AP U.S History Unit 1 Vocab

Olmec

Olmec

First Mesoamerican civizilation in Mexico who created big statues and structures with faces/bodies

Maya

Ancient people who lived in a Mesoamerican civilization, who also developed large parts of astronomy and science

Mississippi Valley Trade Network

A trade network connecting American Midwest and the Golf of Mexico, different cultures spread through it as well

God, Gold, Glory

The three main reasons why people began to explore and look for new things in the New World

Columbian Exchange

The trade or exchange of goods, ideas, cattle, crops, and new resources between the Old World and the New World

Commercialization

Introducing a new product/method about trade into the market

Henry the Navigator

A prince from Portugual who widely explored and was big in the world's development to the West area of Africa

Compass

Helped sailors figure out direction/navigation

Astrolabe

Used to calculate the position of the Sun/tell time

Sternpost Rudders

A device used to steer a ship located at the back, or stern, of a ship; made sailing a lot easier

Charter Companies

Groups of private investors who paid an annual fee to France and England in exchange for a monopoly over trade to the West Indies colonies

British East India Company

A joint stock company that controlled most of global trade, between Europe and South Asia, one of the most powerful corporations in history

Virginia Company

An English trading company that established colonies in the New World and brought profit to some people who were shareholders, wanted to colonize East America

Dutch East India Company

One of the first trading companies in the world that focused on trade monopolies and helped Dutch in the war

Joint Stock Investors

Investors that own a joint stock company and allowed investors to pool their resources, making it easier to achieve bigger things

Encomiendas

A Spanish labor system that allowed Spanish people to demand labor or tribute from Native Americans

Haciendas

A large house or structure that normally contained factories or plantations; produced agricultural products for consumers in America

Indentured Servants

Colonists who received free passage to North America in exchange for working without pay for a certain number of years

Peninsulares

Pure white people born in Spain who moved to live in New World Spanish colonies

Creole

People of Spanish descent born in Latin America during the Spanish colonial period

Mestizos

People of mixed Indian and European heritage, notably in Mexico

Triangular Trade

A three way system of trade where Africa sent slaves to America, America sent raw materials to Europe, and Europe sent resources to Africa

Colonialism

Attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its own political, economic, and cultural areas in another territory.

Middle Passage

A voyage that brought tightly packed together enslaved Africans and sent them across the Atlantic Ocean to North America and the West Indies

Treaty of Casco Bay

the treaty that ended King Phillip's War, no copies of the treaty were made

King Philip's War

1675, Longest conflict between settlers and natives in order to stop English settlements on native land

Bartolome de Las Casas

A Spanish priest/activist who spoke out against slavery and the oppression of Ingenious people

Mercantilism

The belief that daughter colonies were only there to provide for the mother colony, used to increase their wealth and power by selling more goods than they bought

Common Land

Open meadows maintained by villages for public use like grazing or chopping wood

Exports/Imports

What items are transferred out to other places/countries, and what items come into your own country

Private Property

property owned by individuals or companies, not by the government, that is monitored by those individuals