APUSH Vocab 1&2

African slave trade

Forced transport of Africans to the Americas for labor.

Algonquian

Native language group along the Atlantic coast.

Cahokia

Large Mississippian trade city near St. Louis with mound structures.

Catholic missions (Spanish)

Settlements to convert Natives to Catholicism.

Christopher Columbus

Italian explorer who reached the Americas in 1492.

Conquistadores

Spanish conquerors of Native empires.

Corn (maize) cultivation

Key Native crop that supported large civilizations.

Encomienda

Spanish system forcing Natives to labor and pay tribute.

Iroquois

Northeastern confederation of tribes with strong alliances.

Matrilineal

Descent and inheritance traced through the mother's line.

Meso-Americans

Indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America.

Mestizos

People of mixed European and Native ancestry.

Pueblo Revolt

1680 Native uprising that drove out the Spanish in New Mexico.

Racial hierarchy

Spanish colonial system ranking Europeans highest.

Smallpox

European disease that killed large numbers of Natives.

Tenochtitlan

Aztec capital city in present-day Mexico City.

Anne Hutchinson

Puritan dissenter banished for challenging church authority.

Atlantic World

Network of trade, ideas, and migration between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Bacon's Rebellion

1676 Virginia revolt against Governor Berkeley's rule.

Barbados Slave trade

Brutal system importing African slaves to Caribbean sugar plantations.

Congregational Church

Puritan church in New England with self-governing congregations.

Dominion of New England

Royal consolidation of colonies under Governor Andros, 1686-1689.

English Caribbean

Colonies focused on sugar, reliant on enslaved African labor.

Fundamental Constitution for Carolina

1669 plan by John Locke creating a feudal society in Carolina.

George and Cecilius Calvert

Founders of Maryland as a haven for English Catholics.

Glorious Revolution

1688 overthrow of James II; increased parliamentary power and colonial self-rule.

Jamestown

First permanent English settlement in Virginia, 1607.

John Calvin

Theologian whose doctrine of predestination shaped Puritan beliefs.

John Smith

Leader who helped Jamestown survive through discipline and trade with Natives.

John Winthrop

Puritan governor who envisioned Massachusetts as a "city upon a hill."

King Philip's War

1675 Native uprising led by Metacomet against New England settlers.

Massachusetts Bay Company

Puritan joint-stock company that founded Massachusetts colony.

Mayflower Compact

1620 agreement by Pilgrims to self-govern in Plymouth.

Mercantilism

Economic policy: colonies exist to benefit the mother country.

Metacomet

Wampanoag chief who led King Philip's War.

Middle Ground

Frontier regions where Natives and Europeans negotiated coexistence.

Navigation Acts

Laws regulating colonial trade to benefit England.

Headright

Land grant system in Virginia giving 50 acres to settlers.

New Amsterdam

Dutch colony that later became New York.

Jacob Leisler

Led 1689 rebellion in New York against colonial elites.

Pennsylvania, founding of

Established by William Penn as a Quaker refuge.

James Oglethorpe

Founder of Georgia as a military buffer and debtors' colony.

Pequot War

1637 conflict in New England; colonists massacred Pequot tribe.

Plymouth Plantation

Settlement founded by Pilgrims in 1620.

Powhatan

Native leader who traded with and fought early Virginia settlers.

Praying Indians

Natives in New England converted to Christianity.

Puritans

Religious group seeking to "purify" the Church of England.

Quakers

Religious sect advocating equality and pacifism; founded Pennsylvania.

Roger Williams

Founder of Rhode Island; supported religious freedom.

Sir William Berkeley

Virginia governor criticized for favoring elites; opposed Bacon's Rebellion.

Theocracy

Government controlled by religious leaders.

Tobacco

Cash crop that sustained Virginia's economy.

Toleration Act

1649 Maryland law granting religious freedom to Christians.

Virginia House of Burgesses

First elected legislative assembly in America (1619).

Wampanoags

Native group in New England; fought settlers in King Philip's War.

William Bradford

Governor of Plymouth, helped Pilgrims survive early hardships.

William Penn

Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, promoted religious tolerance.