Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumEuropean and American Indian Relations

"First, that we have not our Land by Patent from the King, but that the Natives are the true owners of it, and we ought to buy it of them . . . that the Christian Kings (so called) are no ways invested with right by virtue of their Christianity to take away or give away the lands and countries of other men."

— Roger Williams, A Key into the Language of America, 1643

Which of the following colonial practices in seventeenth-century New England did the ideas expressed in the excerpt most directly challenge?

  1. A
    The integration of Native communities into the encomienda system to secure labor.
  2. B
    The expansion of large-scale tobacco plantations using indentured labor.
  3. The legal seizure of Indigenous lands by colonial governments under the authority of royal patents.Answer
  4. D
    The negotiation of trade alliances that assumed all Native American groups belonged to a single unified political confederacy.

Answer

The legal seizure of Indigenous lands by colonial governments under the authority of royal patents.
The correct answer is correct because Roger Williams' quote directly targets the English legal theory that royal charters (patents) granted by the King of England gave colonists a legitimate right to claim and settle Indigenous land. He argued that the land belonged to the Native Americans and could only be acquired through fair purchase.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus quote by Roger Williams (1643).
Identify that Williams is criticizing the practice of taking Native American land by royal patent, asserting that 'the Natives are the true owners' and that 'Christian Kings' have no right to give away their lands.
This establishes the core argument of the author regarding land ownership and royal authority.
2
Identify the colonial practice in seventeenth-century New England that this argument challenges.
Connect Williams' critique of 'Patent from the King' to the colonial practice of claiming and distributing Indigenous lands based on royal charters or patents.
This links the historical argument directly to the correct colonial practice being contested.
3
Evaluate the distractors to rule out incorrect options.
Determine that options referring to the encomienda system (Spanish), tobacco plantations (Chesapeake), or a unified political confederacy (conceptually incorrect) do not align with New England practices or the specific focus of the text.
This ensures the selected answer is uniquely correct and distinct from common historical misconceptions.

Key Concept

European and American Indian Relations
Rate this question

Topics

European and American Indian Relations

More questions from this topic