15th-Century Global Trade, Portuguese Exploration, and the Spanish Encounter with America

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing 15th-century maritime trade, Portuguese navigation milestones, Cristóbal Colón's voyages, and Spanish colonial treaties.

Cathay

The historical name used in the 15th century to refer to China.

Cipango

The historical name used in the 15th century to refer to Japan.

Cartógrafo

A person possessing the technical knowledge and skill required to create maps.

Enrique El Navegante

Son of King Juan I of Portugal ($1394$-$1460$) who founded the Escuela Náutica de Sagres to organize maritime expeditions aimed at reaching Asia by navigating around Africa.

Escuela Náutica de Sagres

A maritime institution established in Portugal by Enrique El Navegante that brought together prominent cartographers, geographers, and navigators to develop alternate trade routes to Asia.

Bartolomé Díaz

The Portuguese navigator who reached the southern tip of Africa, Cabo de Buena Esperanza, in $1487$.

Cabo de Buena Esperanza

The extreme southern point of Africa reached by Portuguese navigator Bartolomé Díaz in $1487$.

Paolo Toscanelli

A 15th-century cartographer ($1397$-$1482$) whose calculations and proposed westward route across the Atlantic Ocean influenced Cristóbal Colón's expedition plans to reach China and India.

Boabdil el Chico (Muhammad XII)

The sultan of Granada ($1459$-$1533$) who surrendered the last Muslim territory in the Iberian Peninsula to the Catholic Monarchs in November $1491$.

Capitulación de Santa Fe

The official agreement signed by Fernando II de Aragón and Isabel I de Castilla authorizing and approving Cristóbal Colón's transoceanic voyage.

Archipiélago

A geographical grouping or cluster of islands situated close to one another.

Guanahani

The indigenous name for the island in the Bahamas where Cristóbal Colón made landfall on October $12$, $1492$, which the Europeans named San Salvador.

Isla Juana

The name given to modern-day Cuba by Cristóbal Colón in honor of the daughter of the Spanish monarchs.

La Española

The name given by Cristóbal Colón to the island encompassing modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic during his first voyage.

Fuerte de Navidad

The fort constructed on December $25$, $1492$, on La Española, recognized as the first European architectural structure and settlement built in the Americas.

Casa de Contratación de las Indias

The first Spanish administrative body, established in $1503$, created to regulate and manage commerce and navigation with the newly claimed American territories.

Vasco Núñez de Balboa

The Spanish explorer who crossed the Isthmus of Panama and the Darién region in $1513$, confirming the existence of the Pacific Ocean beyond the American continent.

Capitulaciones

Crown contracts authorizing explorers to conquer new territories at their own financial expense in exchange for becoming governor, holding land, and collecting tribute, provided they remitted $20\%$ of all acquired riches to the monarchy.

Bulas Alejandrinas

Papal decrees issued in $1493$ by Pope Alejandro VI granting the Catholic Monarchs of Spain the right to explore and claim lands in the Indies, while mandating the evangelization of their inhabitants.

Tratado de Tordesillas

A $1494$ treaty between Spain and Portugal establishing a meridian line $370\text{ leagues}$ west of Cabo Verde, reserving the eastern hemisphere for Portugal and the western hemisphere for Spain.

Bula Inter caetera

The initial papal donation bull issued on May $3$, $1493$, by Pope Alejandro VI granting sovereignty over newly discovered lands to the Spanish Crown.