When Worlds Collide Vocabulary

Flashcards covering key terms, figures, geographic details, and historical events from the When Worlds Collide study transcript.

Mestizo / Mestizaje

Mixed ethnicity or the mixing of ethnicity, referring to individuals with ancestry native to Europe and native to the Americas or Africa.

El equilibrio

The balance between humans and Earth, which defined the relationship between the Inca peoples and nature.

True red

A rare and expensive dye in Europe ranked economically 3rd behind silver and gold by the Spanish, where most Europeans previously could only use a dirty orange dye for clothing and paints.

Zoonotic illnesses

Diseases passed between livestock and humans, which typical indigenous people in the New World were free from prior to the Conquest.

Granada

The burial site chosen by Ferdinand and Isabella to symbolize their victory over the Muslims and the successful reclamation of Spain for Christianity.

Los conversos

Converted Muslims and Jews in Old World Spain who were always suspect and pushed to the fringes of society.

New World food transfer

Agricultural products transferred from the New World, including piña, plátano, maíz, jitomates, papas, pimientos, frijoles, chocolate, camotes, tabaco, and pintura.

Our Lady of Tonantzín

A figure who appeared to an indigenous person as both Catholic and indigenous to create a link with indigenous communities.

Sistema de castas

The New World caste system placing pure-blooded Europeans at the top, castizas (one parent of each) at the next level, and mestizas at 50%.

Danzón

A dance with roots in Africa that blossomed in the Caribbean and became fully Mexican.

Seville

A Spanish city located 50 miles inland on the Guadalquivir river that housed La Casa de Contratación and served as the drop-off point for all goods from the New World.

Guadalquivir river

The only ocean-going navigable river in Spain, leading 50 miles inland to Seville.

Bartolomé de las Casas

A Sevilla-born priest who devoted his life to raising awareness about the oppressive brutality and atrocities committed by Spaniards in the New World.

New Laws

Laws issued by Charles V in response to Bartolomé de las Casas stating no cause shall justify slavery or abuse of indigenous peoples, though they were nearly impossible to enforce.

Bishop de Landa

The brutally repressive Bishop of Yucatán who tortured roughly 4,000 indigenous people and roughly 150 of them to death.

1556

The year Felipe II (at age 29) took over the reign of Spain from his father Charles I / Charles V (at age 56).

Great Repression

Charles V's costly holy war against Dutch Protestants that ended in stalemates.

Potosí mine

A mining boomtown in Bolivia at 13,000 ft elevation where 8,000,000 forced indigenous male laborers died over a 300-year period.

Charango

A musical instrument made using the shell of an armadillo.

Defeat of the Spanish Armada

A crushing defeat for Spain in which 70 ships were sunk and 15,000 men died after the British launched burning ships into the English Channel and gale-force winds disrupted Spanish navigation.

Garcilaso, el Inca

Author of Royal Commentaries of the Incas and General History of Perú who criticized the Conquest, stating it harmed ordinary Spanish people while primary benefits went to foreign bankers and merchants.