Colonial America Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary terms and definitions from the 7th Grade U.S. History Colonial America student packet covering exploration, colonial regions, economy, governance, and historical source analysis.

Mercantilism

An economic system in which a country tries to become wealthy by controlling trade and using colonies for resources and markets.

Colony

A territory controlled by another country.

Mother Country

The country that controls a colony and benefits from its resources and trade.

Raw Materials

Natural resources used to make other products, such as wood, cotton, or sugar.

Cash Crop

A crop grown mainly to be sold for money, such as tobacco, rice, or indigo.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, people, and ideas between the Americas and Europe, Africa, and Asia after European contact.

Indigenous

Native to a particular place; Indigenous Americans lived in the Americas before European colonization.

Plantation

A large farm growing crops such as tobacco, rice, or indigo, often using enslaved labor.

Democratic

A system in which people have a role in making decisions, usually through voting.

Authoritarian

A system in which power is controlled by one person or a small group, with limited participation by the people.

Middle Passage

The forced journey of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas.

Triangular Trade

A system of trade that connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas through the exchange of goods and enslaved people.

England, France and Spain

Main European countries that settled in the New World.

Appalachian Mountains

Mountain range to the west of the colonies

European Diseases in the New World

European diseases spread rapidly among Indigenous Americans, who had little immunity. Large numbers of people died.

Jamestown

England's first permanent settlement in North America, founded in Virginia in 1607.

Plymouth

Settlement founded in present-day Massachusetts in 1620, established by Pilgrims seeking a new religious community.

New England Colonies

Colonial region characterized by cold winters, rocky soil, forests, coastline, natural harbors, fishing, shipbuilding, trade, and small farms.

Middle Colonies

Colonial region characterized by fertile soil, moderate climate, navigable rivers, farming, a diverse population, and religious tolerance.

Southern Colonies

Colonial region characterized by a warm climate, long growing season, fertile land, and plantations producing cash crops using enslaved labor.

Goods from Americas to Europe/Asia/Africa

Corn (maize)

Potatoes

Tomatoes

Cacao

Tobacco

Goods from Europe/Asia/Africa to Americas

Horses

Cattle and pigs

Wheat

Sugar cane

Diseases such as smallpox

Horses

Horses changed travel, hunting, and warfare for many Indigenous groups.