Spanish Inquisition (1478)
A religious judicial institution designed to find and eliminate beliefs that did not align with official Catholic practices. The Spanish Inquisition was first established in 1478.
Columbian Exchange
The biological exchange between the Americas and the rest of the world between 1492 and the end of the sixteenth century. Although its initial impact was strongest in the Americas and Europe, it was soon felt globally.
Encomienda System
System first established by Christopher Columbus by which Spanish leaders in the Americas received land and the labor of all American Indians residing on it. For American Indians, the encomienda system amounted to enslavement.
Pueblo Revolt
1680 uprising of Pueblo Indians against Spanish forces in New Mexico that led to the Spaniards' temporary retreat from the area. The uprising was sparked by mistreatment and the suppression of Pueblo culture and religion.
Powhatan Confederacy
Large and powerful confederation of Algonquian-speaking American Indians in Virginia. The Jamestown settlers had a complicated and often combative relationship with the leaders of the Powhatan Confederacy.
Headright System
Created in Virginia in 1618, it rewarded those who imported indentured laborers and settlers with fifty acres of land.
House of Burgesses
Local governing body in Virginia established by the English crown in 1619.
English Civil War (1642-1649)
Series of civil wars fought to determine who should control England's government.
Bacon's Rebellion (1676)
1676 uprising in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon. Bacon and his followers, many of whom were former servants, were upset by the Virginia governor's unwillingness to send troops to intervene in conflicts between settlers and American Indians and by the lack of representation of western settlers in the House of Burgesses.
Proteststant Reformation
Widespread break from the Roman Catholic Church due to its perceived abuses of power throughout the sixteenth century. It spurred the creation of many Protestant religions and was a source of conflict throughout Europe and North America during the seventeenth century.
Puritan Migration
The mass migration of Puritans from Europe to New England during the 1620s and 1630s
Pequot War (1636-1637)
conflict between New England settlers, their Narragansett allies, and the Pequots. The English saw the Pequots as both a threat and an obstacle to further English expansion.
Metacom's War (1675-1676)
1675-1676 conflict between New England settlers and the region's American Indians. The settlers were the eventual victors, but fighting was fierce and casualties on both sides were high.
Glorious Revolution (1688)
Rebellion that forced James II from the English throne and replaced him with William and Mary. The Glorious Revolution led to greater political and commercial autonomy for the British colonies.
King William's War (1689-1697)
War that began as a conflict over competing French and English interests on the European continent but soon spread to the American frontier. Both sides pulled American Indian allies into the war.
Lisler's rebellion (1686)
Class revolt by urban artisans and landless renters led by Merchant Jacob Leisler in 1689 New York over new taxes and centralized rule.
Walking Purchase (1737)
1737 treaty that allowed Pennsylvania to expand its boundaries at the expense of the Delaware Indians. The treaty, likely a forgery, allowed the British to add territory that could be walked off in a day and a half.
Navigation Acts
Acts passed by Parliament in the 1650s and 1660s that prohibited smuggling, established guidelines for legal commerce, and set duties on trade items.
Consumer Revolution
A process through which status in the colonies became more closely linked to financial success and a refined lifestyle rather than birth and family pedigree during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The consumer revolution was spurred by industrialization and increased global trade.
Stono Rebellion (1739)
Uprising by enslaved Africans and African Americans in South Carolina. In its aftermath, white fear of slave revolts intensified.
Anglo-Powhatan Wars
Series of conflicts in the 1620s between the Powhatan Confederacy and English settlers in Virginia and Maryland.
Tuscarora War (1711-1713)
War launched by Tuscarora Indians from 1711 to 1715 against European settlers in North Carolina and their allies from the Yamasee, Catawba, and Cherokee nations. The Tuscaroras lost their lands when they signed the peace treaty and many then joined the Iroquois Confederacy to the north.
Yamasee War (1715-1717)
A pan-American Indian war from 1715 to 1717 led by the Yamasee who intended, but failed, to oust the British from South Carolina.
Queen Anne's War (1702-1713)
1702-1713 war over control of Spain and its colonies; also known as the War of the Spanish Succession. Although the Treaty of Utrecht that ended the war in 1713 was intended to bring peace by establishing a balance of power, imperial conflict continued to escalate.
Treaty of Utrecht (1713)
1713 Treaty that ended Queen Anne's War. It aimed to achieve peace by balancing the interests of European powers and their colonial possessions.
King George's War (1739-1748)
1739-1748 war between France, Spain, and England fought in North America.
New Light Clergy
Colonial clergy who called for religious revivals and emphasized the emotional aspects of spiritual commitment. The New Lights were leaders in the Great Awakening.
Old Light Clergy
Colonial clergy from established churches who supported the religious status quo in the early eighteenth century.
Great Awakening
Series of religious revivals in colonial America that began in 1720 and lasted to about 1750.
Impressment
The forced enlistment of civilians into the army or navy. The impressment of residents of colonial seaports into the British navy was a major source of complaint in the eighteenth century. Had violent protests and riots to protest the law.