HOTA Period 1-3 Flashcards (1491-1800)

A comprehensive set of Q&A flashcards covering Native American societies, European exploration and colonization, colonial society and economy, religious movements, and the American Revolution as presented in the notes.

'Three Gs' of Spanish Exploration

God, Gold, and Glory; tied to mercantilist aims of strengthening the Spanish Empire.

Cahokia

The largest Native city in North America, with about 20,000 residents.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds after 1492.

Encomienda System

A Spanish labor system granting settlers control over Indigenous peoples for labor and conversion, often abused.

Acoma Massacre (1599)

Spanish forces killed many Acoma and enslaved the remaining Pueblo people.

Valladolid Debate

A debate on the rights and treatment of Native Americans between Las Casas (in favor) and Sepúlveda (against).

Line of Demarcation

A 1493 division, drawn by the Pope, separating Spanish and Portuguese spheres of influence in the New World.

Joint-Stock Company

Pooled capital from multiple investors to fund voyages and colonization ventures (e.g., Virginia Company).

Spanish Colonial Caste System

Peninsulares, Creoles, Mestizos, Mulattoes, Africans, Natives, from top to bottom.

Beaver Wars (1609-1701)

Conflicts over fur trade between the Iroquois Confederacy (with English/Dutch support) and other tribes.

English Colonial Charters

Royal colonies (direct Crown control), Charter colonies (governed by charters to companies), Proprietary colonies (owned by individuals with governing rights).

House of Burgesses

The first representative legislative body in the English colonies, established in Virginia.

Headright System

Land grants (often around 50-60 acres) given to settlers for bringing indentured servants to the colony.

Bacon's Rebellion (1676)

Indebted settlers and frontier land issues led Nathaniel Bacon to rebel against colonial governance; Jamestown was burned; it accelerated the shift from indentured servitude to African slavery.

Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony

Characterized by strict Bible interpretation, 'purifying' the Church of England, direct democracy via town meetings, and the founding of institutions like Harvard.

Mayflower Compact

A social contract agreeing to form a government and abide by its laws in the Plymouth settlement.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)

An early written constitution establishing a framework for self-government in Connecticut.

Roger Williams

Banished from Massachusetts Bay; founded Rhode Island with religious toleration.

Pequot War (1637) and King Philip's War (1675-78)

Conflicts between English colonists and Native tribes; Pequot War ended with Puritan victory; King Philip's War devastated Native peoples and expanded colonial land.

Salem Witch Trials (1692)

Massachusetts trials and executions targeting alleged witches, reflecting social tensions and religious upheaval.

Middle Colonies Characteristics

Ethnically diverse, religious toleration, planned cities like Philadelphia and New York City, and early urban development (e.g., first synagogue in NYC).

Maryland's Dominant Crop

Tobacco.

Founding of Georgia

Founded by James Oglethorpe as a buffer between Spanish Florida and the Carolinas; featured rice plantations.

Mercantilism

An economic policy where colonies exist to enrich the mother country through trade and raw materials.

Proclamation Line of 1763

Prohibited colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to reduce frontier conflicts with Native Americans.

Sugar Act (1764) and Stamp Act (1765)

Tax laws aimed at raising revenue for Britain by taxing sugar (and molasses) and printed materials in the colonies.

Townsend Acts (1767)

Taxed imported goods (lead, paper, paint, glass) and allowed writs of assistance for enforcement.

Boston Massacre (1770)

Tensions over Parliament’s coercive acts and British soldiers’ presence in Boston; five colonists killed.

Tea Act (1773)

Gave the British East India Company the right to sell tea directly to colonists, undercutting middlemen and maintaining tea tax.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

Sons of Liberty dumped tea into Boston Harbor in protest of tea taxes and British policy.

Intolerable (Coercive) Acts (1774)

British punishment of Massachusetts; closed Boston Harbor, expanded Quartering, altered judicial processes, curtailed self-government.

First Continental Congress (1774)

Coordinated colonial resistance to Britain and called for boycotts and petitions.

Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775)

First battles of the American Revolutionary War signaling the start of the war for independence.

Thomas Paine's Common Sense

Advocated for American independence and the creation of a republic.

Lee Resolution (July 2, 1776) and Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776)

Lee Resolution proclaimed independence; the Declaration listed grievances and the colonies’ right to separate from Britain.

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

Turning point that convinced France to ally with the Americans.

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

British surrender effectively ending major combat in the American Revolution.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Britain recognized American independence and set borders; promised withdrawal of troops; debts and Loyalist property issues to be resolved.

Enlightenment Influence on American Colonies

Philosophers like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau promoted reason, social contract theory, and natural rights shaping colonial political thought.

Great Awakening

Religious revival emphasizing personal faith and emotional preaching; introduced New Lights vs Old Lights.

Salutary Neglect

Britain’s period of relaxed enforcement of trade laws in the colonies prior to 1763, which fostered self-government.

Stono Rebellion (1739)

A major slave rebellion in South Carolina that led to harsher slave codes.

Gullah

A creole African-American language that mixed English with West African languages, used by enslaved communities in the Sea Islands.