Chapter 2: Early Globalization: The Atlantic World, 1492-1650

Vocabulary flashcards covering major people, events, and concepts from the lecture notes.

Prince Henry the Navigator

Portuguese prince who sponsored early Atlantic exploration and the expansion to Atlantic islands, paving sea routes to Africa and India.

Cape of Good Hope

Southern tip of Africa rounded by the Portuguese, opening the sea route to Asia.

Bartholomeu Dias

Portuguese explorer who rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1485.

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese explorer who reached India in 1497, establishing a sea route to Asia.

Romanus Pontifex

Papal bull granting Portugal exclusive rights to trade, navigation, and fishing south of Cape Bojador; basis for a Portuguese monopoly.

Cape Bojador

African cape used as a boundary for early Portuguese trading rights under papal sanction.

Inter caetera

Papal bull of 1493 recognizing Spain's claim to lands not already held by a Christian prince.

Papal Bull of Donation

Third papal bull exhorting Spanish expansion westward and the spread of the faith.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 treaty drawing a line to separate Spanish and Portuguese spheres in the Americas.

Toscanelli

Florentine astronomer whose map encouraged Columbus to sail west to reach the Spice Islands.

Columbus

Genoese explorer who began European contact with the Americas in 1492 and made four voyages.

Tenochtitlán

Capital of the Aztec Empire; conquered by Cortés in 1521.

Hernán Cortés

Spanish conquistador who defeated the Aztecs and toppled Tenochtitlán.

Aztec Empire

Mesoamerican empire centered in central Mexico, conquered by Cortés.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire in 1532.

Inca Empire

South American empire conquered by Pizarro.

Darién (Darien)

Region where Balboa established the first permanent mainland settlement in 1510, located in present-day Colombia.

Balboa

Spanish explorer who crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached the Pacific Ocean.

Hernando de Soto

Explorer whose 1539–1543 expedition traveled through Florida and the Southeast, reaching the Mississippi; died in 1542.

Jamestown

First permanent English settlement in North America, established in 1607.

Roanoke

English attempt to colonize Roanoke; failed between 1584 and 1590.

New France

French colony founded by Samuel de Champlain in 1624.

New Amsterdam

Dutch settlement on Manhattan Island founded in 1624.

Zheng He

Ming dynasty eunuch-admiral who led seven maritime expeditions to the Indian Ocean and Africa (1405–1433).

Treasure ships

Large imperial ships used by Zheng He on his voyages to display power.

Ninety-Five Theses

Martin Luther's 1517 pamphlet that sparked the Protestant Reformation.

Protestantism

Religious reform movement challenging Catholic authority and leading to new Christian denominations.

Spanish Golden Age

Period of flourishing arts and literature in Spain (roughly 1492–1659) funded by wealth from the Americas.

Price revolution

Inflationary period in Western Europe due to the influx of gold and silver from the Americas; prices rose significantly.