AP World Units 3&4 Vocab (1450-1750)

Ecomiendia

Spanish legal system in which the Spanish crown granted Spanish settlers a number of local native people whom they could require labor and goods through 

Repartimiento

 A colonial labor system which replaced encomienda, requiring Indigenous communities to provide forced labor for state projects

Peninsulares

Colonists born in Spain living in the Americas; held the highest social status and political offices 

Creoles

 People of Spanish descent born in the Americas; socially elite but often excluded from top government positions

Mestizos

Individuals of mixed Spanish/European and Native American ancestry

Tupac Amaru Revolt

Massive Indigenous uprising against Spanish colonial rule in Peru 

Middle Passage

Journey where enslaved Africans were shipped across the Atlantic; terrible conditions made the journey brutal

Cowrie Shells

 Seashells used as a global currency in West Africa

Kingdom of Dahomey

West African state that became a regional power by trading enslaved people to Europeans  

Queen Nzinga

Ruler of the region Matamba who used military strategy to guide the state through Afro-European conflicts and gained a reputation for her resistance to Portuguese imperialism 

British East India Company

 A British joint-stock company that that grew from a trading entity into the ruling power of colonial India

Dutch East India Company

A powerful Dutch trading company with the power to wage war and govern colonies, primarily in Indonesia

Potosi, Boliva

A major mountain city known for its massive silver mine, which fueled the Spanish economy through forced labor

Gunpowder Empires

Large, centralized states that use newly developed firearms and artillery to expand and consolidate power (Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal)

Janissaries

Elite, highly disciplined Ottoman soldiers who were originally Christian and converted Islam

Sati

A ritual practice in India where a widow sacrificed herself on her husband’s funeral

Jizya

A special tax placed on non-Muslim subjects in the Islamic empires

Devshirme

Forced recruitment of Christian boys to be recruited and converted for elite military services or administrative roles

Soft gold

High-value animal furs that drove Russian expansion across Siberia 

Qing Dynasty

China’s last imperial dynasty that vastly enlarged the territorial size of the country

Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689)

First border treaty between Russia and China (Qing Dynasty)