AP US History: Period 1 (1491-1607) Lecture Review

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering Native American cultures, European exploration, and the early colonial systems of the Americas based on lecture transcripts.

What is the time period designated as Period 1 in United States History?

$$1491-1607$$

How did the spread of maize cultivation from present-day Mexico impact societies in the American Southwest?

It supported economic development, settlement, advanced irrigation, and social diversification.

According to the Land Bridge theory, how and when did people first populate the Americas?

A bridge emerged linking Asia and North America across the Bering Sea an estimated $35,000$ years ago, allowing people to walk across before sea levels rose.

Which three crops made up the 'Three Sisters' agricultural system?

Maize, beans, and squash.

Contrast the Native American and European views on land ownership.

Native Americans believed the tribe owned the land communally and that it was sacred; Europeans believed in private property and that land was given by God to be subdued and put to use.

What were the primary characteristics of the Aztec empire prior to European contact?

Located in Mexico with their capital at Tenochtitlan, they featured step pyramids, a military system, and large-scale religious sacrifices of conquered peoples.

Which tribes are associated with the aridity of the Southwest and utilized irrigation and adobe cliff dwellings?

Anasazi, Pueblo, and Hokokam.

What impact did the introduction of horses by Europeans have on Great Plains societies?

It significantly impacted their political, economic, and social structures, often facilitating more mobile/nomadic lifestyles focused on the buffalo.

What was the Iroquois Confederacy, and where was it located?

A group of tribes (Cayugas, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, and Seneca) in the Northeast (Eastern Woodlands) known for living in longhouses and utilizing wampum.

What were the three primary motivations for European exploration (the '3 Gs')?

God (spread of Christianity), Gold (wealth, mercantilism, and new markets), and Glory (fame for nation-states).

What was the outcome of Christopher Columbus's mistake regarding the size of the Earth?

Thinking the Earth was $1/3$ its actual size, he assumed he reached the East Indies and called the inhabitants 'Indians' when he struck land after $30$ days at sea.

List primary items transferred from the New World to the Old World in the Columbian Exchange.

Corn, potatoes, tobacco, beans, peppers, manioc, pumpkin, squash, tomato, wild rice, and syphilis.

What biological factor killed an estimated $90\%$ of pre-Columbus Native Americans?

Disease (specifically smallpox, yellow fever, and malaria), because Indians had no built-up immunities.

Define Mercantilism as described in the lecture notes.

An economic system focusing on a favorable balance of trade between a mother country and her colonies, involving regulations and tariffs.

What was the Encomienda system?

A Spanish colonial system that marshaled Native American labor to support plantation-based agriculture and extract precious metals.

Who was Hernando Cortez, and what was his major achievement?

A Spanish Conquistador who conquered the Aztecs at Tenochtitlan; he later built Mexico City on top of the destroyed Aztec capital.

Define the term 'Mestizos'.

A new race of people consisting of a mix of Spanish and Indian blood.

What was the significance of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 (led by Pope)?

It was the largest successful Native resistance movement against Spanish control and forced Catholic conversions; it later led to a decrease in encomiendas and increased syncretism.

Contrast the views of Bartolome de las Casas and Juan Gines de Sepulveda in the Valladolid Controversy (1550-1551).

Las Casas advocated for better treatment of Indians as humble and intelligent; Sepulveda argued Indians were 'barbarians' inferior to the Spanish and that war against them was just.

How did French colonial policy toward Native Americans differ from English policy?

The French focused on the fur trade and viewed Indians as economic/military allies (forming alliances and intermarrying); the English arrived in families, rarely intermarried, and their coexistence eventually led to conflict and warfare.

What was the 'Middle Passage'?

The forced transport of $10-15$ million enslaved Africans across the Atlantic, where $10-15\%$ did not survive the trip.