APUSH Period 1 Flashcards: European Contact

Columbian Exchange

Widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, humans, technology, and ideas between Europe/Africa and the Americas following 1492 voyage of Columbus.

Northwest Passage

A water route through North America that European explorers hoped to find to trade with Asia, which was sought after from the 1400s to the 1800s.

Feudalism

A political and economic system in medieval Europe [400s-1400s] where serfs [peasants] were tied to the land owned by the elite [nobility], working the land in exchange for protection and food.

Encomienda System

A system of labor in Spanish North America [beginning in early 1500s] where Spanish elite provided protection and instruction in Christianity in exchange for labor and goods from American Indians.

Capitalism

An economic system that became more widespread in the 1400-1600s characterized by private ownership of businesses and factories, where individual desires in a market organize the economy.

Spanish Requirement of 1513

A declaration read to American Indians by the Spanish to inform them of Spanish right of conquest, absolving Spain of responsibility for acts against those who resisted.

Joint-stock Companies

A business that sells shares in its company to investors, allowing them to enjoy profits and limiting their loss to the amount invested; popularized in the 1600s for funding risky explorations.

Valladolid Debates

A series of debates over the treatment and rights of American Indians in the Americas in 1550-1551, where Bartolome de las Casas argued for their capacity for reasoning and innocence.

Middle Passage

The sea route used to transport enslaved Africans to the Americas, characterized by horrific conditions and high mortality rates.

Columbus

An Italian explorer whose 1492 voyage led to the widespread awareness of the Americas in Europe and initiated the Columbian Exchange.

Disease

Smallpox, measles, and other illnesses that were transferred from Europeans to the Americas, causing significant mortality among indigenous populations.

Crops

Agricultural products exchanged during the Columbian Exchange, including wheat, sugar, coffee, grapes, tobacco, tomato, potato, yam, corn, and chocolate.

Animals

Species such as horses, pigs, and cows that were introduced to the Americas through the Columbian Exchange, with minimal introduction of turkeys.

People

The movement of Europeans and Africans to the Americas during the Columbian Exchange, with a notable lack of indigenous population movement.

Wealth extracted from Americas to Europe

The economic benefit gained by European powers through the exploitation of resources and labor in the Americas.

Spanish Colonization

The process by which Spain established control over territories in the Americas, often involving the subjugation of indigenous populations.

Differing World Views

The contrasting perspectives between European colonizers and indigenous peoples regarding land, culture, and governance.

1400s-1800s

The time period during which European exploration and colonization of the Americas occurred, marked by significant economic and cultural exchanges.

Bartolome de las Casas

A Spanish Dominican friar who advocated for the rights of American Indians during the Valladolid Debates, arguing against their mistreatment.

Arctic Exploration

The attempts by explorers to find a northern route around North America when the Northwest Passage was deemed non-existent.

Spanish Elite

The class of Spanish landowners and nobility who benefited from the Encomienda System by receiving labor and goods from indigenous peoples.

Serfs

Peasants in the feudal system who were bound to the land and provided labor in exchange for protection and sustenance.

Market Economy

An economic system where the production and pricing of goods and services are determined by supply and demand in a marketplace.

Juan de Sepulveda

Sepulveda [1494-1573] was a Spanish philosopher and theologian (church philosopher) who defended the Spanish conquest of the Americas. He argued that American Indians were incapable of ruling themselves, practiced cannibalism, and must be forced into conversion to Christianity in the Valladolid debates.

Maroon Communities

Self-liberated (escaped) African slaves and American Indians formed independent communities in remote areas away from European control. Some communities were able to resist colonizing powers for centuries. 1500s-1700s.

Mixed Traditions

Diverse African religious traditions were incorporated into Christian beliefs that were forced onto enslaved peoples in the Americas. Some songs, language, rhythms, dances, beliefs, and food, survived in African American communities.

Arawak/Taino Resistance

Before Columbus's second voyage (1493) returned to the Americas, Arawak killed sailors left behind at Fort Navidad. Mass suicides occurred (using cassava poison) amongst the Arawak.