Units 1-3

black legend

The idea developed during North American colonial times that the evil Spanish utterly destroyed the Indians through slavery and disease and left nothing of value.

Atlantic Seaboard

Native American region along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, home of the Wampanoag and Powhatan, practiced mixed economies, benefitting from resources of the sea

Aztecs

Native American in central Mexico, conquered numerous groups and made human sacrifices. Also known as Mexica.

Bartolome de Las Casas

A Spanish missionary who publicly challenged the method of encomienda systems

Cahokia

pre-Columbian city near present-day St Louis, home to over 30,000 people of the Hopewell / Mound-builders society

Christopher Columbus

An Italian navigator who was funded by the Spanish government to find a passage to the Far East. He is given credit for discovering the "New World"

Conquistadores

Royal Spanish explorers that invaded Central and South America for its riches during the 1500s.

Eastern Woodlands

Native American region often designated as the Midwest and Northeast, home of Algonquian and Iroquois, practiced mixed economies, permanent and semi-permanent settlements

Encomienda system

Plantation systems where Indians were essentially enslaved under the disguise of being converted to Christianity.

Francisco Coronado

Conquistador, who explored the Pueblos of Arizona and New Mexico looking for the legendary city of gold El Dorado, penetrating as far east as Kansas.

Francisco Pizarro

Conquistador, who crushed, looted, and enslaved the Incan civilization in Peru

Great Basin

Native American region around present day Nevada and Utah, home of the Ute and Paiute people, hunter-gatherer lifestyles, with some similarities to Plains Indian culture

Great Plains

Native American region between the Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains, home of the Sioux and Cheyenne, hunter-gatherer lifestyles, especially bison hunting, but some sedentary groups

Hernando Cortez

Conquistador, who conquered the Aztecs at Tenochtitlan

Hernando de Soto

Conquistador, who explored in 1540's from Florida west to the Mississippi in search of gold, discovered the Mississippi River

Incas

Native American society in Peru, with elaborate network of roads and bridges linking their empire.

Land Bridge

linked Asia & North America across what is today the Bering Sea

Marco Polo

Italian explorer who spent many years in China (or near it). His return to Europe in 1295 sparked a European interest in finding a quicker route to Asia.

Mayas

Native American society in Yucatan Peninsula, with their step pyramids.

Mestizos

the mixed race of people from when the Spanish intermarried with the surviving Indians in Mexico.

Montezuma

Aztec king who thought Cortez might be the god Quetzalcoatl and thus welcomed Cortez into Tenochtitlan.

Adena-Hopewell

Early Native Americans in the Ohio & Missississippi River Valley that sustained some large settlements through agriculture, also known as Mound Builders

Pacific Northwest

Native American region of coastal Oregon and Washington, home of the Chinook and Tillamook, often hunter-gatherer but permanent settlements due to the abundance of resources

Ponce de Leon

Conquistador,who failed in his search for the fountain of youth but established Florida as territory for the Spanish

Pueblos

Native Americans in the American Southwest lived in adobe houses (dried mud) often built into cliffs, had elaborate irrigation systems, and grew corn.

Renaissance

Time period after the Middle Ages, a rebirth of culture in Europe where art and science flourished, trade increased

smallpox

One of the deadly European diseases that Native Americans were decimated by, as a result of their lack of a natural immunities

Southeast

Native American region of the modern South, home of the Cherokee and Creek, practiced mixed economies, permanent and semi-permanent settlements

Southwest

Native American region of the Pueblos and Anasazi, known for maize cultivation, advanced irrigation, large settlements, economic development and social

Treaty of Tordesillas

Agreement between Spain and Portugal dividing the known world

Maize

also known as corn, is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago.

burial mounds

a funeral tradition practiced in the pre-columbian Mississippi and Ohio Valleys by the Adena-Hopewell

Roman Catholicism

specific Christian faith and religious practices, exerted great political, economic, and social influence on much of Western Europe and, through the Spanish and Portoguese Empires, much of the Americas

Protestant Reformation

1500s religious movement that gained a large following. Initiated by Martin Luther, who criticized corruption in the Roman Catholic Church and taught that Christians can communicate directly with God.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of biological and social elements, such as plants, animals, people, diseases, and cultural practices, among Europe, the Americas, and Africa.

New Mexico

Spanish settlement in the American Southwest, established in the 1500s, included Catholic missions and exploitation of Native Americans.

Horse

Introduced to North America by the Spanish, which drastically transformed many Native American cultures

Spanish Armada

Massive fleet defeated by the English Navy in 1588, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I

feudalism

A combination of legal and military customs in 800s-1400s Europe that was a way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.

mercantilism

Dominant economic policy of many European nations from 1500s-1700s, based on amassing gold and silver, acquiring resources (often from colonies), exporting finished goods, and maintaining a positive balance of trade.

inflation

when the value of money goes down, often as a result of a surplus of currency

urbanization

growth of cities through migration of people from rural areas to locations of greater population density

capitalism

An economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Characteristics include private property, capital accumulation, wage labor, voluntary exchange, a price system, and competitive markets.

Sextant

navigation tool used to determine your current line of lattitude by sighting the stars

Caravel

Small, maneuverable sailing ship with triangular sails that allowed the it to sail against, as well as with, the wind

Nation-state

Matching political and cultural geographic boundaries, known and supported by people of the region. In Europe, facilitated by Absolute monarchs weakening noble lords.

Missionary

A member of a religious group sent into an area to promote their faith or perform ministries of service.

Mission

religious communities used to spread belief in Christianity to local indigenous populations. Commonly consisted of churches, gardens, fields, barns, workrooms, dormitories, and schools.

Tenochtitlan

Aztec capital city, likely larger than any European city at the time, contained wide bridges, canals, temples, and bureacratic buildings

Animism

Religious belief that objects, places and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Common theme among many Native American groups.

Caste system

Heirarchy in the Spanish Empire based on Race, with European born Spaniards on top, people of mixed race in the middle, and Africans and Native Americans on the bottom

Pagan

Historically, meaning not Christian

Virgin of Guadalupe

Catholic image in a Mexico city shrine, based on reported supernatural appearance of a Native American version of Jesus' mother

Juan de Onate

Spanish conquistador, led troops & monks into Pueblo territory in New Mexico area . Puts down initial revolt by killing, enslaving hundreds, cutting off the foot of 24 Pueblo men.

Pueblo Revolt

Native American resistance to Spanish Rule, led by "El Pope," temporarily removed the Spanish from New Mexico

chattel slavery

person is a possession, can be bought or sold

Haitian Vodou

religious tradition resulting from a mix of West African beliefs and Catholic beliefs

Maroon Communities

settlements of runaway slaves, often in swamps or other well-hidden areas, in some instances living with Native Americans

Albany Plan

1754, proposal for the colonies to unite but remain under Britain with elected delegates, addressed, trade, Native Americans relations, and defense, rejected by colonial assemblies and Parliament

Anne Hutchinson

Religious leader exiled from Massachusetts bay, preached ideas that challenged those of the Puritan church and its leaders, fled to Rhode Island.

Bacon's Rebellion

1676 conflict in Virginia, pitting western settlers (some former indentured servants) against landed coastal elites, led against William Berkeley by over a thousand Virginian citizens due to Berkeley's unwillingness to attack local Indians and favoritism in awarding fur trade rights

charter colony

English system of colonial rule wherein documentation ceded governing authority over the land and it's people to an individual or trading company, provided the most autonomy and led to colonial self-rule, Virginia, Plymouth, & Massachusetts Bay started as such

City Upon a Hill

Biblical reference used in John Winthrop's "Model of Christian Charity" sermon, argued that the eyes of the world were watching the Puritans and their failure could be used as an indictment of God, early example of American Exceptionalism

Freedom of Conscience

Colonial era term synonymous with religious liberty, guaranteed in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania

French and Indian War

War fought between British and its main colonial rival over control of the Midwest, and superiority in North America.

George Whitefield

Great Awakening preacher, known for emotional sermons to large groups in England and the American colonies

Great Awakening

1734-1750 religious movement in the American colonies, led by Evangelical Protestant ministers who emphasized the individual experience of each person, instead of the words of their sermons.

Great (Puritan) Migration

Movement of english to Massachusetts and the West Indies from 1620-40 so they could worship as they wanted.

Halfway Covenant

Policy in many Puritan Congregationalist churches, allowed children of baptized but not fully converted parents to be baptized and join the church, designed to boost sagging church membership.

Harvard College

Founded in 1636, originally to train and educate ministers in New England.

headright system

System of land distribution in which settlers were granted a fifty-acre plot of land from the colonial government for each servant or dependent they transported into the new world. The system encouraged the recruitment of a large servile labor force.

House of Burgesses

established in Jamestown in 1619, first representative government in America

indentured servants

A person who traded their labor (set number of years) for freedom in order to come to America. The youunger they were the more years they would have to work.

Iroquois Confederacy

Political association of five Northeastern Woodland tribes which included the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondagd, Cayuga, and the Seneca.

James Oglethorpe

Founder of Georgia, envisioned the new colony as a refuge for imprisoned debtors and military garrison for troops

John Locke

English philosopher, believed that all people had rights that should never be taken away (life, liberty, and property). Insisted that the mind was not fully formed at birth, and that people learn from experience, and therefor have the opportunity to grow.

Jonathan Edwards

Great Awakening preacher, author of "Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God" sermon

King Philip's War

1675-1676 violent and destructive conflict between the Wampanoag Indians and English settlers of present-day New England

Mayflower Compact

an agreement among the Pilgrims to form a civil government to prevent anarchy, signed in 1620

Middle Passage

route slave traders used to get to the colonies, traveled across the Atlantic Ocean from the west coast of Africa.

Navigation Acts

Restricted colonial trade to only buy from or sell to England.

New England Confederation

1643 Defensive alliance between four colonies, agreed to protect each other from any enemies around them (French, Native Americans, Dutch, etc.) while they could all keep their own governments.

Phyllis Wheatly

first published African American Poet, wrote poems on various subjects, religion, and moral, with figures such as George Washington praising her work.

Pilgrims / Separatists

English Protestant dissenters, left the Church of England,moving first to the tolerant Netherlands, then established Plymouth Colony

proprietary colonies

English system of colonial rule wherein allies or friends of the King were made the effective ruler of the colony, facilitated private investment and colonial self-government, ruler remained responsible to English Law and the King, examples were early New York and Pennsylvania

Puritans

English Protestant dissenters, wanted to rid the Anglican Church of elements of Catholicism, founded Massachusetts Bay Colony (Boston).

Roger Williams

Religious dissenter in Massachusetts, founded Rhode Island as a haven for other religious dissenters.

royal colony

English system of colonial rule wherein a governor was appointed by Parliament, granted Britain the most control of the people and lands, all 13 colonies were eventually converted to this type prior to 1776

Salem Witch trials

1692 public panic, at least twenty people were executed, many more found guilty and inprisoned by Puritan authorities

Salutary neglect

British Parliamentary idea that if tax laws weren't enforced on colonies their economy would flourish, unofficial British trade policy from 1607-1763

Thomas Hobbes

English philosopher, believed man creates government to provide protection. Thus, government derives its power from the governed. Also believed Absolute Monarchies best at providing protection.

William Bradford

early Governor of the Plymouth colony

William Penn

Englishmen Quaker who founded a colony and wrote its Frame of Government.

Zenger trial

1734 confrontation in New York, wherein a local printer was brought to trial for criminal libel after the publication of satirical attacks o the royal governor, the jury acquitted the printer, who became an iconic American hero for freedom of the press.

Lord Baltimore (Cecil Calvert)

Catholic English Nobleman, first proprietor of the colony of Maryland

Act of Toleration

Granted "freedom of conscience" to all Christians in Maryland, 2nd law in British North America requiring religious tolerance

Providence

1636 Settlement in Rhode Island, recognized the rights of Native Americans, as well as allowed Catholics, Quakers, & Jews religious freedom

Antinomianism

Religious view that The Elect are not bound to moral or legal rules, as they are already predestined to salvation, and they obey the law out of internal faith. Ann Hutchinson used this viewpoint to challenge the political and religious leaders of Massachusetts Bay.

Rhode Island

Begun by Roger Williams at Providence, unified as a colony in 1644, known for respect for Native American property rights and unparalleled religious freedom

Quakers

English Protestant dissenters, advocated for individuals to have a direct experience with God without clergy, persecuted in England and the colonies, also called the Religious Society of Friends