HST 121 Mod 1 - Indigenous America and European Colonization Key Terms

Bacon's Rebellion

A 1676 uprising in Virginia against the colonial government.

Black Legend

The idea that Spain was especially cruel and brutal in its colonization of the Americas.

cash crop

A crop grown mainly to be sold for profit.

charter colony

A colony governed under a charter granted by the English crown.

chattel slavery

A system in which enslaved people were legally treated as property.

Chesapeake Colonies

The English colonies of Virginia and Maryland.

Christopher Columbus

Explorer whose 1492 voyage connected Europe and the Americas.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and ideas between the Old and New Worlds.

Consumer Revolution

An increase in the buying and use of goods by colonists.

Dominion of New England

A group of New England colonies combined under one English government.

Glorious Revolution

The 1688 overthrow of King James II in England.

indentured servant

A person who worked for a set number of years in exchange for passage or other benefits.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607.

John Rolfe

Jamestown colonist who helped make tobacco profitable and married Pocahontas.

John Smith

An important leader of the early Jamestown colony.

joint-stock company

A business funded by investors who share profits and risks.

King Philip's War

A major war between New England colonists and Indigenous peoples.

Lord Baltimore

The proprietor associated with the founding of Maryland.

Massasoit

A Wampanoag leader who formed an alliance with the Plymouth colonists.

Mayflower Compact

An agreement establishing a form of self-government for Plymouth Colony.

mercantilism

An economic system in which colonies exist to benefit the mother country.

Metacom

A Wampanoag leader known to the English as King Philip.

Middle Colonies

Colonies known for cultural diversity and farming, including New York and Pennsylvania.

Middle Passage

The forced journey across the Atlantic endured by enslaved Africans.

Navigation Acts

English laws designed to control colonial trade.

New Amsterdam

A Dutch settlement that later became New York City.

New England Colonies

Colonies in northeastern North America, including Massachusetts and Connecticut.

New France

French-controlled territory in North America.

Pequot War

A conflict between the Pequot people and English colonists in the 1630s.

Pilgrims

English Separatists who founded Plymouth Colony.

Plymouth Colony

A colony founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims.

Pocahontas

A Powhatan woman associated with the early Jamestown colony.

Powhatans

An Indigenous confederacy in the Chesapeake region.

proprietary colony

A colony granted by the king to an individual or group of proprietors.

Puritans

English Protestants who wanted to reform the Church of England.

Quakers

A religious group that emphasized equality and religious freedom.

Roger Williams

Founder of Rhode Island and supporter of religious freedom.

royal colony

A colony directly controlled by the English crown.

Salem Witch Trials

Trials and accusations of witchcraft in Massachusetts in 1692.

salutary neglect

Britain's policy of loosely enforcing laws in the colonies.

Samoset and Squanto

Indigenous men who helped the Pilgrims survive and communicate in the New World.

Separatists

People who wanted to completely separate from the Church of England.

settler colonialism

Colonization in which settlers permanently occupy Indigenous land.

Fundamental Laws

Basic laws or principles used to govern a colony.

Smallpox

A deadly disease that devastated many Indigenous populations.

Southern Colonies

Colonies with economies largely based on agriculture and cash crops.

Starving time

The winter of 1609–1610, when extreme food shortages, disease, and a Native American siege killed English colonists at Jamestown

Stono Rebellion

A 1739 uprising by enslaved people in South Carolina.

tobacco

A major cash crop that became important to Virginia's economy.

Trans-Atlantic Trade

Trade connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Virginia Company

A joint-stock company that established Jamestown.

Virginia House of Burgesses

The first representative legislative assembly in the English colonies.

Wampanoag

An Indigenous people of the New England region.

William Penn

A Quaker who founded Pennsylvania.