Lecture Notes: Chapter 1–7 Introduction to European Exploration, Mercantilism, and the Columbian Exchange

Vocabulary flashcards covering Renaissance origins, navigational tech, mercantilist economics, major empires, and the Columbian Exchange from the lecture notes.

Renaissance

The rebirth of learning in Western Europe (roughly 1400–1600) involving rediscovery of Greek/Roman knowledge and a renewal of interest in science, art, and classical texts.

Printing Press

Gutenberg’s movable-type press (mid-1400s) that enabled mass production of books, spreading knowledge quickly and fueling exploration.

Ptolemy’s Geography

Classical geography rediscovered during the Renaissance, influencing mapmaking and new geographic knowledge.

Latitude and Longitude

Ways to determine a ship’s position; latitude could be determined more easily, longitude required later instruments for precise navigation.

Chronometer

A precise timekeeping device used to determine longitude at sea; developed fully in the 18th century.

Triangular Sails

Naval innovation that increased maneuverability on the open ocean by allowing better windward travel.

Nation-State

A centralized political unit with sovereignty over defined territory, emerging in 14th–15th century Western Europe and enabling sustained imperial ventures.

Feudal System

A medieval political arrangement where power is dispersed among nobles under a king, contrasting with centralized nation-states.

Mercantilism

An economic doctrine (roughly 14th–18th centuries) that valued wealth in gold and silver and promoted a closed colonial system with a strong mother country.

Gold and Silver

Precious metals seen as the primary measures of wealth under mercantilist thinking; central to European power and trade.

Colonies

Territories controlled by a mother country, supplying raw materials and serving as markets for manufactured goods.

Mother Country

The European power that controls its colonies and profits from their resources and markets.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, people, and ideas between the Old World and the Americas after 1492, reshaping diets and populations.

Tomatoes

New World crop introduced to Europe during the Columbian Exchange, transforming European cuisine.

Potatoes

New World crop introduced to Europe during the Columbian Exchange, contributing to population growth and food security.

Horses

Domesticated animals introduced to the Americas by Europeans post-1492, transforming Indigenous economies and mobility.

Smallpox

A deadly European disease that caused massive Indigenous population declines after contact with Europeans.

Aztec Empire

A major pre-Columbian empire in central Mexico, significant in discussions of early contact with Europe.

Mali Empire

West African empire at its height around 14th century, a major trading power before Atlantic connections.

Songhai Empire

West African empire rising in the 15th–16th centuries, succeeding Mali in regional influence and trade.