APUSH Periods 1-2 Key Terms Quiz

Crusades

A series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims for control of the Holy Land. They exposed Europe to new goods and ideas from the East, stimulating trade and exploration.

Renaissance

A period of European cultural, artistic, political, and economic "rebirth" following the Middle Ages. It fostered a spirit of humanism, inquiry, and scientific exploration that encouraged global exploration.

Protestant Reformation

A 16th-century religious movement that challenged the authority of the Catholic Church. It led to religious rivalries that fueled competition among European nations for colonies and influence in the New World.

Columbus

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who, funded by the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, made four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean beginning in 1492. He is credited with initiating sustained European contact with the Americas, though he believed he had reached the East Indies.

Amerigo Vespucci

An Italian explorer and cartographer who was among the first to hypothesize that the lands Columbus encountered were not part of Asia but a previously unknown "New World." The continents of North and South America were later named in his honor.

Line of Demarcation

A papal-issued imaginary line drawn in 1493 running north and south through the Atlantic Ocean. It aimed to divide the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Portugal (east of the line) and Spain (west of the line) to prevent conflict between the two Catholic powers. The subsequent Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 adjusted the line.

Hernando Cortes

A Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire in modern-day Mexico (1521), claiming vast wealth for Spain.

Ponce De Leon

A Spanish explorer and conquistador who led the first known European expedition to Florida, naming it and serving as its first colonial governor in the early 16th century.

John Cabot

An Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 voyage to the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England was the first European exploration of the mainland since the Norse visits.

Queen Elizabeth I

The long-reigning English monarch (1558–1603) who fostered Protestantism in England, supported exploration, and presided over the golden age of English history.

Sea Dogs

English privateers and pirates, often supported by Queen Elizabeth I, who raided Spanish treasure ships and settlements in the Americas, accumulating wealth for England and challenging Spanish dominance.

Francis Drake

A prominent "Sea Dog," admiral, and the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. He was crucial in the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

Spanish Armada

A massive Spanish fleet assembled by King Philip II to invade England in 1588. Its defeat by the English navy marked the beginning of Spain's decline as a major power and the rise of England as a naval power, facilitating English colonization.

Roanoke

Site of the first English colonization attempts in North America (off the coast of present-day North Carolina) in the 1580s, which famously failed; the settlement mysteriously vanished, earning it the nickname "the Lost Colony."

Sir Walter Raleigh

An English adventurer, writer, and favorite of Queen Elizabeth I who sponsored the Roanoke settlements.

Virginia Dare

The first English child born in the Americas, born at the Roanoke Colony in 1587.

St. Augustine, FL

Established by the Spanish in 1565, it is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement and port in the continental United States, serving as a strategic military outpost against European rivals.

Settlement in the Southwest

Spanish settlement in the American Southwest (areas like New Mexico, Arizona, and California) centered around encomiendas (large land grants), missions, and military presidios. The primary goals were the conversion of Native Americans to Catholicism and the extraction of resources.

Jamestown VA

Founded in 1607, it was the first permanent English settlement in North America, located in the Virginia Colony.

"The starving time"

The winter of 1609–1610 at Jamestown, during which most of the colonists died due to a severe shortage of food, disease, and harsh conditions.

Captain John Smith

An English soldier, explorer, and author instrumental in the survival of Jamestown. His leadership and interactions with the Powhatan people were critical during the colony's early years.

Pocahontas

A Native American woman, daughter of the Powhatan chief, who played a role in mediating between the English colonists and her tribe. She later converted to Christianity and married colonist John Rolfe.

Powhatan

The powerful paramount chief of a confederation of Algonquian-speaking Native American tribes in the Tidewater region of Virginia at the time of the English arrival at Jamestown.

Joint Stock Company

A business organization where investors pool their money to finance a large commercial venture (like a colony). If the venture is profitable, investors share the gains; if it fails, they only lose their initial investment. This model funded early English colonies like Jamestown.

Indentured Servant

A person who agreed to work without wages for a set number of years (typically four to seven) for a colonial employer in exchange for passage to North America, as well as food, lodging, and eventual "freedom dues" (e.g., land or money). This system provided a vital labor source for the early colonies.

Virginia House of Burgesses

Established in 1619, it was the first legislative assembly of elected representatives in North America. Meeting in Jamestown, it marked the beginning of representative government in the English colonies.

Bacon's Rebellion

An armed rebellion in 1676 led by Nathaniel Bacon against the rule of Governor William Berkeley in Virginia. The rebels were frontiersmen unhappy with Berkeley's refusal to retaliate against Native American attacks on frontier settlements and perceived favoritism towards wealthy planters. The rebellion highlighted class tensions and the transition from indentured servitude to enslaved African labor.

Paxton's Boys

A group of Scots-Irish frontiersmen from central Pennsylvania who, in 1763, murdered several Native Americans in response to unchecked violence on the frontier during Pontiac's War. They marched on Philadelphia to protest the government's perceived failure to protect them, illustrating regional and ethnic tensions.

Pilgrims

A group of English Separatist Puritans who fled persecution and founded the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts in 1620 to practice their religion freely.

Mayflower Compact

A foundational document of American democracy, signed by the male passengers of the Mayflower. It established a self-governing colony based on majority rule and an agreement to create "just and equal laws."

William Bradford

A Pilgrim leader and long-time governor of the Plymouth Colony, known for keeping a detailed journal of the settlement's history, Of Plymouth Plantation.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

A New England colony founded in 1630 by non-separatist Puritans seeking to reform the Church of England from within.

Governor John Winthrop

The first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, famous for his "City upon a Hill" sermon, which articulated the Puritan belief that their colony would be a model Christian society for the world.

Puritans

A religious group who aimed to purify the Church of England of its Catholic practices. They established settlements in New England, emphasizing hard work, moral rectitude, and strict religious adherence.

Anne Hutchinson

A spiritual leader in colonial Massachusetts who challenged the authority of the ministers, arguing for a doctrine of "antinomianism" (salvation through faith alone, not deeds). She was tried, convicted, and banished from the colony.

Predestination

A core tenet of Calvinism and Puritan theology, the doctrine that God has eternally chosen those whom he intends to save (the "elect") and those whom he intends to condemn. This belief heavily influenced Puritan life and culture.

Roger Williams

A Puritan minister banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony for advocating for religious freedom, fair dealings with Native Americans, and the separation of church and state.

Rhode Island Colony

Founded by Williams after his banishment, it was established on principles of complete religious toleration, separation of church and state, and democratic government.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

Adopted in 1639, these were the first written constitution in North America. They established a representative government in the Connecticut River Valley and provided the framework for the government of the Connecticut Colony.

Lord Baltimore (Cecil Calvert)

An English noble who sought a charter to establish Maryland as a proprietary colony, primarily as a refuge for English Catholics and for commercial profit.

Maryland Colony

A Chesapeake colony established in the 1630s that grew a lucrative tobacco economy, similar to Virginia, but intended to be a safe haven for Catholics.

Maryland Toleration Act (1649)

A law mandating religious tolerance for Trinitarian Christians in Maryland. It was an early step toward religious freedom in the colonies, though it did not protect non-Christians.

Quakers (Society of Friends)

A Protestant religious group known for their pacifism, belief in an "inner light," and equality of all people, which led to their persecution in England and other colonies.

William Penn

A Quaker convert who received a large land grant from King Charles II to found a new colony.

Philadelphia and Pennsylvania

Founded by Penn, Pennsylvania was established as a safe haven for Quakers. Philadelphia ("City of Brotherly Love") became a major colonial city.

"Holy Experiment"

Penn's term for his Pennsylvania colony, which was designed to be a place of religious freedom, fair treatment of Native Americans, and liberal governance.

James Oglethorpe (Georgia)

A British general, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist who founded the colony of Georgia in 1733. His vision was to create a buffer colony against Spanish Florida and a refuge for imprisoned English debtors.

Samuel de Champlain

A French navigator and explorer who founded Quebec in 1608 and is considered the "Father of New France."

Huron Indians vs. Iroquois Indians

The French, led by Champlain, forged strong alliances with the Huron and Algonquin tribes for the fur trade, leading to conflict with the powerful Iroquois Confederacy. These alliances and rivalries shaped colonial North American politics for over a century.

New England Confederation

A short-lived military alliance (1643–1684) connecting the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven colonies. Its primary purpose was collective security against Native American threats, the Dutch, and the French, representing the first significant attempt at intercolonial cooperation.

Cotton Mather

An influential and controversial New England Puritan minister, author, and pamphleteer. He was a prominent figure in Boston society and a strong advocate for the Salem witch trials. He was also a proponent of smallpox inoculation.

Salem Witch Trials

A series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The episode resulted in the executions of twenty people and reflected extreme social, economic, and religious tensions in Puritan society.

Great Awakening

A period of intense Christian revitalization movements throughout the American colonies from the 1730s to the 1770s. Reasons included a desire for emotional piety over cold formalism, a reaction against Enlightenment rationalism, and a belief that religious enthusiasm was waning.

Jonathan Edwards

A prominent Congregationalist minister whose fiery sermons, such as "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," emphasized human depravity and the need for immediate repentance.

Harvard

Founded in 1636 to train Puritan ministers, it was a central institution of New England intellectual and religious life during this period.

Mercantilism

An economic theory popular in Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries. It held that colonies exist to benefit the mother country by providing raw materials and serving as exclusive markets for manufactured goods, aiming to create a favorable balance of trade and accumulate bullion (gold and silver).

Enlightenment

An 18th-century intellectual and philosophical movement in Europe (and the colonies) that emphasized reason, individualism, and critical thinking over tradition and faith. Enlightenment ideas about natural rights (life, liberty, property), limited government, and social contracts heavily influenced American revolutionary leaders like Thomas Jefferson.