Period 1 IDs Pre-Columbian Societies, Columbian Exchange, and European Territorial Exploration/Colonization (1491-1607)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, pre-Columbian societies, exploration motives, exchanges, and colonial dynamics for Period 1 (1491-1607).

maize cultivation

The agricultural production of corn, which fostered

• economic development

• settlement

• advanced irrigation

• social diversification

among Native American societies.

migration

The movement of people from one region/habitat to another

western hemisphere

The half of Earth that includes North America, South America, referred to by Europeans as the 'New World'.

colonization

Nations establishing settlements and extending control over foreign territories/indigenous populations.

Eastern Woodlands Indians

Native American tribes residing in the region extending from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River, who relied on a mix of farming, hunting, and gathering and had a matrilineal organization

Three Sisters crops

Winter squash, maize (corn), and climbing beans.

Cahokia

A major Native American city & mound-building society located near present-day St. Louis

animism

The spiritual belief common among many Native American tribes that natural objects and living creatures alike possess a soul/spiritual essence

Iroquois Confederacy /Great League of Peace

An alliance formed by five (later six) Native American nations in northeastern North America to maintain peace and mutual defense.

Great Plains Indians

Native American societies inhabiting the grasslands of North America who were nomadic, lived in teepees, and hunted buffalo

Great Basin Indians

Native American tribes living in the arid region between the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains who developed nomadic hunter-gatherer economies & ate pinion nuts

Southwest Indians

Native American societies in the southwestern region of North America known for Pueblo adobe-style houses, advanced irrigation systems, and maize cultivation

Chaco Canyon

A center of Ancestral Puebloan culture located in present-day New Mexico, famous for its multi-story stone pueblo structures.

Northwest Indians

Native American groups along the Pacific Northwest coast who built permanent villages, relied on resources like salmon, and crafted totem poles.

California Indians

Native American populations in California who adapted to diverse environments primarily through hunter-gatherer economies, acorn harvesting, and fish/berries/nuts

hunter-gatherer economy

Hunting animals and gathering plants rather than settled agriculture

pueblos

Multi-story adobe/stone structures constructed by American Southwest tribes

advanced irrigation systems

Technological systems constructed by native groups, such as the Pueblo, to divert water to crops in arid environments.

matrilineal ancestry

A system of lineage and inheritance in which social identity, property, and clan membership are traced through the mother's line.

“New World”

A term used by Europeans to describe the Americas during the era of exploration and colonization starting in 1492.

Bering Strait migration

The historical movement of early human populations from Asia to North America across a land bridge spanning the Bering Strait.

Incas

A sophisticated South American empire centered in the Andes region that built expansive infrastructure prior to Spanish conquest.

Aztecs

A powerful Mesoamerican empire centered in Tenochtitlan that developed complex societal structures before Spanish conquest.

reasons/motives for European exploration

God, Gold, and Glory

effects of smallpox

Massive mortality rates among Native populations lacking immunity

subjugation

The act of bringing a group of people under complete control, domination, or servitude.

Portuguese exploration

Early maritime voyages led by Portugal along the West African coast to establish trade routes, pioneer navigation technologies, and initiate the slave trade.

maritime inventions

Caravel, astrolabe, and compass

Spanish exploration

Explored Mexico/Peru/West Indies, then ventured to St Augustine, Florida.

• Chirstopher Columbus reached San Salvador

Trans-Atlantic slave trade

The forced transportation of millions of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas to provide labor for plantations and mines after Native Americans died from Smallpox and disease

Christopher Columbus

An Italian navigator sailing for Spain whose 1492 voyage to the Caribbean initiated sustained European contact with the Americas.

encomienda system

A Spanish colonial labor system that granted colonists authority over Native Americans to extract labor and tribute in exchange for protection and Catholic instruction.

plantation-based agriculture

Large-scale agricultural production focused on cash crops for export, relying heavily on forced labor systems.

caste system in Spanish colonies

A rigid social hierarchy established by the Spanish based on racial ancestry, placing European Spaniards at the top.

mestizos

Individuals of mixed Native American and European (typically Spanish) ancestry in the Spanish colonial social system.

mulattos

Individuals of mixed African and European ancestry in the Spanish colonial social system.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, diseases, and ideas between the Old World and the New World after 1492.

exchanges from old world to new world

Transfers including smallpox, horses, cattle, pigs, wheat, sugar, and rice from Europe, Africa, and Asia to the Americas.

exchanges from new world to old world

Transfers including maize, potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, cocoa, and silver from the Americas to Europe, Africa, and Asia.

chattel slavery

A system of bondage in which enslaved individuals are legally treated as personal property that can be bought, sold, inherited, and owned.

slavery in perpetuity

A legal condition of lifelong enslavement that is inherited by the offspring of enslaved mothers.

French colonization

European settlement primarily focused on fur trading networks, establishing alliances and intermarriage with Native Americans, and Jesuit missionary work

• Quebec (Samuel de Champlain)

Northwest Passage

A sought-after sea route through North America connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to enable direct trade with Asia.

Samuel de Champlain

A French explorer who founded Quebec in 1608 and established trade relationships with local Native American tribes.

French Huguenots

French Calvinist Protestants who faced religious persecution in France and sought refuge or colonial settlement in North America.

Henry Hudson

An English explorer hired by the Dutch who navigated the Hudson River and established Dutch claims in North America.

New Netherlands

A 17th-century Dutch colonial territory centered in present-day New York, established primarily for fur trading.

Dutch relationship with Natives

Colonial interactions driven chiefly by commercial trade partnerships, particularly the fur trade, rather than extensive territorial conquest

• Religious toleration

• Civility

Religious toleration with Dutch

The policy of allowing diverse religious practices within Dutch colonial settlements to attract settlers and traders.

Catholic missions

Religious outposts established by orders like the Franciscans and Jesuits to convert Native Americans to Catholicism.

Pueblo Revolt/Pope’s Revolt

An 1680 uprising of Pueblo people against Spanish colonizers in present-day New Mexico that temporarily drove out Spanish settlement.

Bartolome de las Casas

A 16th-century Spanish Dominican friar who advocated for the rights of Native Americans and denounced the abuses of the encomienda system.

Juan Gines de Sepulveda

A Spanish theologian who defended Spanish conquest, colonization, and the subjugation of Native Americans during the Valladolid debate.