AP World Packet 6 - Exploration of the New World

Queen Elizabeth I

English monarch (1558-1603) who supported exploration, defeating the Spanish Armada and expanding England's overseas empire.

Philip II

King of Spain who sent the Spanish Armada against England in 1588; strong supporter of Catholicism and empire-building.

Queen Isabella & Ferdinand

Spanish monarchs who sponsored Columbus' voyages, unifying Spain and launching overseas expansion.

Prince Henry the Navigator

Portuguese prince who funded navigation schools and voyages along Africa's coast, advancing exploration.

Spanish Armada

Large Spanish fleet sent to invade England in 1588, defeated by England, marking the decline of Spanish naval dominance.

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese explorer; first European to sail around Africa to reach India (1498), opening direct sea trade.

Ferdinand Magellan

Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe (though he was killed in the Philippines).

Christopher Columbus

Italian explorer sponsored by Spain; reached the Americas in 1492, starting European colonization.

Jacques Cartier

French explorer who sailed the St. Lawrence River, claiming parts of Canada for France.

Francis Drake

English sea captain and privateer; second to circumnavigate the globe; raided Spanish ships.

Conquistadors

Spanish conquerors who defeated Indigenous empires in the Americas (e.g., Cortés in Mexico, Pizarro in Peru).

Hernán Cortés

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztec Empire (1519-1521).

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire (1532-1533).

Henry Hudson

English explorer who sailed for the Dutch and English, explored parts of the Arctic and North America (Hudson River).

Northwest Passage

A hoped-for sea route through North America to Asia, sought by explorers but never found.

Dutch Trading Empire

The global network of trade posts established by the Dutch in Asia, Africa, and the Americas (especially through the Dutch East India Company).

Java

An Indonesian island that became a key base of the Dutch East India Company.

Circumnavigation

Sailing completely around the globe (first achieved by Magellan's expedition).

Caravel

A small, fast Portuguese sailing ship with triangular (lateen) sails, ideal for long voyages.

Astrolabe

Navigation tool used to determine latitude by measuring the position of the stars.

Compass

Navigational instrument that shows direction using Earth's magnetic field.

Galleons

Large Spanish ships used for oceanic trade and transporting treasure from the Americas.

Stern

Mounted Rudder-Steering device on the back of ships, improving control during voyages.

Lateen Sail

Triangular sail that allowed ships to sail against the wind.

Carrack

Large European merchant ship, capable of long ocean voyages.

Fluyt

Dutch ship designed for efficient cargo transport, cheaper to build and crew.

Cartography

The science and practice of making maps, improved greatly during the Age of Exploration.

Maize

Corn; staple crop from the Americas that spread to Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Measles

Old World disease that devastated Indigenous populations in the Americas.

Smallpox

Deadly Old World disease that wiped out large numbers of Indigenous peoples and was the primary cause of the "Great Dying".

Malaria

Mosquito-borne disease from Africa that spread to the Americas.

Typhoid

Disease spread by contaminated food and water; part of European disease transmission.

Cholera

Waterborne disease also brought during exchanges between continents.

Great Dying

Massive decline of Indigenous populations in the Americas due to disease, warfare, and colonization.

Taino

Indigenous Caribbean people who were among the first to encounter Columbus; devastated by disease and colonization.

Sugarcane

Cash crop from Asia that thrived in the Americas, driving the plantation system and slave trade.

Cacao

Plant from the Americas used to make chocolate, became popular in Europe.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, people, diseases, and ideas between the Old World and New World after 1492.

Atlantic Slave Trade

Forced transportation of Africans across the Atlantic to work on plantations in the Americas.

Middle Passage

Brutal journey of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic, with high mortality rates.

Plantation Agriculture

Large-scale farming using enslaved labor, especially for sugar, tobacco, and cotton.

Oyo Empire

Powerful West African empire involved in the slave trade, often selling captured people from rival kingdoms.

Triangle Trade

Trade system linking Europe, Africa, and the Americas (manufactured goods → Africa; slaves → Americas; raw goods → Europe).

Mercantilist

Economic system where colonies existed to benefit the mother country by providing resources and markets.

Dahomey

West African kingdom that grew wealthy by participating in the slave trade, controlling gold fields, and for its powerful female military regiment.

Asante

West African kingdom (modern-day Ghana) that profited from trading gold and slaves.

King Alfonso I

Ruler of Kongo who initially cooperated with Portuguese but later protested the negative effects of the slave trade.

Olaudah Equiano

Former enslaved African who wrote an autobiography describing the horrors of slavery and the Middle Passage.

African Diaspora

The spread of African peoples and culture due to the transatlantic slave trade.