Exploration and Isolation

Finals Study

Encomienda

System giving Spanish settlers control over Indigenous labor in exchange for protection and Christianization.

Mestizo

Person of European and Indigenous ancestry often forming a significant part of the colonial population in Latin America.

Zheng He

Chinese explorer who led voyages during the Ming dynasty, expanding maritime trade and establishing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean.

Ethnocentrism

Belief that one’s culture is superior to another's, often leading to the judgment of other cultures based on one's own cultural standards.

Triangular Trade Route

Trade network connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas for the exchange of goods, enslaved people, and raw materials.

Middle Passage

Forced transport of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas, marked by horrific conditions and high mortality rates.

Mercantilism

Economic theory where wealth equals power

Isolation

policy of avoiding political or economic entanglements with other countries. Limiting foreign contract

Columbus Debate

Debate over Columbus as either an explorer or oppressor

Economic reasons for why they explored

• Desire for wealth.

• New trade routes.

• Access to spices.

Cultural/Religious reasons for why they explored

• Spread Christianity.

• Curiosity.

• National pride.

Why they explored for the Atlantic Slave Trade

• Labor demand in the Americas.

• Growth of plantation agriculture.

• Profits from trade.

Why they explored due to technology advances

• Guns.

• Steel weapons.

• Ships.

• Navigation tools.

• Horses.