Module 1 Study Guide: APUSH Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards derived from the APUSH Module 1 Study Guide covering European exploration, the Columbian Exchange, and colonial social structures.

American Indian Tribes

Numerous, diverse, and complex indigenous groups, some of which were matrilineal, hunter-gatherers, lived in permanent villages, or supported themselves using horticulture or ocean resources.

Caravel

A new technological innovation that served as one of the primary causes of European exploration.

Astrolabe

A new technological tool that enabled and drove European exploration.

Columbian Exchange

The process that brought new crops and mineral wealth to Europe from the Americas, stimulating European population growth, while bringing new crops, animals, and devastating deadly epidemics to native populations in the Americas.

Encomienda System

A Spanish colonial economy led by encomenderos that allowed Europeans to demand tribute and labor from indigenous populations on land tracts granted to them by the Crown.

Encomenderos

Spanish colonial landowners who led the encomienda system and demanded tribute and labor from indigenous populations.

Spanish Caste System

A racial hierarchy in Spanish colonies that incorporated Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans, placing Europeans at the top, mixed races in the middle, and natives and slaves at the bottom.

Syncretism

The mixing of different cultural and religious traditions, such as the blending of traditional native practices with introduced Christianity (Catholicism).

European View of American Indians

The perspective that European culture was superior over indigenous cultures and that God had granted Europeans the land and control over the "heathens" to civilize them.