American Life in the Seventeenth Century (1607-1692) – Key Terms

Vocabulary flashcards covering major concepts, events, and terms from the notes on American life in the seventeenth century, focusing on slavery, labor, Native relations, and colonial society.

Middle Passage

The brutal sea voyage that transported enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas as part of the Triangular Trade.

Triangular Trade

The three-way exchange linking Europe, Africa, and the Americas that tied the Atlantic World to the slave trade.

Atlantic World

The interconnected societies and economies around the Atlantic Ocean, spanning Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Slave Society vs. Society with Slaves

A slave society relies on slavery as the central labor system; a society with slaves uses enslaved labor but is not organized around it.

Plantation Societies

Large-scale agricultural communities (e.g., sugar, rice, tobacco) that depend on enslaved labor.

Virginia (as prime example)

The leading English colony illustrating the shift from indentured servitude to slavery and plantation politics.

Powhatan Confederacy

Native political alliance in Virginia that interacted and conflicted with English settlers.

Anglo-Powhatan Wars

Conflicts (1622, 1644) between English settlers and Powhatan nations as expansion intensified.

Yamasee War (1715)

Conflict in South Carolina contributing to the shift from Native to African slave labor.

Indentured Servants

European laborers who worked under a contractual term for passage and freedom dues; predominant early labor in VA.

Transition to Slavery in Virginia

Mid-Seventeenth century shift from reliance on white indentured servants to enslaved African labor.

Paternity Laws

Laws that established slavery as a permanent condition by tracing status to the mother rather than the father.

Bacon’s Rebellion

1676 Virginian uprising that reinforced white-supremacist policies and the shift toward enslaved labor.

Stono Rebellion (1739)

A major slave uprising in South Carolina that heightened fears of rebellion and spurred race-based laws.

Gullah Geechee

Culture of enslaved Africans in the Lowcountry rice-growing region, characterized by distinct language, customs, and community memory.

Rice Culture and the Task System

Rice plantation labor in the Lowcountry with defined task-based work and family/community practices.

Deerskin Trade

Trade of deerskins with Southeastern Interior Native peoples, part of the broader colonial economy.

Chattel Slavery

A system where enslaved people are considered property for life, shaping social and legal norms.

Race-Based Laws / Slave Codes

Laws that codified racial slavery, restricting interracial relationships and defining enslaved status by race.