Chapter 1 — A New World

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical figures, systems, and concepts from Chapter 1 — A New World.

Tenochtitlán

Capital city of the Aztec Empire, founded around 1325 and located where Mexico City is today, known for canals, bridges, causeways, floating gardens (chinampas), and becoming a large, advanced city.

Aztecs

Powerful civilization that controlled central Mexico with its capital at Tenochtitlán; practiced human sacrifice, maintained large trade networks, collected tribute from conquered peoples, and was led by Montezuma II when the Spanish arrived.

Great League of Peace

Alliance of Iroquois/Haudenosaunee nations (also called the Iroquois Confederacy) created to promote peace and cooperation through a political system involving councils and shared decision-making.

Caravels

Small, fast, maneuverable European sailing ships used heavily by Portugal and Spain that helped Europeans make long-distance voyages and were important to the Age of Exploration.

Reconquista

Centuries-long effort by Christian kingdoms to retake the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rulers, which ended in 1492, strengthened Spanish political and religious unity, and helped set the stage for Spanish overseas exploration.

Conquistadores

Spanish soldiers and explorers who conquered territory in the Americas motivated by wealth, power, and Christianity ("God, Gold, and Glory"), aided by steel weapons, armor, horses, and firearms.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of plants, animals, foods, people, diseases, and ideas between the Americas and the Old World after European contact (e.g., corn and potatoes to Europe; horses, pigs, wheat, and devastating smallpox or measles to the Americas).

Creoles

People of European ancestry born in the Americas who were often wealthy and influential, but usually ranked below European-born colonists in the Spanish colonial social hierarchy.

Haciendas

Large Spanish colonial estates or plantations that produced crops and livestock, relied heavily on Indigenous and/or African labor, and contributed to long-lasting wealth and social inequality.

Mestizos

People of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry who became a major population group in Spanish America and occupied a distinct position within the Spanish caste/social hierarchy.

Ninety-Five Theses

Document written by Martin Luther and published in 1517 that criticized practices of the Catholic Church—especially the sale of indulgences—and helped begin the Protestant Reformation.

Bartolomé de las Casas

Spanish Dominican friar who defended the rights of Indigenous peoples, condemned Spanish mistreatment and exploitation, and pushed Spain to reform colonial practices.

Repartimiento System

Spanish colonial forced-labor system requiring Indigenous communities to provide workers to Spanish colonists for limited periods, which was supposed to be regulated by colonial authorities but frequently resulted in exploitation and abuse.

Black Legend

Anti-Spanish propaganda portraying Spain as especially cruel, intolerant, and oppressive, used particularly by European rivals like the English and Dutch, based partly on real Spanish abuses but often exaggerated.

Pueblo Revolt

Major Indigenous uprising against Spanish rule in 1680 in present-day New Mexico, where Pueblo peoples successfully drove out the Spanish for about 12 years and helped preserve aspects of Indigenous culture and religion.

Métis

People of mixed European—especially French—and Indigenous ancestry who developed distinct communities and culture, particularly associated with Canada and the northern fur trade.

Borderlands

Colonial areas where different powers and Indigenous peoples interacted through trade, cultural exchange, competition, and warfare, with disputed control creating complex diplomatic relationships.