APUSH unit 1

What was Three-Sister Farming?

A Native American agricultural method using corn, beans, and squash together to support larger populations and complex societies.

What was the plantation system?

Large-scale farms focused on cash crops (like sugar, tobacco, cotton), relying heavily on enslaved labor, especially in the Caribbean and Southern colonies.

What was the Columbian Exchange?

The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Old World and New World after 1492, reshaping global diets, populations, and economies.

What was the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)?

An agreement between Spain and Portugal dividing new lands; Spain gained most of the Americas while Portugal got Brazil and parts of Africa/Asia.

What was the encomienda system?

A Spanish labor system granting colonists control over Native labor and tribute; it exploited Indigenous people and led to depopulation.

What was Noche Triste (1520)?

The “Sad Night” when the Aztecs drove the Spanish out of Tenochtitlán, killing hundreds; marked a turning point before Cortés’ reconquest.

What is capitalism?

An economic system based on private ownership and profit; fueled by New World wealth, it expanded in Europe during the 1500s–1600s.

Who were the mestizos?

People of mixed Spanish and Indigenous ancestry in the Americas; they became a large social class in colonial society.

Who were the conquistadores?

Spanish conquerors/explorers of the 1500s (like Cortés and Pizarro) who claimed lands in the Americas for Spain.

What was the Pueblo Revolt (1680)?

A Native uprising in New Mexico led by Popé; successfully drove the Spanish out for over a decade before reconquest.

Who was Christopher Columbus?

An Italian explorer sailing for Spain; in 1492 he reached the Caribbean, initiating European colonization of the Americas.

What was the Protestant Reformation?

A 16th-century religious movement started by Martin Luther challenging Catholic practices; it led to Protestant churches and shaped colonization.

What was a joint-stock company?

A business where investors pooled money for ventures (like colonization), sharing profits and risks; key to financing colonies.

What was the Virginia Company?

A joint-stock company that founded Jamestown in 1607; it sought profit from colonization in Virginia.

What was Jamestown (1607)?

The first permanent English settlement in North America, in Virginia; it struggled early but survived through tobacco.

What was the Iroquois Confederacy?

A powerful alliance of five (later six) Native tribes in the Northeast; they played Europeans against each other to maintain power.

What was the House of Burgesses (1619)?

The first representative assembly in the English colonies, created in Virginia; an early form of self-government.

Who were the Puritans?

A religious group seeking to “purify” the Church of England; many migrated to New England to build a model Christian society.

What was the Mayflower Compact (1620)?

An agreement signed by Pilgrims to form a self-governing community; early step toward democratic government.

What was the Massachusetts Bay Colony?

A Puritan colony founded in 1630; it grew rapidly and became a center of religion, commerce, and self-rule in New England.

What was King Philip’s War (1675–76)?

A conflict between New England colonists and Native tribes led by Metacom (“King Philip”); it devastated Native power in the region.

What were the Navigation Laws?

English trade laws (1650s+) requiring colonies to trade mainly with England; enforced mercantilism and restricted colonial commerce.

What was the Glorious Revolution (1688)?

The overthrow of King James II in England; it limited monarchy and inspired colonial resistance to royal authority.

What was salutary neglect?

A British policy of loosely enforcing colonial laws in the early 1700s; allowed colonies to develop self-government.

Who were the Quakers?

A religious group promoting equality, pacifism, and tolerance; many settled in Pennsylvania under William Penn.

Who was Anne Hutchinson?

A Puritan woman banished from Massachusetts for challenging religious authority; symbol of religious freedom and dissent.

Who was William Penn?

A Quaker leader who founded Pennsylvania in 1681 as a colony of religious freedom and fair treatment of Natives.