Introduction to Colonial America and Period of Contact

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, colonial regions, historical figures, and map identification based on the unit study guide.

Indigenous

Original; referencing the original native inhabitants of a land.

Colonize

When a country exerts control over an independent land, resulting in a colony.

Assimilation

A process where a dominant culture overtakes a physically weaker culture, usually forced, forcing the weaker culture to become like the dominant culture.

Plantation

A very large farm that required a significant number of workers and only grew crops for cash.

Diversity

A wide variety of differences.

Theocracy

A form of government based upon a religious text, such as the Koran or Bible.

Age of Exploration

A European historical time period from around the 1400s through the 1700s defined by Europeans exploring and conquering large swaths of land in Africa, Asia, South America, and North America.

Age of Invasion

The label that many Native People might use to describe the Age of Exploration.

Period of Contact

The neutral term that many social scientists use today to describe the Age of Exploration.

Pow Wow

An event in which Indigenous communities come together in order to re-learn and celebrate their language and culture in an attempt to reverse assimilation.

Christopher Columbus

Explorer whose 1492 discovery is generally considered the beginning of the Age of Exploration.

John Cabot

Explorer whose exploration allowed for Britain to lay claim to the coast of what eventually became North America.

John Cabot's Exploration Map

Map showing exploration along Labrador, Chesapeake, and Greenland, which enabled British claims in North America.

Christopher Columbus's Exploration Map

Map displaying transatlantic voyages from Europe to the Caribbean and Central/South America between 1492 and 1504.

Puritans (Broad Goal)

To "purify" the Church of England from Catholic practices during the 1600s and 1700s.

Puritans (Specific Goal)

To create a model Christian community in New England.

Pilgrims

A specific type of Puritans who were Separatists.

Puritanism

A belief system centered on the views that humans exist only to glorify God, morality and all aspects of life are determined by the Bible, and having a slave avoided work put upon you by the Lord.

Mason-Dixon Line

A line that today separates the cultural North from the cultural South.

13 Colonies Map

Map outlining the original 13 American colonies along the Atlantic coast.

New England Colonies

Colonial region whose primary focus of life was religion, ranging from promoting religious freedom to establishing a theocratic state.

Middle Colonies

Colonial region known as "The Melting Pot" due to its non-English beginnings, focus on trade, and high ethnic and religious diversity.

Southern Colonies

Colonial region that, despite a difficult beginning, became relatively wealthy through slavery and the plantation system.

Bacon's Rebellion (Cause)

Rebellion caused by Nathaniel Bacon's belief that the Virginia colony government was too lenient towards Native Peoples and failed to protect settlers from Native attacks.

Bacon's Rebellion (Long-Term Effect)

Led Southern landowners to begin exclusively using Blacks as slaves on plantations to prevent a united racial front and future rebellions against their power.

Massachusetts

The colony that was the perfect example of Puritanism and came to epitomize the culture of the New England Colonies.

New York

The colony that came to epitomize the culture of the Middle Colonies.

Virginia

The colony that came to epitomize the culture of the Southern Colonies.

Quakerism

A religious faith characterized by rejecting any oath or allegiance, rejecting all forms of alcohol, and living and dressing plainly.

Pennsylvania

The colony most closely associated with Quakerism, founded by William Penn.

William Penn

The founder of the colony of Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia

A city founded by William Penn, meaning "City of Brotherly Love".