Period 1 APUSH Vocab

Aztec Empire

Powerful empire in central Mexico that was conquered by the Spanish in the 1500s.

Mayan Empire

Advanced civilization in Mesoamerica known for writing, math, astronomy, and large cities.

Inca Empire

Large empire in South America centered in the Andes Mountains that was conquered by the Spanish.

Vikings

Scandinavian explorers who reached North America around 1000 CE, before Columbus.

Christopher Columbus

Explorer who sailed for Spain in 1492 and reached the Americas while looking for a route to Asia.

Hernan Cortes

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztec Empire.

Conquistadores

Spanish soldiers and explorers who conquered lands in the Americas.

Tenochtitlan

Capital of the Aztec Empire, located where Mexico City is today.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire.

Encomienda System

Spanish system that gave colonists control over Native American labor.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Spanish priest who defended Native Americans and criticized Spanish treatment of them.

Hernando de Soto

Spanish explorer who explored parts of the southeastern United States.

Reformation

Religious movement that challenged the Catholic Church and led to Protestant churches.

Martin Luther

German monk who criticized the Catholic Church and helped start the Protestant Reformation.

95 Theses

Martin Luther's list of criticisms against the Catholic Church.

John Calvin

Protestant reformer whose ideas became the basis of Calvinism.

Calvinism

Protestant belief system that emphasized predestination and God's control over salvation.

Henry VIII

English king who broke away from the Catholic Church and created the Church of England.

Queen Elizabeth

English queen who strengthened Protestantism and helped England become a major naval power.

Puritans

Protestants who wanted to reform the Church of England.

Defeat of the Spanish Armada

England defeated Spain's large fleet in 1588, making England a stronger naval power.

Roanoke Island

Failed English colony where the settlers mysteriously disappeared.

Sir Walter Raleigh

Englishman who helped establish the Roanoke colony.

Virginia Company

Joint-stock company that founded Jamestown.

Powhatan

Native American leader who controlled several tribes near Jamestown.

Captain John Smith

Jamestown leader who helped the colony survive by organizing work and trade.

Jamestown

First permanent English settlement in North America, founded in Virginia in 1607.

Bacon's Rebellion

1676 rebellion in Virginia by settlers angry about the colonial government and Native American policies.

Proprietary Colony

Colony given by the king to an individual or group to govern.

Plymouth

Colony founded by the Pilgrims in 1620 in present-day Massachusetts.

John Winthrop

Puritan leader and governor of Massachusetts Bay who promoted the idea of a "city upon a hill."

Roger Williams

Founder of Rhode Island who supported religious freedom and separation of church and government.

Anne Hutchinson

Religious dissenter who challenged Puritan leaders and was banished from Massachusetts.

Pequot War

War between New England colonists and the Pequot people in the 1630s.

Metacom's War

1675–1676 conflict between New England colonists and Native Americans led by Metacom, also called King Philip.

Iroquois Confederacy

Alliance of Native American nations in the Northeast that worked together for protection and power.

Quaker

Protestant group that believed in equality, peace, and religious freedom.

William Penn

Quaker who founded Pennsylvania as a colony with religious freedom.

Indentured Servants

People who agreed to work for a certain number of years in exchange for passage to America and other benefits.

Slavery

System where people were forced to work as property owned by others.

Protestant

Christian who belonged to a church that separated from the Catholic Church during the Reformation.

Triangular Trade

Trade system connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Columbian Exchange

Exchange of plants, animals, people, diseases, and goods between the Old World and New World.

Half-Way Covenant

Puritan policy that allowed partial church membership to people who had not experienced a full conversion.

Salem Witch Trials

1692–1693 trials in Massachusetts where people were accused of witchcraft and several were executed.

Enlightenment

Movement that emphasized reason, science, and natural rights instead of simply accepting traditional ideas.

Benjamin Franklin

American Enlightenment thinker, inventor, writer, and statesman who supported science and reason.

Great Awakening

Religious revival in the American colonies during the 1730s–1740s that emphasized personal faith.

George Whitefield

Famous preacher who helped spread the Great Awakening throughout the colonies.

Jonathan Edwards

Preacher during the Great Awakening known for powerful sermons about religion.

Joint-stock company

Company funded by investors who shared the profits and risks.

Mayflower Compact

Agreement by the Pilgrims to create a government and follow rules in Plymouth.

James Oglethorpe

Founder of Georgia, which was partly created as a place for debtors and as a buffer against Spanish Florida.

House of Burgesses

First elected representative government in the English colonies, created in Virginia.

Navigation Acts

English laws that controlled colonial trade and required certain goods to be traded through England.

Mercantilism

Economic system where colonies provided resources to the mother country and bought its goods.

Salutary Neglect

England's loose enforcement of colonial laws, allowing the colonies to become more independent.

Sir William Berkeley

Governor of Virginia during Bacon's Rebellion who supported wealthy plantation owners.

Pueblo Revolt

1680 Native American revolt against Spanish rule in present-day New Mexico.

Headright System

System that gave colonists land for paying for someone's trip to the colony.

Subsistence Farming

Farming mainly to produce enough food for yourself and your family rather than for selling.

Hereditary Aristocracy

Social class of wealthy and powerful families whose status and wealth are passed down through generations.