Hi Everyone!! This article will share Thirst A Story From Spain Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of Clues on Canvas, Mike Teavee and As A Boy so, you can check these posts as well.
Thirst A Story From Spain Questions & Answers
Question 1: Fill in the blanks:
1. Hernando had no recollection of how he had come to be like this.
2. ‘This is mutiny!’ he had protested. But by the fourth day of his incarceration, his voice had weakened to a whisper.
3. Ten days had gone by in this state of being only half alive.
4. Hernando would give his life for his queen.
5. In Spain, the gold and silver would be minted into pesos that would make that nation the most powerful in the world.
6. Indeed, for many years after that, flotillas of treasure ships would carry back riches to Spain.
Question 2: How did Hernando come to be hanging from the foremast of his own ship?
Answer: Hernando’s crew had mutinied against him and hung him up from the mast of his own ship.
Question 3: Why did the crew on La Reina del Mundo mutiny?
Answer: The crew on La Reina del Mundo mutinied because of greed. They felt that they were risking their lives by taking all the treasures back to the King of Spain who would continue to live in luxury, while they would get paid only three hundred pesos, if they survived their journey.
Question 4: How did the crew torture Hernando?
Answer: The crew tortured Hernando by hanging him from the foremast and starving him of all food and water. When he lost consciousness a bucket of water would be slapped against his body to revive him. They teased and taunted him, wetting dirty rags and touching them to his lips and pretended to bring a flask to his lips and then pulled it out of reach.
Question 5: What did the King of Spain want Hernando to do?
Answer: The King of Spain wanted Hernando to go to the New World with goods for Spaniards settled in colonies in the Caribbean and the Americas, and return with riches of silver, gold, emeralds, and pearls from there.
Question 6: Why did Hernando agree to go on the voyage to the New World?
Answer: Hernando agreed to go on the voyage to the New World because he was a loyal subject who was ready to lay down his life for his King.
Question 7: How did Spain become the most powerful country in the medieval world?
Answer: Spain became the most powerful country in the medieval world because silver and gold bullion worth millions were sent from the Caribbean and the Americas, which was then minted into pesos. This made Spain the wealthiest and consequently the most powerful country in the medieval world.
Thirst A Story From Spain Questions & Answers
Question 8: What happened to La Reina and all its treasure?
Answer: La Reina del Mundo was caught in a sudden storm the night that Hernando died. The horrendous storm winds picked up the ship and smashed her against a gigantic rock. La Reina broke into two in the storm and sank to the bottom of the ocean with all her treasure and crew.
Question 9: How did Hernando take revenge on the crew?
Answer: Hernando took revenge on the crew by cursing his crew with eternal thirst. Soon after his death, a sudden storm smashed the ship against a gigantic rock, and it sank to the bottom with her entire crew. On stormy nights, La Reina rides the waves with her crew crying ‘Give us water! Give us water!’
Question 10: In your opinion, what kind of a man was Hernando?
Answer: In my opinion, Hernando was a very honest and loyal man who loved his country and his King and Queen for whom he was ready to lay down his life. He was not greedy for money and found pleasure in the simple things of life. In his opinion, every sighting of a dolphin was a shining jewel, every humpbacked whale more precious than rubies, and a glimpse of Olive Ridley turtles swimming serenely beneath the waves was like being blessed with a holy vision. He was a true sailor for he loved the sea and his ship La Reina del Mundo, the Queen of the World, deeply. We also know that he was a simple family man who loved his children, because he remembered them when he looked at the young workers carrying bags of treasure into the ship.
Question 11: Do you think that the crew members did the right thing by mutinying?
Answer: No, the crew members did not do the right thing by mutinying because they ought to have been loyal to their king and country. But then, the king was an uncaring monarch who lived in luxury, while they risked their lives to bring treasures to add to his wealth, and they were paid a paltry sum of only three hundred pesos, if they survived the miserable working conditions. Rats and cockroaches and vermin feasted on the rice and peas meant for the sailors, and the bilges below the cargo hold stank of sea water, urine and slops, which was inhuman and unhealthy. Naturally discontent and rancour spread and the crew mutinied.
Question 12: Imagine and describe Hernando’s thoughts as he hung from the foremast.
Answer: As he hung from the foremast, Hernando’s thoughts revolved around the intense thirst he felt and the water he craved for with all his being. He would slip into a dazed, semiconscious state and he would think of the past, successful voyages he had captained with a better crew. Sometimes, his mind would dwell fondly on childhood memories of his family, home, and experiences as a young sailor. His mind would go to his children and his wife waiting eagerly for his return home. Above all, he was tormented by the disloyalty of the crew, because at sea, the crew of a ship is supposed to be loyal to their captain, to the point of death.
Question 13: Why did Hernando feel that wealth is not as important as the sights and sounds of the sea?
Answer: Hernando felt that wealth was not as important as the sights and sounds of the sea because he was not materialistic. He was not greedy and valued the rare sights and sounds of the sea. In his opinion, every sighting of a dolphin was a shining jewel, every humpbacked whale more precious than rubies, and a glimpse of Olive Ridley turtles swimming serenely beneath the waves was like being blessed with a holy vision. He was content with what he had and La Reina del Mundo, his precious ship, was all that he desired.
So, these were Thirst A Story From Spain Questions & Answers.