1. How did the environments of different regions of America shape the development of the various Indian cultures during the pre-Columbian era? Did these diverse civilizations have any common elements among their cultures? If so, what were they?

2. What cultural factors pushed Europeans to explore beyond their borders during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries? What were the various goals of these expeditions and settlements? What kinds of exchanges occurred between the explorers and the natives, and how was each side affected by these interactions?

3. Were the factors that pushed the English toward America any different than those that influenced other nations? If so, how did they affect the English approach to exploration and colonization of the New World?