade Routes and What Moved Along Them?
Yes, as often as you like. The questions and the answer options are reshuffled on each run, and you can use Practice Mistakes afterwards to retry only the ones you missed. No account is needed to play.
QuizKite Quality Guarantee
Every quiz on QuizKite is researched, written and fact-checked by hand against reliable references, with an explanation for each answer. Read our full Editorial Policy to learn more about our content standards.
Keep going
More History
Medium
History
Revolutions and Their Consequences
The upheavals that replaced a system rather than just a ruler.
Sample question
Start quiz
The storming of the Bastille in 1789 marked the beginning of which revolution?
Hard
History
Empires and How They Ended
Rome to the twentieth century — what actually brought the great empires down.
Sample question
Start quiz
The Western Roman Empire is conventionally dated as ending in which year?
Hard
History
Plagues, Famines and What Came After
The disasters that reshaped societies, and the changes that followed them.
Sample question
Start quiz
The Black Death reached Europe in which century?
Medium
Ancient Greece & Rome
The Classical World
City-states, empire and the inheritance still in daily use.
Sample question
Start quiz
Which Greek city-state was best known for its military discipline?
Easy
Mythology & Folklore
Gods, Heroes & Monsters
The pantheons and legends still hiding in everyday language.
Sample question
Start quiz
In Greek mythology, who is the king of the gods?