US HIST. Chapter 1: A New World

1. What is it? 2. What it did. 3. Why is this significant?

Bering Strait

1. An area of water separating Siberia and N. America.

2. It froze over 15,000 years ago, becoming an ice bridge that early bands of hunter & gatherers used to chase migrating animals.

3. They went down south to hunt, but eventually the ice melted, leaving them stranded. This led to the creation of “Native Americans” who settled in the Americas.

Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City)

1. The capital of the Aztec Empire

2. Acted as the seat of the Aztec government

3. Is evidence of advanced civilization for Native Americans due to its complex architecture and function.

Inca Kingdom (modern-day Peru in the Andes Mt.)

1. Kingdom of Inca Natives

2. Built on the side of the Andes Mt. as a security measure and had a complex structure

3. Is evidence of advanced civilization for Native Americans

Mound Builders of the Mississippi Valley

1. Hill of sorts; built along rivers so dirt could stick

2. The access to water was efficient for travel and trade

3. Showed how water, in this case the Mississippi R., is essential to the development of civilization

Pueblo Bonita (present-day Chaco Canyon, New Mexico)

1. A structure built by Hopi & Zuri natives that was 5 stories tall with 600 rooms

2. Historians don’t know what exactly it did

3. Its complex structure highlights that the natives were smart and advanced

Great Council

1. A collection of Iroquois people (consisting of 5 nations) who met yearly

2. They sent representatives annually to discuss govt. affairs & coordinate behavior towards outsiders

3. It’s an example of how their govt. was similar to our govt.

Matrilineal

1. A belief held by natives that your lineage should be determined by your mother/women

2. Showed respect to women because they bear fruit/give life

3. Was a MAJOR DIFFERENCE between Europeans and Native Americans that would cause conflict

Caravel

1. A smaller ship invented by the Portuguese

2. Was able to sail closer to the coast (easier to navigate) and enabled long distance travel

3. Allowed Europeans to travel to Asia faster but ALSO exposed them to the African Slave Trade (through the Portuguese establishing fortified trading posts on the western coast of Africa)

The Reconquista

1. The reconquering off the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors (African Muslims) by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella

2. Enabled Spain to become a new nation that wanted to navigate the ocean to go to Asia for spices and goods

3. Led to Spain sponsoring Columbus, intending to go to Asia by traveling West instead of the Portuguese way

Columbian Exchange

1. The transfer of goods, ideas, people, and diseases between the Old World & the New World

2. Diversified crops & diets and changed lives, with disease being the most significant exchange

3. Disease left a significant impact on the Native population 

Northwest Passage

1. Mythical passage (fake pathway for travel)

2. The plan was to arrive in America, pick up gold & silver, then go to Asia and get spices by cutting through the Americas

3. Encouraged exploration of the New World

Samuel de Champlain

1. French explorer who embarked on the NW Passage and got stuck in Canada

2. Navigated the Great Lakes, est. Quebec in 1608 and claimed the Mississippi River Valley for France

3. Established a presence for France in the New World

Henry Hudson

1. An Englishman sponsored by the Dutch East India Company

2. Sailed into the New York Harbor searching for the NW Passage; est. New Netherlands (present-day New York State) & New Amsterdam (NYC)

3. Established the Dutch in the New World

Joint-Stock Company

1. A business strategy

2. People pooled financial resources together sharing the risks and profits of maritime voyages.

3. Afforded exploration of the New World