AP/IB US History Unit One

Words featured in the American Pageant textbook (12th Edition)

Aztec peoples

Indigenous Mexicans during the time of Spanish colonization

Mound Builders

Indigenous peoples of the Ohio River Valley

Three sister farming

An agricultural concept utilizing maize, beans, and squash in intercropping for increased yields.

Christopher Columbus

Italian naval explorer known for his arrival in the Bahamas on Oct. 12, 1492

Treaty of Tordesillas

Treaty between Spain and Portugal in 1494 over territorial claims in the New World

conquistadores

Spanish colonizers of the Age of Exploration

Juan Ponce de Leon

Conquistador known for exploring Florida for a “fountain of youth”

Francisco Pizarro

Conquistador known for his conquest of the Incas in Peru and brought large silver profits for Spain

encomienda

Slavery system that gave colonized Indians to certain colonists in return for the promise to try to Christianize them.

Hernan Cortes

Conquistador known for his successful conquest of the Aztecs

Moctezuma

Aztec chieftain during Cortes’ conquest

mestizos

people of mixed Indian and European race

Mayans

Indigenous peoples of Central America

Pope’s Rebellion (1680)

A successful uprising by Pueblo Indians against Spanish colonizers in present-day New Mexico, seeking to reclaim their land and religious practices.

Black Legend

The narrative that depicts Spanish colonizers as uniquely cruel and brutal compared to other European powers, often highlighting their exploitation of Indigenous peoples.

Spanish Armada

The naval fleet sent by Spain in 1588 to invade England, ultimately defeated by the English navy, marking a significant shift in naval power.

Sir Walter Raleigh

Englishman credited with introducing tobacco and potatoes to England & establishing the failed Roanoke Colony in North Carolina.

primogeniture

English law decreeing that only eldest sons were eligible to inherit landed estates

joint-stock company

A business entity where investors can buy shares to fund colonies and share in profits and losses; the forerunner of modern corporation

Virginia Company of London

joint-stock company whom of which received a charter from King James I to establish a colony in Virginia.

Captain John Smith

A soldier and explorer known for his role in the establishment of Jamestown, Virginia in 1608, and for his leadership during the early years of the settlement.

Chief Powhatan

The leader of the Powhatan Confederacy in the early 1600s, whom interacted with the English settlers of Jamestown.

Pocahontas

Daughter of Chief Powhatan who rescued Captain John Smith from execution

starving time

Winter of 1609-1610, where only 60 out of 400 settlers survived the period of intense and immense starvation

Lord De La Warr

The governor of Jamestown following Smith, who executed an intense military regime against the Native Americans.

First Anglo-Powhatan War

1614; conflict between English settlers and Powhatan Confederacy, ending with the marriage of Pocahontas and John Rolfe.

Second Anglo-Powhatan War

1644-46; conflict between Virginia colonists and the Powhatan Confederacy, resulting in the destruction of several Native American villages and banishment of Chesapeake Indians

John Rolfe

Englishman who married Pocahontas, ending the first Anglo-Powhatan war. He was also coined as the Father of the Tobacco industry.

House of Burgesses

The first elected legislative assembly in the American colonies, established in Virginia in 1619. It marked the beginning of representative government in the New World.

Lord Baltimore

Founder of Maryland, the second plantation colony and fourth overall English colony to be founded.

indentured servants

poor people who were bound to work for a certain number of years in exchange for passage to America.

slave codes

laws that defined the status of slaves and the rights of masters, enforcing the system of slavery.

Barbados Slave Code

1661: notorious slave code that denied fundamental human rights to slaves and gave their owners virtually complete control

Oliver Cromwell

a military leader and Lord Protector of England during the Commonwealth period, known for his role in the English Civil War and his opposition to the monarchy.

restoration period

the time in England following the monarchy's reinstatement in 1660, marked by the return of Charles II to the throne and a revival of cultural and political life.

squatters

newcomers who raised tobacco and other crops without legal right to the soil. often done without slaves on small farms

proprietor

an individual granted land and governing rights by a colonial charter, responsible for overseeing the settlement and management of the territory.

royal charter

a formal document issued by a monarch granting rights and privileges to individuals or groups, establishing the governance and regulations for a colony.

James Oglethorpe

Founder of Georgia, he established the colony as a place for debtors and the poor, promoting social reforms and defense against Spanish Florida.

nation-state

a political entity characterized by a defined territory, permanent population, and a centralized government that represents a cohesive national identity.

yeoman

a farmer who owns and cultivates their own land, often seen as representing the independent and self-sufficient citizen in early American society.

Iroquois confederacy

Alliance of six powerful Native American tribes centered in the Mohawk valley in modern-day New York State.

longhouse

Iroquois building structure made of wood. It was meant to serve as a communal living space for multiple families

Act of Toleration

A law passed in 1649 in Maryland that granted religious freedom to all Christians and was one of the first laws of its kind in the colonies.

Conquest of Ireland

The invasion and subsequent control of Ireland by England, marked by significant land confiscations and the establishment of English rule.