APUSH unit 1/2

Longhouses

Traditional dwellings used by various indigenous peoples in North America, including the Iroquois, characterized by their long, narrow shape and communal living spaces.

Iroquois Confederation

A powerful alliance of Native American tribes, including the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca, formed in the eastern woodlands of North America for mutual defense and cooperation.

Christopher Columbus

An Italian explorer who, in 1492, sailed under the Spanish flag and is credited with discovering the Americas when he reached the islands of the Caribbean.

Protestant Reformation

A religious movement in the 16th century that led to the establishment of Protestantism, with leaders like Martin Luther and John Calvin challenging the teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church.

Treaty of Tordesillas

An agreement in 1494 between Spain and Portugal, mediated by the Pope, that divided the newly discovered lands outside of Europe along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, culture, and diseases between the Old World (Europe, Asia, Africa) and the New World (the Americas) following Christopher Columbus's voyages.

Capitalism

An economic system characterized by private ownership of the means of production, competitive markets, and the pursuit of profit.

Conquistadores (Cortés/Pizarro)

Spanish conquistadors, with Hernán Cortés known for the conquest of the Aztec Empire and Francisco Pizarro known for the conquest of the Inca Empire.

Encomienda System

A system in Spanish America where Spanish colonists were granted land and the right to extract forced labor from indigenous peoples in exchange for converting them to Christianity and providing protection.

Asiento System

A system that allowed other European nations, primarily the British, to import enslaved Africans to Spanish colonies in the Americas, usually in exchange for a fee.

Slave Trade/Middle Passage

The transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans to the Americas, with the Middle Passage being the brutal and deadly journey from Africa to the New World.

Father Bartolomé de Las Casas

A Spanish Dominican friar who advocated for the rights and fair treatment of indigenous peoples, particularly in the context of the encomienda system.

Juan Gines de Sepulveda

A Spanish philosopher who argued in favor of Spanish colonization and the subjugation of indigenous peoples.

New Laws of 1542

A series of laws enacted by the Spanish crown that sought to reform and regulate the treatment of indigenous peoples in the Americas, driven in part by the advocacy of Bartolomé de Las Casas.

Joint-Stock Company

A business entity in which multiple investors pool their resources to fund a commercial venture and share in its profits and losses.

Corporate Colony

A colony in which the governing and economic interests were controlled by a joint-stock company or corporation.

Royal Colony

A colony directly administered by the monarch and under the authority of the crown.

Proprietary Colony

A colony granted to an individual or group by the monarch, who had significant control over its governance.

Captain John Smith

An English explorer and leader of the Jamestown colony in Virginia, known for his role in helping the colony survive its early years.

John Rolfe

An English colonist in Virginia known for introducing and successfully cultivating tobacco, which became a major cash crop.

Headright System

A land distribution system in which settlers were granted land (headrights) in exchange for paying their own passage to the colony or for bringing indentured servants with them.

Separatists/Pilgrims

A group of English Puritans who sought religious freedom and established the Plymouth Colony in 1620.

John Winthrop

The first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, known for his "City upon a Hill" sermon and leadership in establishing a theocratic society.

Act of Toleration (Cecil Calvert)

A Maryland law passed in 1649 that granted religious toleration to all Christians, making it one of the earliest examples of religious freedom in the English colonies.

Roger Williams (RI)

A religious dissenter who founded the colony of Rhode Island on the principles of religious freedom and separation of church and state.

Anne Hutchinson/Antinomianism

A religious dissenter in Massachusetts who challenged the religious establishment and was banished due to her beliefs in antinomianism, the idea that faith alone, not works, leads to salvation.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (Hooker)

A 1639 document that served as the first written constitution in America, establishing the framework for self-government in the Connecticut colony.

Halfway Covenant

A religious compromise in the New England colonies that allowed partial church membership for the children of full church members, even if they hadn't experienced a conversion experience.

Frame of Government (William Penn)

The constitution of Pennsylvania, drafted by William Penn, which provided for religious tolerance and representative government.

Charter of Liberties (William Penn)

A document in 1701 that further expanded religious freedom and established a representative assembly in Pennsylvania.

House of Burgesses

The first representative assembly in Virginia, established in 1619, which played a significant role in the development of self-government in the English colonies.

Mayflower Compact

A 1620 agreement signed by the Pilgrims on the Mayflower, establishing a self-governing colony in Plymouth.

Triangular Trade

A system of trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas, in which goods, including enslaved Africans, were exchanged among these regions.

Navigation Acts

A series of British laws that regulated colonial trade and commerce to benefit the mother country.

Mercantilism

An economic system in which a nation's wealth and power were measured by the accumulation of precious metals and the promotion of exports while restricting imports.

Salutary Neglect

A policy in which the British government allowed the American colonies a degree of self-government and autonomy in exchange for economic benefits and loyalty.

King Philip's War

A conflict in 1675-1676 between Native American tribes, led by Metacomet (King Philip), and English settlers in New England.

Bacon's Rebellion

An armed rebellion in 1676 in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon, primarily against the colonial government's perceived failure to protect settlers from Native American attacks.

Slave Laws

Laws enacted in the American colonies that regulated and restricted the rights of enslaved Africans and their descendants.

Great Awakening (Edwards/Whitefield)

A religious revival in the American colonies during the 18th century, characterized by emotional sermons and a focus on personal salvation, with leaders like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.

Sectarian vs. Nonsectarian

Sectarian institutions are affiliated with a particular religious group, while nonsectarian institutions are not tied to any specific religious denomination.

John Peter Zenger

A printer and journalist whose trial in 1735 for seditious libel helped establish the principle of freedom of the press in the American colonies.

Effects of Enlightenment

an intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries, had profound effects on society