APUSH 1:1

African Slave Trade

The forced movement of African peoples from Africa to the Americas as forced laborers.

Algoquian

A group of Native American tribes loosley bound by language.

Catholic Missions

Groups of Catholic missionaries traveling to the new world in order to convert the native Americans to Catholicism

Conquistadores

Spanish conquerors who arrived to the New World with the intent to gain more land for Spain and decimated native populations through force and disease.

Maize Cultivation

One of the major things Europeans learned from Native Americans that allowed them to survive in the Americas initially.

Encomienda

The system imposed by Spanish settlers that created a strict hierarchy within the settlements.

Iroquois

A confederation of six Native American tribes in the Northeast, known for their political and military alliances.

Matrilineal

A social system in which lineage and inheritance are traced through the mother rather than the father, common among several Native American tribes.

Meso-Americans

Indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America, known for advanced civilizations such as the Aztec and Maya.

Mestizos

People of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry, commonly found in Latin America, particularly following Spanish colonization.

Racial Hierarchy

A social structure that classifies individuals based on perceived racial differences, often privileging lighter-skinned individuals over those with darker skin, particularly in colonial Latin America.

Smallpox

A viral disease brought by Europeans to the Americas, devastating Indigenous populations due to their lack of immunity.

Clovis People

The earliest known inhabitants of North America, recognized for their distinctive stone tools and big-game hunting practices, emerging around 13,000 years ago.

Cahokia

A pre-Columbian Native American city located near present-day St. Louis, known for its large earthen mounds, complex social structure, and extensive trade networks, thriving between 600 and 1400 CE.

Tenochtitlan

The capital of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco, known for its advanced architecture, agricultural innovations, and vibrant markets, flourishing from the 14th to the early 16th century.

Black Death

A devastating pandemic caused by the bubonic plague, which struck Europe in the 14th century, resulting in the deaths of millions and significant social and economic upheaval.

Christopher Columbus

An Italian explorer credited with discovering the Americas in 1492, he made four voyages across the Atlantic and opened the way for the widespread European exploration and colonization of the Americas.

Bartolomeu Dias

A Portuguese explorer who was the first to sail around the southern tip of Africa, reaching the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, thus opening the sea route to Asia.

Vasco de Balboa

A Spanish explorer known for being the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the New World. He crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513, claiming the ocean and all its shores for Spain.

Hernan Cortes

A Spanish conquistador known for leading the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire in 1521. He claimed Mexico for Spain and is often credited with initiating the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

Pueblo Revolt

A 1680 uprising of Pueblo Indians against Spanish rule in present-day New Mexico, aimed at restoring their traditions and religions after years of oppression and forced cultural assimilation.

The Archaic Period

A prehistoric era in North America, marked by the development of hunting and gathering societies, and characterized by the use of stone tools, which occurred roughly from 8000 BCE to 2000 BCE.

Inca

An ancient civilization in South America, known for its advanced architecture, extensive road system, and rich cultural heritage, which dominated the Andean region before Spanish conquest in the 16th century.

Olmec People

An ancient Mesoamerican civilization known for its colossal stone heads, complex society, and as a precursor to later civilizations like the Maya and Aztec.

Maya

An ancient Mesoamerican civilization known for its advanced architecture, mathematical and astronomical systems, and a written language, flourishing from around 250 CE to 900 CE.

Aztec

An ancient Mesoamerican civilization known for its impressive temples, advanced agricultural practices, and a complex social structure, flourishing in the central valley of Mexico before Spanish conquest.