Unit 1: Period 1: 1491-1607 (copy)

Christopher Columbus

Arrived in the New World in 1492; marked the beginning of the Contact Period.

Contact Period

The period of sustained contact between Europe and the Americas, beginning with Columbus's arrival in 1492.

Bering Land Bridge

The land connection between Eurasia and North America that first allowed humans to populate the Americas.

Pre-Columbian Era

Refers to the period before Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492.

Culture Clash

The conflicts and misunderstandings that arose between European settlers and Native Americans due to differences in culture, religion, and technology.

Columbian Exchange

A period of rapid exchange of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old World and the New World.

Joint-Stock Companies

Corporate businesses with shareholders formed to settle and develop lands in North America; notably included the Virginia Company.

Encomienda System

A system that granted Spanish colonists authority over a specified number of natives for labor in exchange for protection and conversion to Catholicism.

Middle Passage

The brutal shipping route that brought enslaved Africans to the Americas.

House of Burgesses

Established in 1619, it was the first legislative assembly in the American colonies, where property-holding white males could vote.

Plantation Slavery

A labor system developed in the southern colonies, particularly for cash crops like tobacco, relying heavily on enslaved labor.

Mayflower Compact

An agreement signed by the Pilgrims to create a legal authority based on the consent of the governed.

Great Puritan Migration

The period of Puritan immigration to New England from 1629 to 1642 led by Governor John Winthrop.

Roger Williams

A minister who advocated for the separation of church and state; founded Rhode Island after being banished from Massachusetts.

Anne Hutchinson

A prominent Puritan dissident banished for challenging the authority of Puritan clergy.

Chesapeake

Region in present-day Virginia and Maryland known for its tobacco cultivation and plantation economy.

Spanish Colonial Power

The dominance of Spain in the Americas during the 16th and 17th centuries, marked by extensive exploration and colonization.

Puritanism

A religious reform movement aimed at purifying the Anglican Church from Catholic practices; led to the establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Calvinist Principles

The religious beliefs that influenced the daily lives of settlers in New England, emphasizing a strict interpretation of the Bible and a strong work ethic.