Key Concepts in Global Exploration and Colonization

Cartography

The science and art of map-making, essential for navigation and exploration.

Astronomical Chart

Maps of the stars and planets, used for navigation and understanding the cosmos.

Maritime Empire

Empires that expanded and controlled areas overseas through naval dominance (e.g., British and Spanish Empires).

Mercantilism

An economic theory that promotes government regulation of the economy to enhance state power, focusing on exports over imports.

Trading Post Empire

Empires, like the Portuguese, which established small outposts or trading centers along coasts rather than large territories.

Prince Henry The Navigator

A Portuguese prince who promoted exploration and navigation, instrumental in early European exploration.

Galleons

Large, multi-decked sailing ships used primarily by European states for trade and warfare during the Age of Exploration.

Northwest Passage

A sea route sought by explorers from Europe to reach Asia through the Arctic Ocean.

Vasco da Gama

A Portuguese explorer who found a sea route to India around the Cape of Good Hope, opening direct trade with Asia.

Ferdinand Magellan

Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe.

Smallpox

A deadly disease that spread to indigenous populations in the Americas from Europe, devastating native communities.

Conquistadores

Spanish conquerors of the Americas, like Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro.

Creole

In colonial Latin America, people of European descent born in the Americas; often held second-tier status in social hierarchies.

Mestizo

A person of mixed European and indigenous ancestry in the Americas.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread exchange of plants, animals, culture, human populations, and diseases between the Americas, Africa, and Europe.

Triangle Trade

The trade system between Europe, Africa, and the Americas involving slaves, raw materials, and goods.

Cash Crop

A crop grown primarily for sale rather than subsistence, such as sugar, tobacco, or cotton.

African Diaspora

The dispersion of Africans across the world, especially through the transatlantic slave trade.

Asante Empire

A powerful African state that emerged in the 18th century in what is now Ghana.

Kingdom of the Kongo

A central African kingdom that engaged in trade with the Portuguese and was impacted by the slave trade.

Treaty of Tordesillas

A 1494 agreement between Spain and Portugal dividing newly discovered lands outside Europe.

Indentured Servitude

A labor system where people worked for a certain period in exchange for passage to the Americas.

Chattel Slavery

A system where individuals are treated as property to be bought, sold, and owned forever.

Encomienda

A Spanish labor system granting colonists authority over indigenous labor in exchange for Christianizing them.

Hacienda System

Large estates in Latin America, similar to plantations, where workers often had little freedom.

Middle Passage

The brutal sea journey endured by African slaves taken from Africa to the Americas.

Mit'a System

An Incan labor system that required communities to work on state projects for a certain period.

Inca Empire

A vast empire in the Andes, known for its advanced agricultural and engineering practices.

Mexica (Aztec) Empire

A Mesoamerican empire in present-day Mexico, known for its rich culture and complex society.

Joint-Stock Company

A business structure that allows investors to pool resources for trade and colonization ventures.

Limited Liability Corporation (LLC)

A business structure where owners are not personally liable for company debts.

East India Company

A British company that controlled trade in the Indian Ocean and played a major role in British colonialism in India.

Dutch East India Company

A Dutch company that dominated trade in Asia and established Dutch influence there.

Monopoly

Exclusive control of a commodity or service, often granted to companies by governments.

Syncretism

The blending of different cultural, religious, or philosophical beliefs.

Vodun (Religion)

A West African religion that combines elements of African spirituality and Catholicism, also known as Voodoo.

Virgin of Guadalupe

A major Catholic icon in Mexico, symbolizing the blending of indigenous and Spanish religious traditions.

Ndongo

A kingdom in West Central Africa that resisted Portuguese colonialism in the 16th century.

Maratha Empire

A Hindu empire in India that challenged Mughal rule and eventually controlled much of the subcontinent.

Fronde

A series of French civil wars in the 17th century challenging royal authority.

Metacom's War

A conflict between Native Americans and New England settlers in 1675-1676.

Pueblo Revolt

A 1680 uprising of Pueblo Indians against Spanish colonization in what is now New Mexico.

Maroon Wars

Conflicts in the Americas between colonial powers and escaped enslaved Africans who formed independent communities.

Akbar the Great

A Mughal emperor known for his policy of religious tolerance and consolidation of Mughal power in India.

Mehmed II

Ottoman sultan who conquered Constantinople in 1453, transforming it into Istanbul.

Ivan IV

Also known as Ivan the Terrible, the first tsar of Russia, known for his centralization of power and ruthless tactics.

Louis XIV

Known as the 'Sun King,' he ruled France and established an absolute monarchy.

Timar

A land grant system used in the Ottoman Empire, given in exchange for military service.

Peninsulares

Spanish-born individuals who lived in the colonies of Latin America, often at the top of social hierarchies.

Castas

The complex social hierarchy in colonial Latin America based on race and ancestry.

Mulattos

People of mixed African and European ancestry in the Americas.

Boyar

Russian noble landowners, particularly before Peter the Great's reforms.

Serf

A peasant in feudal society who is bound to the land and subject to the will of the landowner.

Qing Dynasty

The last imperial dynasty of China, ruled from 1644 to 1912.

James Cook

An English explorer known for his voyages to the Pacific, mapping parts of Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii.